Thread: Detection of rock sample

I have a piece of rock which i believe to be an iron ore. The images on the internet seem to match with it. How can I confirm that it has Iron and detect the other components?
It's density comes out to be 1.9672g/cc

That is an exceptionally low, even for a variable ore content. Most ores I have seen have about double that density in water. Still, if you want to test for iron, there are some things you can do. Magnetite and even hematite that has been brought up to temperature are often magnetic. Test them with a rare earth magnet. You could also check for rust as ore quickly oxidizes. You could try crushing the rock to separate pieces of iron and testing those independently, as well. You should expect a much heavier specific gravity and greater density from iron.

Originally Posted by Flick Montana

That is an exceptionally low, even for a variable ore content. Most ores I have seen have about double that density in water. Still, if you want to test for iron, there are some things you can do. Magnetite and even hematite that has been brought up to temperature are often magnetic. Test them with a rare earth magnet. You could also check for rust as ore quickly oxidizes. You could try crushing the rock to separate pieces of iron and testing those independently, as well. You should expect a much heavier specific gravity and greater density from iron.

The density is rather low for an iron ore, but it may contain porosity.

Iron ore doesn't rust, nor does it contain pieces of iron. Not the hundreds of millions of tonnes of it that are dug up in Australia and Brazil every year anyway.

I would try placing some in hydrochloric acid which should give a yellow or green solution or a combination of the two. If you then add some sodium bicarbonate solution until it stops fizzing it should form a loose precipitate which will be a red brown if not immediately, then when left exposed to the air.

low density. also fun fact: only meteorites contain pure iron