Native Iridium is a rare, dense, and extremely hard metallic mineral usually found as small grains or nuggets in heavy mineral placer deposits. Collectors prize it for its extreme density and platinum-group metal classification, though it is difficult to distinguish from other platinum-group metals without laboratory analysis. It is most frequently recovered as a byproduct of platinum mining in ultramafic rock environments.
Is this native iridium?
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 native iridium with a known reference. Native Iridium sits at Mohs 6.5 — softer than the next harder reference, harder than the previous one.
- 2Check the streakDrag the specimen across an unglazed porcelain plate. Native Iridium leaves a tin-white streak.
- 3Read the lusterHold the specimen under a strong light. Native Iridium typically shows a metallic luster.
- 4Match the color rangeCompare against the expected color range: silver-white, tin-white, gray.
- 5Look at form & habitCrystal system: cubic. Typical habit: grains, nuggets, cubes, octahedrons.
Often confused with
Native Iridium vs. its common look-alikes — and how to tell them apart in the field.
How to tell apart: Native Iridium is noticeably harder (Mohs 6.5 vs. 4-4.5); streak differs — Native Iridium leaves tin-white, Platinum leaves steel-gray.
How to tell apart: Native Iridium is noticeably harder (Mohs 6.5 vs. 4.75-5); streak differs — Native Iridium leaves tin-white, Palladium leaves silver-white.
Often found alongside native iridium
Minerals reported to co-occur with native iridium. Spotting these in float or country rock is a strong cue you are in the right ground.
All properties
- Chemical formula
- Ir
- Mohs hardness
- 6.5
- Density
- 22.6 g/cm³
- Streak
- Tin-white
- Luster
- Metallic
- Transparency
- Opaque
- Crystal system
- Cubic
- Crystal habit
- Grains, Nuggets, Cubes, Octahedrons
- Cleavage
- None
- Rarity
- Rare
- Uses
- Collector, Industrial
- Host rock
- Ultramafic Igneous Rocks, Placer Deposits
- Typical price
- $50-500 per gram depending on size and purity
Where rockhounds find native iridium
Classic worldwide localities
- Urals, Russia
- Transvaal, South Africa
- Goodnews Bay, Alaska
- British Columbia, Canada
- Tasmania, Australia
Field-hunting tip
Look in ultramafic igneous rocks, placer deposits country — that is the host setting where native iridium typically forms. If you start seeing platinum, magnetite, chromite in float, you are in the right ground. Field specimens usually show a grains, nuggets, cubes, octahedrons habit, so train your eye for that shape before scanning the outcrop.
Common questions
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Find native iridium on the map
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