Polished Hematite Tile
Hematite, an iron oxide mineral, is the world’s most abundant and economically important source of iron.
Rust and hematite are iron oxide minerals, meaning they contain iron and oxygen. The main difference is that rust is hydrated, and hematite is not.
Although hematite contains iron, it's a mineral, whereas iron is a metallic element that can be isolated and used in its pure form.
Turning hematite into usable iron involves smelting, where the iron is extracted by heating and removing the oxygen from the mineral.
This polished hematite tile has a steely-grey colour and is highly reflective, so it wasn't easy to photograph.
The front of the hematite is lightly polished, the back is unpolished.
Goldstone
