Cavradi gorge, Curnera Valley, Tujetsch (Tavetsch), Vorderrhein Valley, Grischun (Grisons; Graubünden), Switzerland

Fe₂O₃

Crystal System: trigonal
Colour: steel-grey, black or bright rust-red
Lustre: metallic, sub-metallic, dull, earthy
Habitus: tabular, rhombohedral, prismatic or rarely scalenohedral
Hardness: 5 - 6
Fracture: irregular/uneven or sub-conchoidal
Cleavage: none
Density: 5.255 g/cm³ 
Origin and geological occurrence: hematite is abundant on weathered iron-bearing rocks. It is an accessory mineral in felsic igneous rocks and in high-temperature hydrothermal veins. Also found as a product of contact metamorphism. A huge quantity of hematite has been found in the so called BIFs (Banded iron Formations): metamorphosed sedimentary marine rock.

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Samples:

	4.7 Hematite Micaceous crystals in quartz. Apuan Alps, Tuscany, Italy. #oxides
	4.8 Hematite Black tabular crystals forming rosette-like aggregates. Rio Marina, Elba Island, Livorno, Tuscany. #oxides
	4.9 Hematite Red earthy aggregate of microcrystalline hematite (“ochre”). Rio Marina, Elba Island, Livorno, Tuscany. #oxides
	4.21 Hematite Blackish foliated crystals. Strettoia mine, Pietrasanta, Lucca, Tuscany. #economic minerals