Palladium is a rare, naturally occurring native metal belonging to the platinum group. It is typically found in small grains or nuggets within ultramafic rock complexes and secondary placer deposits, often associated with other noble metals.
Is this palladium?
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 palladium with a known reference. Palladium sits at Mohs 4.5-5, softer than the next harder reference, harder than the previous one.
- 2Check the streakDrag the specimen across an unglazed porcelain plate. Streak: silver-white.
- 3Read the lusterHold the specimen under a strong light. Luster: metallic.
- 4Match the color rangeCompare against the expected color range: white, steel gray.
- 5Look at form & habitCrystal system: cubic. Typical habit: granular.
Often confused with
Palladium vs. its common look-alikes, and how to tell them apart in the field.
How to tell apart: Streak differs, so Palladium leaves silver-white, Platinum leaves grayish white.
How to tell apart: Palladium is noticeably harder (Mohs 4.5-5 vs. 2.5-3).
How to tell apart: Palladium is noticeably harder (Mohs 4.5-5 vs. 2.5-3); streak differs, so Palladium leaves silver-white, Gold leaves yellow.
Often found alongside palladium
Minerals reported to co-occur with palladium. Spotting these in float or country rock is a strong cue you are in the right ground.
All properties
- Chemical formula
- Pd
- Mohs hardness
- 4.5-5
- Density
- 11.9 g/cm³
- Colors
- Streak
- Silver-white
- Luster
- Metallic
- Transparency
- Opaque
- Crystal system
- Cubic
- Crystal habit
- Granular
- Cleavage
- None
- Rarity
- Rare
- Uses
- Industrial, Catalyst, Collector, Jewelry
- Host rock
- An oxidation product of palladium-bearing sulfides and as a primary phase in platinum deposits
Where rockhounds find palladium
2 mapped spotsClassic worldwide localities
- Brazil (type locality), in Minas Gerais, from placers in the Bom Succeso Stream, northwest of Serro
- Itabira, as at the Cauê iron mine
- Placers in the Department of Chocó, Cauca, Colombia
- Placers in the Ural Mountains, Russia
- Lubin copper mine, near Legnica, Zechstein copper district, and in the weathered cover of the Szklary massif, Poland
- Transvaal, South Africa
Field-hunting tip
Where it forms: An oxidation product of palladium-bearing sulfides and as a primary phase in platinum deposits. If you start seeing pt–fe alloys, pd–hg minerals, gold in float, you are in the right ground. Typical habit: granular. Train your eye for that shape before scanning the outcrop. In the U.S., the densest reported localities are in Nevada. Start trip planning there.
Common questions
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Find palladium on the map
RockHoundR shows mapped rockhounding spots, access rules, and lets you log every find.
