This mineral is Hematite (Banded Iron Ore). The exposed portions of the mineral consists of repeated alternating layers of light and dark gray. The dark gray mineral is hematite, an iron oxide. The unexposed portions are a rusty brown. The specimen measures 4 cm x 3.5 cm.
- Catalog Number:
- 40816
- Object/Specimen Description:
- Specimen Count:
- 1
- Precise Locality:
Mt. Tom Price
- Locality:
- Oceania Region (NZ, Australia, Samoa, Fiji, Micronesia, Melanesia)
- Collecting Locality:
- Australia, Indian Ocean, Australia, Western Australia
One of the most striking, yet least diagnostic, features of many minerals is their color. Well-formed mineral crystals span the entire rainbow of tinctures, from red (cinnabar, garnet) to yellow (sulfur), green (malachite), blue (azurite, lazurite), and violet (the amethyst variety of quartz). Minerals containing iron and magnesium are often dark brown or dark green. Impurities, trace amounts of elements that do not normally belong in the mineral, may change the overall color of a crystal. For instance, depending on the trace amounts of impurities it contains, quartz may look colorless (no impurities), light pink (titanium, iron, or manganese), milky white (tiny bubbles of gas or liquid), purple (iron), yellow (iron), or brown (extra silicon). However, multiple minerals may have almost the same color, so scientists must rely on other physical properties to make definite identifications of mineral specimens.