Rocksday

Magnetite

The most magnetic naturally occurring mineral. Black, heavy and often found as eight-sided crystals or as black sand on beaches.

Magnetite specimen
Photo: Robert M. Lavinsky, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

How to identify magnetite

  • Strongly attracts a magnet (some pieces are magnets themselves).
  • Black streak.
  • Heavy, black, metallic.
  • Octahedral crystals when well-formed.

Often confused with

Where it's found

  • Kiruna, Sweden
  • Adirondack Mountains, New York
  • Ural Mountains, Russia

Uses

Iron ore and the first compasses.

Rock tumbling

Can be tumbled with care.

Did you know?

Run a magnet through beach or creek sand and the black grains that jump onto it are magnetite.

Think you could spot it from a blurry close-up?

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