Platinum is a dense, malleable, and highly corrosion-resistant precious metal that typically occurs as metallic grains or nuggets in ultramafic rocks and placer deposits. Collectors should look for its characteristic silvery-white color and extreme heaviness compared to similarly colored iron minerals like magnetite. It is most commonly found associated with sulfide minerals in large layered igneous intrusions.
Is this platinum?
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 platinum with a known reference. Platinum sits at Mohs 4-4.5 — softer than the next harder reference, harder than the previous one.
- 2Check the streakDrag the specimen across an unglazed porcelain plate. Platinum leaves a steel-gray streak.
- 3Read the lusterHold the specimen under a strong light. Platinum typically shows a metallic luster.
- 4Match the color rangeCompare against the expected color range: silvery-white, light steel-gray.
- 5Look at form & habitCrystal system: cubic. Typical habit: nuggets, grains, cubes, octahedra.
Often confused with
Platinum vs. its common look-alikes — and how to tell them apart in the field.
How to tell apart: Platinum is noticeably harder (Mohs 4-4.5 vs. 2.5-3); streak differs — Platinum leaves steel-gray, Silver leaves silver-white.
How to tell apart: Streak differs — Platinum leaves steel-gray, Palladium leaves silver-white.
How to tell apart: Sperrylite is the harder of the two (Mohs 6-7 vs. 4-4.5); streak differs — Platinum leaves steel-gray, Sperrylite leaves black.
Often found alongside platinum
Minerals reported to co-occur with platinum. Spotting these in float or country rock is a strong cue you are in the right ground.
All properties
- Chemical formula
- Pt
- Mohs hardness
- 4-4.5
- Density
- 14-19 g/cm³
- Streak
- Steel-gray
- Luster
- Metallic
- Transparency
- Opaque
- Crystal system
- Cubic
- Crystal habit
- Nuggets, Grains, Cubes, Octahedra
- Cleavage
- None
- Rarity
- Rare
- Uses
- Industrial, Investment, Jewelry, Collector
- Host rock
- Ultramafic Igneous Rocks, Alluvial Placer Deposits
- Typical price
- $50-200 per gram for raw specimens depending on purity and size
Where rockhounds find platinum
23 mapped spotsClassic worldwide localities
- Bushveld Complex, South Africa
- Norilsk, Russia
- Sudbury Basin, Canada
- Chocó Department, Colombia
- Stillwater Complex, USA
U.S. states with platinum
Each link opens a state-specific list of mapped rockhounding spots that produce platinum.
Field-hunting tip
Look in ultramafic igneous rocks, alluvial placer deposits country — that is the host setting where platinum typically forms. If you start seeing chromite, olivine, pyroxene in float, you are in the right ground. Field specimens usually show a nuggets, grains, cubes, octahedra habit, so train your eye for that shape before scanning the outcrop. In the U.S., the densest reported localities are in Nevada, North Carolina, Oregon — start trip planning there.
Common questions
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Find platinum on the map
RockHoundR shows mapped rockhounding spots, access rules, and lets you log every find.
