uncommon
hematite
specularite · red streak
this one came off the chart · the page stays up for the people still holding one
The tell
Drag it across the back of a bathroom tile or a piece of unglazed porcelain. Hematite leaves a RED-BROWN streak whatever color 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
- banded iron
- red jasper
- magnetite
- slag
The facts
- also calledspecularite · red streak
- age~1.87 billion yrs
- where it turns upSuperior float · Marquette, some south
10% of every order goes to northern Michigan animal shelters.