BANDED IRONSTONE WITH FOLDING - 2.5 billion years old - Australia
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BANDED IRONSTONE
cut and polished
2.5 billion years old
Ord Range, Western Australia
A very fine example of the Banded Ironstone Formation of Western Australia, with beautiful folding.
Banded ironstone provides unique evidence of the early history of life on Earth. It was formed under the sea by iron reacting with oxygen to form iron oxide (rust). This rock therefore provides the first evidence of oxygen appearing in the Earth's atmosphere, the oxygen being produced by rapidly increasing numbers of primitive, single celled algae - the only life forms at that time. These algae were for the first time using sunlight as a source of energy and producing oxygen as a by-product.
Banded ironstone is also an important iron ore. This example has been subjected to heat and pressure (metamorphosed) which has produced bands of magnetite and jasper.cut and polished
2.5 billion years old
Ord Range, Western Australia
A very fine example of the Banded Ironstone Formation of Western Australia, with beautiful folding.
Banded ironstone provides unique evidence of the early history of life on Earth. It was formed under the sea by iron reacting with oxygen to form iron oxide (rust). This rock therefore provides the first evidence of oxygen appearing in the Earth's atmosphere, the oxygen being produced by rapidly increasing numbers of primitive, single celled algae - the only life forms at that time. These algae were for the first time using sunlight as a source of energy and producing oxygen as a by-product.
Some examples are called 'tiger iron' because they contain bands of 'tigers eye' quartz. It is commonly used in jewellery.
Click on a picture for a larger image
Size: 15 x 10 x 3 centimetres
Weight: 1.08 kilograms
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