Hematite Crystal from N'Chwaning
Miniature hematite crystal from the N'Chwaning mine in the Northern Cape, South Africa.
This natural crystal has a highly reflective metallic lustre and comes in a mineral display box.
Hematite is an iron oxide mineral. It was first named by ancient Greek philosopher Theophrastus around 300 BC. He called it 'haimatitēs lithos' meaning 'blood-red stone'. This is likely to be because the streak is red.
The N'Chwaning mine is part of the Kalahari Manganese Field. This area sits amongst well preserved 2.2 billion year old sedimentary rocks.
