What Is a List of Metallic Minerals?
A list of metallic minerals includes copper, silver, nickel-iron and gold. Other metallic minerals are mercury, which is the only metal that’s a liquid at room temperature, platinum and bismuth.
Copper can be found in crystals or in sometimes quite large masses. It is an excellent conductor of heat and electricity. Only silver is a better conductor, and its rarity and cost are why its use as a conductor isn’t more widespread. Copper is one of the few metals that’s not silvery or gray. Instead, it’s a familiar shiny golden-red color. Its alloys, particularly bronze and brass, are also used in industry and construction.
Silver is rarely found as crystals; it is more often found in wire-like forms and dendrites. It’s a soft metal that can be polished to a bright silvery color, but it tarnishes easily. Silver is used in photography, as jewelry, in electronics and as currency.
Nickel-iron is never found in crystals but in great sheets and masses. It’s also found in grains enclosed in other minerals. It’s fairly hard and becomes harder as the percentage of nickel increases. It’s also malleable and magnetic. It’s an excellent material for the steel industry.
Platinum is found as grains, plates and sometimes nuggets. A noble metal, it’s somewhat hard, malleable, ductile and very heavy. It’s used in jewelry and as a catalyst.
