Natural Banded Hematite Beads

We don't have many stones in the Lima Beads shop that could be described as sparkly AND earthy. It's just not a very typical combination. These natural banded hematite beads qualify. The hematite gives these stones a feeling of depth and also adds a little sparkle. The banding is usually a charcoal gray or earthy brown. It all adds up to make natural banded hematite a very interesting stone.

Banded iron formations are a distinctive type of rock often found in sedimentary rocks that are billions of years old. These formations consist of thin layers of iron oxides, such as hematite, alternating with bands of jasper. Each layer of material is relatively thin, varying in thickness from a millimeter or so up to several centimeters.

Our Natural Banded Hematite gemstone beads were mined from a banded iron formation. They are composed of thin layers of silvery hematite interlaced with layers of black and brown jasper.