Also utilized for refractory materials such as bricks. Hematite crystals are often tabular, but can have a wide variety of shapes. Most hematite, however, occurs in fine-grained earthy masses. Occurrence - Banded Iron Formation occurring across much of the upper Midwest. Oolitic hematite - Clinton Iron Formation stretching from New York to Alabama.
Most famous locality is Red Mountain near Birmingham, Alabama.
It can occur as thick tabular crystals, but more commonly occurs as small interstitial grains in igneous rocks. Occurrence - Common accessory mineral in igneous rocks. Sometimes called Adirondak titanium deposits due to the large number of occurrences there. Ilmenite occurs in massive pod-shaped layers of magnetite, ilmenite, hematite and spinel. One such deposit occurs in Azusa Canyon.