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, so 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, so 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, 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
RockHoundR shows mapped rockhounding spots, access rules, and lets you log every find.
