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 6-7, softer than the next harder reference, harder than the previous one.
- 2Check the streakDrag the specimen across an unglazed porcelain plate. Streak: white.
- 3Read the lusterHold the specimen under a strong light. Luster: very high metallic.
- 4Match the color rangeCompare against the expected color range: white.
- 5Look at form & habitCrystal system: cubic. Typical habit: granular.
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 6-7 vs. 4-4.5); streak differs, so Native Iridium leaves white, Platinum leaves grayish white; luster reads very high metallic on Native Iridium and metallic on Platinum.
How to tell apart: Native Iridium is noticeably harder (Mohs 6-7 vs. 4.5-5); streak differs, so Native Iridium leaves white, Palladium leaves silver-white; luster reads very high metallic on Native Iridium and metallic on Palladium.
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
- 6-7
- Density
- 22.65-22.84 g/cm³
- Colors
- Streak
- White
- Luster
- Very high metallic
- Transparency
- Opaque
- Crystal system
- Cubic
- Crystal habit
- Granular
- Cleavage
- Indistinct on {001}
- Rarity
- Rare
- Uses
- Collector, Industrial
- Host rock
- As exsolution particles in Pt–Fe alloys
Where rockhounds find native iridium
Classic worldwide localities
- Goodnews Bay, Alaska, and in the Boss mine, Goodsprings district, Clark Co., Nevada, USA
- Nizhni Tagil, Ural Mountains, Russia
- Sorashigawa placer, ?? Prefecture, elsewhere??, Japan
- Bear Creek, in the Tulameen River district, British Columbia, and at the Wellgreen Ni–Cu–PGE deposit, Yukon Territory, Canada
- Witwatersrand, South Africa
- Ioma placer, Waria River, Yodda goldfield, Papua New Guinea
Field-hunting tip
Where it forms: As exsolution particles in Pt–Fe alloys. If you start seeing platinum, pt–fe alloys in float, you are in the right ground. Typical habit: granular. Train your eye for that shape before scanning the outcrop.
Common questions
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Find native iridium on the map
RockHoundR shows mapped rockhounding spots, access rules, and lets you log every find.
