Native tin is an extremely rare element in nature, typically found as small, dull, silver-white grains in alluvial deposits. Collectors should look for heavy, soft metallic fragments that exhibit a bright luster on fresh surfaces, though they are prone to rapid tarnishing in air.
Is this native tin?
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 tin with a known reference. Native Tin sits at Mohs 2, softer than the next harder reference, harder than the previous one.
- 2Check the streakDrag the specimen across an unglazed porcelain plate. Streak: gray white.
- 3Read the lusterHold the specimen under a strong light. Luster: metallic.
- 4Match the color rangeCompare against the expected color range: grayish white, tin white.
- 5Look at form & habitCrystal system: tetragonal. Typical habit: granular.
Often confused with
Native Tin vs. its common look-alikes, and how to tell them apart in the field.
Often found alongside native tin
Minerals reported to co-occur with native tin. Spotting these in float or country rock is a strong cue you are in the right ground.
All properties
- Chemical formula
- Sn
- Mohs hardness
- 2
- Density
- 7.31 g/cm³
- Colors
- Streak
- Gray white
- Luster
- Metallic
- Transparency
- Opaque
- Crystal system
- Tetragonal
- Crystal habit
- Granular
- Cleavage
- Indistinct
- Rarity
- Rare
- Uses
- Collector, Scientific research
- Host rock
- Rare, in some placers; in unspecified kimberlite pipes; in seafloor spreading zones
Where rockhounds find native tin
Classic worldwide localities
- A placer in Broad Brook, Five Corners Hamlet, Windsor Co., Vermont, USA
- Nesbitt LaBine uranium mines, Beaverlodge area, Saskatchewan, Canada
- Rio Tamaná, the Department of Chocó, Cauca, Colombia
- Ilímaussaq intrusion, southern Greenland
- Badiko district, Bauchi, and in the Agbaja ironstone formation, Nigeria
- Oued Berkou, Algeria
Field-hunting tip
Where it forms: Rare, in some placers; in unspecified kimberlite pipes; in seafloor spreading zones. If you start seeing platinum, iridosmine, gold in float, you are in the right ground. Typical habit: granular. Train your eye for that shape before scanning the outcrop.
Common questions
How do you identify native tin?+
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What rocks look like native tin?+
What minerals are found with native tin?+
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Find native tin on the map
RockHoundR shows mapped rockhounding spots, access rules, and lets you log every find.
