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What is the Chemical Composition of Specularite?
Specularite is a variety of hematite (iron oxide) that contains a high percentage of metallic iron. Its chemical composition is typically Fe2O3 with impurities such as aluminum, manganese, and silica.
What is a hemitite?
Hematite, also spelled as hæmatite, is the mineral form of Iron(III) oxide (Fe2O3), one of several iron oxides. Hematite crystallizes in the rhombohedral system, and it has the same crystal structure as ilmenite and as corundum. Hematite and ilmenite form a complete solid solution at temperatures above 950°C. Hematite is a mineral, colored black to steel or silver-gray, brown to reddish brown, or red. It is mined as the main ore of iron. Varieties include kidney ore, martite (pseudomorphs after magnetite), iron rose and specularite (specular hematite). While the forms of hematite vary, they all have a rust-red streak. Hematite is harder than pure iron, but much more brittle. Maghemite is a hematite- and magnetite-related oxide mineral.
What makes some minerals fluorescent?
Without seeing the rock it is somewhat hard to tell but I suspect that, almost certainly, your rock is Specular Hematite. If it's rather heavy for it's size and the sparkle that you see looks like it's coming from zillions of individual specks on the surface, then it probably is Specular Hematite. Also, do the "sparklies" fall off if you rub the rock with your fingers? If they look like thin little flakes then it's certain the rock is Specular Hematite (also called Specularite). hope this helped, Taylor
