Our previous work has revealed the feasibility of natural hematite as an electrolyte material for solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs), tailoring SOFCs to be a more economically competitive energy conversion technology. In the present work, with the aim of exploring more practical uses of natural minerals, a novel composite hematite/LaCePrOx-La0.6Sr0.4Co0.2Fe0.8O3-delta (hematite/LCP-LSCF) has been developed from natural hematite ore, rare-earth mineral LaCePr-carbonate, and perovskite oxide LSCF as a functional membrane in SOFCs. The heterogeneity, nanostructure and mixed-conductive property of the composite were investigated. The results showed that the hematite/LCP-30 wt% LSCF composite possessed balanced ionic and electronic conductivities, with an ionic conductivity as high as 0.153 S cm-1 at 600 degrees C. The as-designed fuel cell using the hematite/LCP-LSCF membrane exhibited encouraging power outputs of 303 - 662 mW cm(-2) at 500 - 600 degrees C. These findings show that the hematite/LCP-LSCF based fuel cell is a viable strategy for developing cost-effective and practical low-temperature SOFCs (LTSOFCs). (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.