This is siderite, a carbonate of iron. At the Champion Mine, it is possible to find sapphire and sericite. Head for the Athens mine near Champion. There the red and dark brown of the heaps of iron ore minerals are in striking contrast to the yellow and buff surface clays, once the deposits on the bed of an old glacial lake. The red mineral is hematite.
Some hematite is dense, hard, and crystallized in long fibers.
Some crystals arrange themselves in oddly shaped masses of concretions know as kidney ore. Some hematite is soft, as you will find when your clothing is soiled if you are not careful how you handle the powdery, non-lustrous ore. Goethite, a brown iron mineral that is really hematite plus water, may be found in beautiful orthorhombic crystals in cavities. Nearby is another dark brown mineral, never found in crystals. It is known as limonite.