Hematite (also spelt haematite) is a steely-grey metallic mineral.
An iron oxide compound it's available in abundance around the world.
Hematite is composed of 70% iron 30% oxygen.
Its colour ranges from black to silver grey, brown to reddish brown and can also be red.
The red hue seen on Mars comes from fine grains of hematite that blow around during dust storms.
Although relatively hard hematite is brittle so will chip or shatter if knocked or dropped.
It's a dense mineral so is also quite heavy.
Hematite often occurs with other iron minerals such as goethite and magnetite.
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