Sudburyite is a rare palladium antimonide mineral typically found as tiny metallic grains within massive sulfide deposits. It is most famous for its occurrence in the Sudbury Basin of Canada and is a prized find for advanced mineralogists and collectors of platinum-group element minerals.
Is this sudburyite?
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 sudburyite with a known reference. Sudburyite sits at Mohs 4.5, softer than the next harder reference, harder than the previous one.
- 2Check the streakDrag the specimen across an unglazed porcelain plate. Streak: white.
- 3Read the lusterHold the specimen under a strong light. Luster: metallic.
- 4Match the color rangeCompare against the expected color range: silver gray.
- 5Look at form & habitCrystal system: hexagonal. Typical habit: inclusions, microscopic crystals.
Often confused with
Sudburyite vs. its common look-alikes, and how to tell them apart in the field.
Often found alongside sudburyite
Minerals reported to co-occur with sudburyite. Spotting these in float or country rock is a strong cue you are in the right ground.
All properties
- Chemical formula
- PdSb
- Mohs hardness
- 4.5
- Density
- 9.37 g/cm³
- Colors
- Streak
- White
- Luster
- Metallic
- Transparency
- Opaque
- Crystal system
- Hexagonal
- Crystal habit
- Inclusions, microscopic crystals
- Cleavage
- None
- Rarity
- Rare
- Uses
- Collector
- Host rock
- As tiny inclusions, commonly in cobaltite or maucherite, in mechanical concentrates of platinum-group minerals (Sudbury, Canada)
Where rockhounds find sudburyite
Classic worldwide localities
- Copper Cliff South (type locality) and Frood mines, Sudbury, Ontario, Canada
- Wellgreen Cu–Ni–Pt–Pd deposit, Yukon Territory, Canada
- Danba, Sichuan Province, China
- Baula complex, Orissa, India
- Kambalda, 56 km south of Kalgoorlie, Western Australia
- Onverwacht and Tweefontein pipes, on the Merensky Reef, Bushveldt complex, and from the Witwatersrand, Transvaal, South Africa
Field-hunting tip
Where it forms: As tiny inclusions, commonly in cobaltite or maucherite, in mechanical concentrates of platinum-group minerals (Sudbury, Canada). If you start seeing cobaltite, maucherite, gersdorffite in float, you are in the right ground. Typical habit: inclusions, microscopic crystals. Train your eye for that shape before scanning the outcrop.
Common questions
How do you identify sudburyite?+
Where is sudburyite found?+
Is sudburyite safe to handle?+
What rocks look like sudburyite?+
What minerals are found with sudburyite?+
What kind of rock does sudburyite form in?+
What is sudburyite used for?+
Find sudburyite on the map
RockHoundR shows mapped rockhounding spots, access rules, and lets you log every find.
