Hematite is used for a number of other purposes. It is a very dense and inexpensive material that is effective at stopping x-rays. For that reason it is used for radiation shielding around medical and scientific equipment. The low cost and high density of hematite and other iron ores also makes them useful as ballast for ships.

Hematite can also be ground to a fine powder that when mixed with water will make a liquid with a very high specific gravity. These liquids are used in the “float-sink” processing of coal and other mineral material. The crushed coal, which has a very low specific gravity, is placed on the heavy liquid and the light clean coal floats, while high-specific-gravity impurities such as pyrite sink.

Finally, hematite is the material used to make polishing compounds known as “red rouge” and “jeweler’s rouge.” Red rouge is a hematite powder used to polish brass and other soft metals. It can be added to crushed corn cob media or crushed walnut shell media for tumble-polishing brass shell casings. Jeweler’s rouge is a paste used on a soft cloth to polish gold and silver jewelry.