Hematite and magnetite: both iron ores, only one is strongly magnetic

Hematite and magnetite are both major iron ore minerals and both can appear black or silvery metallic, but they are not equally magnetic, a distinction that trips up a lot of beginners. Magnetite is strongly magnetic, magnetite that has become naturally magnetized is what people mean by the term lodestone, and it will genuinely pick up small iron objects on its own. Hematite is only weakly magnetic at best. The streak test settles it quickly regardless, hematite leaves a reddish brown streak no matter what color the specimen itself is, while magnetite leaves a black streak.