Tiger Iron Crystals - Western Australia
Highly polished tiger iron crystals with rich, earthy colours and distinctive markings.
Some varieties of tiger iron can resemble the mineral tigers eye, but it's not the same stone.
Tiger iron, correctly known as a banded iron formation (BIF), occurs in rocks that date back 1.8 to 2.5 billion years. It's composed of layers of minerals rich in iron.
Widely used for decorative purposes, tiger iron consists mostly of hematite or magnetite, red jasper and tigers eye.
Banded iron formations are believed to have formed before oxygen was present in Earth's atmosphere.
Oxygen, which microscopic aquatic organisms gave off as a waste product, reacted with dissolved iron in the seawater, leading to the development of iron oxides on the seafloor, which gradually became banded formations rich in iron and silica.
A common iron oxide is rust, a chemical compound of iron and oxygen.
In metaphysical circles, tiger iron crystals are also known as Mugglestone.
Tiger iron comes from the Pilbara region of Western Australia. This is the only place where the banded iron formation known as 'tiger iron' can be found.
These tiger iron crystals are medium-sized tumbled stones, but size can vary from piece to piece.
We also have larger sizes available.
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