H is for Hematite Poppy Jasper

This is a slightly expanded version of my eighth contribution to the current Alphabetical Series in the Facebook Group “New Zealand Lapidary, Rocks, Minerals, Fossils”. In the 2021 version of this Series I posted “H is for Hematite Jasper”, a brecciated stone.

H is for Hematite Poppy Jasper

Very small hematite poppy jasper.

Other side of stone.

I found this very small stone on Gemstone Beach on 19 March this year. It’s the size of my small fingernail. I often collect small stones because they play a role in the mix of stones in a tumble-polish barrel. When I picked this one up on the beach, I thought there was something going on inside it but couldn’t really tell with the naked eye. The photos reveal a special composition, an unusual kind of poppy jasper. Such small bright red jaspers can be found on Gemstone Beach and nearby. Not all of them are poppy jaspers. They stand out when wet, and practically glow in the sun. They have a more intense brightness than other red jaspers because, I suspect, of the hematite in them. Hematite (haematite) is a kind of iron oxide known for its distinctive reddish-brown to silvery or black metallic colour. The origin of the term lies in the Greek word for blood. Geology.com has a very good section on hematite, noting that it is one of the most abundant minerals on the Earth’s surface and is a very common constituent of rocks.

The next entry is “I is for Intrusive Igneous Stone”. An Index for this Alphabetical Series is here.

Author: tumblestoneblog

Retired Academic, male, living in the New Zealand countryside near Whanganui with his wife as well as Jasper the dog, Fluffy the cat, Dancer and Penny, the horses, and a shed half-full of stones. Email john.tumblestone@gmail.com. View all posts by tumblestoneblog