Froodite is an extremely rare palladium-bismuthide mineral typically found as microscopic grains within massive sulfide ore bodies. Collectors usually acquire it as rare inclusions within samples from major platinum-group metal mines like the Sudbury district.
Is this froodite?
5-step field checkRun through these checks against the specimen in your hand. The more boxes tick, the more confident the ID.
- 1Test the hardnessTry to scratch froodite with a known reference. Froodite sits at Mohs 2.5, softer than the next harder reference, harder than the previous one.
- 2Check the streakDrag the specimen across an unglazed porcelain plate. Streak: black.
- 3Read the lusterHold the specimen under a strong light. Luster: metallic, splendent, tarnishes quickly.
- 4Match the color rangeCompare against the expected color range: gray.
- 5Look at form & habitCrystal system: monoclinic. Typical habit: grains.
Often confused with
Froodite vs. its common look-alikes, and how to tell them apart in the field.
Often found alongside froodite
Minerals reported to co-occur with froodite. Spotting these in float or country rock is a strong cue you are in the right ground.
All properties
- Chemical formula
- PdBi₂
- Mohs hardness
- 2.5
- Density
- 12.5-12.6 g/cm³
- Colors
- Streak
- Black
- Luster
- Metallic, splendent, tarnishes quickly
- Transparency
- Opaque
- Crystal system
- Monoclinic
- Crystal habit
- Grains
- Cleavage
- Perfect on {100}, less perfect on {001}
- Rarity
- Rare
- Uses
- Collector
- Host rock
- In mill concentrates of As–Pb–Cu-rich ores (Frood mine, Canada); in Pd–Pt-bearing layered or pipelike ultramafic intrusives
Where rockhounds find froodite
Classic worldwide localities
- Fox Gulch, Goodnews Bay, Alaska, and in the Duluth Gabbro complex, near Hibbing, St. Louis Co., Minnesota, USA
- Sudbury, in the Frood (type locality), Creighton, Coleman, and Strathcona mines, Ontario, Canada
- Pipe mine, Manitoba, Canada
- Oktyabr mine, Talnakh area, Noril’sk region, western Siberia, Russia
- Karik’yavr Cu–Ni deposit, Kola Peninsula, Russia
- Kingash massif, eastern Sayan, Russia
Field-hunting tip
Where it forms: In mill concentrates of As–Pb–Cu-rich ores (Frood mine, Canada); in Pd–Pt-bearing layered or pipelike ultramafic intrusives. If you start seeing chalcopyrite, cubanite, pyrite in float, you are in the right ground. Typical habit: grains. Train your eye for that shape before scanning the outcrop.
Common questions
How do you identify froodite?+
Where is froodite found?+
Is froodite safe to handle?+
What rocks look like froodite?+
What minerals are found with froodite?+
What kind of rock does froodite form in?+
What is froodite used for?+
Find froodite on the map
RockHoundR shows mapped rockhounding spots, access rules, and lets you log every find.
