It has been generally accepted that chemical remanent magnetization (CRM) is acquired either in the direction of the ambient field at the time of chemical alteration1 or in the direction of a pre-existing natural remanent magnetization (CRM) 2–4. We report here our experiments in which CRM is carried by magnetite formed during laboratory heating of titanomaghaemite in submarine basalts. This CRM is a stable, single component remanence, acquired in an intermediate direction between the ambient field and pre-existing NRM direction. The role of prior NRM in controlling the direction of CRM is suppressed by externally applied fields of ≈50 µT. (0.5 Oe) but is prominent in fields of ≈20 µT. Thus, stable, intermediate-direction CRMs acquired in past geomagnetic fields are a possibility.