Magnetite

specimen number:
2102086

location:
Hopewell Mines, Chester Co., Pennsylvania, USA

description:
Lustrous black octahedral crystals of magnetite measuring to 0.5 cm in size across the front of matrix. Some damage present as seen.

The Hopewell Mines in Chester County, Pennsylvania, were part of an important colonial iron mining district that supplied ore to Hopewell Furnace beginning in the early 1700s. The mines worked deposits of magnetite and other iron rich minerals found in metamorphic rocks of the region. Magnetite from the area commonly occurred as massive ore and as well formed octahedral crystals within the host rock. The iron ore from these mines was used for the production of pig iron and other iron products during the 18th and early 19th centuries. Today the area is preserved as part of Hopewell Furnace National Historic Site.

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