This holiday season, why not get a mineral every day instead of chocolate? Today’s mineral is Haematite find out more about it below..

It’s the 19th of December, so you know what that means – it’s the last posting day for second class postage to reach it’s recipient before the 24th. So you have probably had those scissors out doing all your wrapping and sticking over the last couple of days. But don’t worry if you missed the 2nd class post today – you still have the first class post – until Monday!

Sharp scissors are essential for nice wrapping!

However, in order for your beautifully wrapped presents to have been wrapped, you need nice scissors, preferably sharp steel ones – and for steel scissors you need iron, found in the ore Haematite (yes I know some people spell it Hematite, but I was brought up to include the ‘a’, so I look at it the same way that colour is spelt WITH a ‘u’).

A gorgeous photo of haematite by Jean-Marc Johannet from the MinDat website.

Haematite:
Chemical formula: Fe₂O₃
Colour: Steel-grey to black in crystals and massively crystalline ores, dull to bright “rust-red” in in earthy, compact, fine-grained material.
System: Trigonal
Hardness (Mohs): 5 – 6
Can you find it in the UK? Yes

Unfortunately the map showing locations you can find Haematite in the UK isn’t working, but needless to say it is a fairly common mineral easily spotted by it’s rust red colour when it has been weathered.

For more information about Haematite please visit the MinDat website.