Ironstone

Ironstone

Ironstone is a fine-grained, heavy and compact sedimentary rock. Its main components are the carbonate or oxide of iron, clay and/or sand. It can be thought as a concretionary form of siderite. Ironstone also contains clay, and sometimes calcite and quartz.

Appearance

Freshly cleaved ironstone is usually grey. The brown external appearance is due to oxidation of its surface. Ironstone, being a sedimentary rock is not always homogeneous, and can be found in a red and black banded form called tiger iron, sometimes used for jewelry purposes.

Sometimes ironstone hosts concretions or opal gems.

Occurrence

Ironstone mostly occurs in the form of nodules, for example in seams in the coal measures.

Uses

Due to its unique properties, ironstone was once popular for use in English tea sets

Ironstone as a source of iron

Ironstone is a bountiful and widespread source of iron (Fe), although it only contains less than 50 percent iron, far less than the other main source of iron, hematite. Historically, most of British iron originated from ironstone, but it is now rarely used for this purpose.

ee also

* Iron ore
* Banded iron formation


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  • Ironstone — I ron*stone , 1. n. A hard, earthy ore of iron. [1913 Webster] 2. {ironstone china}. [PJC] {Clay ironstone}. See under {Clay}. {Ironstone china}, a hard white pottery, first made in England during the 18th century. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • ironstone — [ī′ərnstōn΄] n. 1. any rock rich in iron 2. a hard variety of white ceramic ware …   English World dictionary

  • ironstone — noun Date: 1522 1. a hard sedimentary rock rich in iron; especially a siderite in a coal region 2. ironstone china …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • ironstone — /uy euhrn stohn /, n. 1. any iron bearing mineral or rock with siliceous impurities. 2. Also called ironstone china. a hard white stoneware. [1515 25; IRON + STONE] * * * …   Universalium

  • Ironstone Vineyards — is a winery located in Calaveras County in the California Sierra Foothills. Its wines are derived from grapes both local to their production facility outside Murphys, California as well as from the Lodi, California area.Ironstone WinesIronstone… …   Wikipedia

  • Ironstone Mountain — Country …   Wikipedia

  • Ironstone's Crown Jewel — Ironstone’s Crown Jewel is the world’s largest piece of crystalline gold. [cite news | url=http://www.touringandtasting.com/assets/client/File/Ironstone%201%20page.pdf | title = Murphys, California: Ironstone Vineyards | publisher = Touring and… …   Wikipedia

  • Ironstone china — Ironstone I ron*stone , 1. n. A hard, earthy ore of iron. [1913 Webster] 2. {ironstone china}. [PJC] {Clay ironstone}. See under {Clay}. {Ironstone china}, a hard white pottery, first made in England during the 18th century. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • ironstone ware — ironstone china or ironstone ware, a kind of hard, white, opaque pottery, used for dishes and bathroom fixtures; stone china …   Useful english dictionary

  • Ironstone, Massachusetts — Infobox nrhp | name =Ironstone Mill Housing and Cellar Hole Uxbridge, Massachusetts nrhp type = |thumb caption = location= 136 Ironstone Street, off Massachusetts Route 146A Uxbridge, Massachusetts area = built =1815 added = November 7, 1983… …   Wikipedia

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