lodestone

 
Pronunciation: /ˈləʊdstəʊn/
(also loadstone)

noun

  • a piece of magnetite or other naturally magnetized mineral, able to be used as a magnet.
  • [mass noun] a naturally magnetized mineral; magnetite.
  • a person or thing that is the focus of attention or attraction: the revolution in eastern Europe has robbed the state of its ideological lodestone