Tungsten is an extremely rare native metal that is significantly denser than most common minerals, often noted for its immense weight in a small volume. It is highly resistant to heat and corrosion, primarily found in minute quantities within specific placer deposits or hydrothermal veins associated with tungsten ores. Due to its extreme melting point, it is almost never found in its native elemental form in nature compared to its common oxide ores.
Is this tungsten?
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 tungsten with a known reference. Tungsten sits at Mohs ~7.5, softer than the next harder reference, harder than the previous one.
- 2Check the streakDrag the specimen across an unglazed porcelain plate. Streak: gray.
- 3Read the lusterHold the specimen under a strong light. Luster: metallic.
- 4Match the color rangeCompare against the expected color range: steel gray, silver white.
- 5Look at form & habitCrystal system: cubic. Typical habit: rarely found as crystals, usually massive or as small grains.
Often confused with
Tungsten vs. its common look-alikes, and how to tell them apart in the field.
Often found alongside tungsten
Minerals reported to co-occur with tungsten. Spotting these in float or country rock is a strong cue you are in the right ground.
All properties
- Chemical formula
- W
- Mohs hardness
- ~7.5
- Density
- 19.226 g/cm³
- Colors
- Streak
- Gray
- Luster
- Metallic
- Transparency
- Opaque
- Crystal system
- Cubic
- Crystal habit
- Rarely found as crystals, usually massive or as small grains
- Cleavage
- None
- Rarity
- Rare
- Uses
- Industrial, Collector
- Host rock
- From gold placers in a river valley and in heavy concentrates from crushed quartz
Where rockhounds find tungsten
13 mapped spotsClassic worldwide localities
- Bol’shaya Pol’ya river valley, Prepolar Urals (type locality), and in vein #91, Dodo mine, Mt. Neroyka rock-crystal field, Ust-Puiva, Tyumenskaya Oblast’, Russia (type locality)
- Confirmed from other localities in Russia
- Petroliferous conglomerates of the Volyn, in Ukraine
- Inclusions in diamonds in the kimberlites of Shandong Province, China
- Luobusha ophiolite, Tibet
- South Africa
Field-hunting tip
Where it forms: From gold placers in a river valley and in heavy concentrates from crushed quartz. If you start seeing yttriaite-, quartz, siderite in float, you are in the right ground. Typical habit: rarely found as crystals, usually massive or as small grains. Train your eye for that shape before scanning the outcrop. In the U.S., the densest reported localities are in Nevada, Montana, Idaho. Start trip planning there.
Common questions
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Find tungsten on the map
RockHoundR shows mapped rockhounding spots, access rules, and lets you log every find.
