Lodestone is a form of magnetite that exhibits natural magnetic properties. Chromite is a chromium ore that contains iron. Iron pyrite (iron disulfide, FeS 2) is a crystalline gold-colored mineral known as fool’s gold. Other ores include siderite (ferrous carbonate, FeCO 3), taconite (an iron silicate), and magnetite (ferrous-ferric oxide, Fe 3O 4), which often occurs as a white sand. The principal ores of iron are hematite (ferric oxide, Fe 2O 3) and limonite (ferric oxide trihydrate, Fe 2O 3♳H 2O). It is rarely found uncombined in nature except in meteorites, but iron ores and minerals are abundant and widely distributed. Iron is found distributed in the soil in low concentrations and is found dissolved in ground water and the ocean to a limited extent.

Iron is the fourth most abundant element in the earth’s crust, of which it constitutes about 5% by weight, and is believed to be the major component of the earth’s core. Iron is an abundant element in the universe it is found in many stars, including the sun. The ancient Hittites of Asia Minor, today’s Turkey, were the first to smelt iron from its ores around 1500 BC and this new, stronger, metal gave them economic and political power. They contain about 7.5% nickel, which indicates that they were of meteoric origin. Some have linked the iron in meteorites to a verse in the Quran(57:25) that says, “… and We sent down iron in which is incredible strength and many benefits for mankind.” Iron objects have been found in Egypt around 3500 BC. Because meteorites fall from the sky, some linguists have conjectured that the English word iron (Old English īsern), which has cognates in many northern and western European languages, derives from the Etruscan aisar, which means “the gods”. They prepared tips of spears, daggers, and ornaments from iron recovered from meteorites. The first signs of use of iron come from artifacts of the Sumerians and Egyptians dated to around 4000 B.C.E. It is the fourth most common element in the Earth’s crust. It is by mass the most common element on Earth, forming much of Earth’s outer and inner core.

It is a metal in the first transition series. Iron is a chemical element with symbol Fe and atomic number 26.

Atomic mass of iron