Hematite << HEHM uh tyt >> is a mineral that supplies most of the world’s iron. Hematite is a ferric oxide (a compound of iron and oxygen). In its purest form, hematite consists of about 70 percent iron. The mineral occurs in a variety of forms, including shiny crystals; grainy rock; and loose, earthy material. Hematite is black, steel-gray, brownish-red, or dark red, but a fresh scratch on hematite rock is blood-red. The word hematite means bloodlike. Red ocher, an earthy form of hematite, is used to color paint.
About 20 percent of the iron produced in North America comes from hematite. Deposits of the ore lie near Lake Superior in Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin; and in Alabama and Tennessee. Large amounts of hematite also occur near the border of Labrador and Quebec, and in Ontario. Other sources include Australia, Brazil, and South Africa.
See also Taconite.
