Is hematite a rock?

Question

i really like hematite especially for the balls in my earrings and i recently bought two hematite rings and i rememeber having one before and it broke. so mainly my question is what exactly is it considered is it a rock or what and is it actually breakable?

Answer 1

It is a mineral, an oxide of iron, that is found in many rocks.  It is also a crystal, which many minerals are.  Most rocks are made of small crystals of various minerals stuck together, either because they grew together in an igneous process, or because they were washed into the ocean together and cemented into a sedimentary rock layer.  Some rocks are made more or less entirely of crystals of one mineral like hematite. These are igneous rocks in which the crystals grew together. Such rocks tend to be interestingly colored, sparkly and otherwise attractive and so get made into jewellry.

So yes, it is a mineral, a crystal and a rock.  It is also an ore, being the principle source of iron metal.

Answer 2

**EDIT:  Yes, you should worry about breaking it on things...hematite rings are VERY fragile.  Sorry for the confusion.  :)

Actually, hematite is a mineral, not a rock.  It crystallizes in a rhombohedral shape

It is important to differentiate between minerals and rocks...rocks are made of minerals...minerals are just minerals.  Even if you found a huge chunk of quartz crystal (for example), it's not technically a rock - it's just a large piece of a mineral.

Answer 3

yes it is a mineral.

Answer 4

Of course it is breakable, anything is breakable; you oughtta know this if you broke a hematite ring!  At any rate, I really like hematite, too.  Hematite is iron ore, one of the mineral sources for iron metal that we use in steel, etc.  I would consider it to be a rock; even though it often has a metallic appearance, it is actually an oxide of iron.  Check it out on Wikipedia.