uncommon
hematite
specularite · red streak
The tell
Drag it across the back of a bathroom tile or a piece of unglazed porcelain. Hematite leaves a RED-BROWN streak whatever colour the rock looks. Magnetite streaks black and sticks to a magnet.
Specular hematite is the silver, mirror-flaky kind, and it still streaks red. That surprises people every time.
What it gets mistaken for
- basalt
- jaspilite
- red jasper
- magnetite
- slag
The facts
- also calledspecularite · red streak
- age~1.9-2.1 billion yrs
- where it turns upSuperior float · Marquette, some south
- on the chartuncommon · 750 stickers ever
Put it on the shelf
Every stone on this chart is drawn and kiss-cut at three inches. The rarer the stone, the fewer exist: only 750 hematite will ever be printed, then the run is retired.
10% of every order goes to the Roscommon County Animal Shelter.