Native lead is an extremely rare, soft, and heavy metallic mineral. It is often found as small grains or heavy plates in specialized geologic environments like metamorphosed manganese deposits or specific hydrothermal veins.
Is this native lead?
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 lead with a known reference. Native Lead sits at Mohs 1.5 — softer than the next harder reference, harder than the previous one.
- 2Check the streakDrag the specimen across an unglazed porcelain plate. Native Lead leaves a blue-gray streak.
- 3Read the lusterHold the specimen under a strong light. Native Lead typically shows a metallic luster.
- 4Match the color rangeCompare against the expected color range: lead-gray, bluish-white.
- 5Look at form & habitCrystal system: cubic. Typical habit: rarely cubic crystals, usually found as flattened grains or rounded masses.
Often confused with
Native Lead vs. its common look-alikes — and how to tell them apart in the field.
How to tell apart: Galena is the harder of the two (Mohs 2.5 vs. 1.5); streak differs — Native Lead leaves blue-gray, Galena leaves lead-gray.
How to tell apart: Silver is the harder of the two (Mohs 2.5-3 vs. 1.5); streak differs — Native Lead leaves blue-gray, Silver leaves silver-white.
Often found alongside native lead
Minerals reported to co-occur with native lead. Spotting these in float or country rock is a strong cue you are in the right ground.
All properties
- Chemical formula
- Pb
- Mohs hardness
- 1.5
- Density
- 11.34 g/cm³
- Colors
- Streak
- Blue-gray
- Luster
- Metallic
- Transparency
- Opaque
- Crystal system
- Cubic
- Crystal habit
- Rarely Cubic Crystals, Usually Found as Flattened Grains or Rounded Masses
- Cleavage
- None
- Rarity
- Rare
- Uses
- Collector, Scientific Specimen
- Host rock
- Hydrothermal Veins, Metamorphosed Manganese Deposits
- Typical price
- $50-500 depending on specimen size and purity
Where rockhounds find native lead
Classic worldwide localities
- Långban, Sweden
- Franklin, New Jersey, USA
- Langley, British Columbia, Canada
Field-hunting tip
Look in hydrothermal veins, metamorphosed manganese deposits country — that is the host setting where native lead typically forms. If you start seeing galena, native silver, hausmannite in float, you are in the right ground. Field specimens usually show a rarely cubic crystals, usually found as flattened grains or rounded masses habit, so train your eye for that shape before scanning the outcrop.
Common questions
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Find native lead on the map
RockHoundR shows mapped rockhounding spots, access rules, and lets you log every find.
