Native elements (group) - Group of minerals containing naturally occurring minerals with a molecular structure of only one element; examples are Copper, Sulfur, and Diamond. Also included in this group are metallic and semi-metallic alloys, which are minerals composed only of two or more metallic or semi-metallic elements of varying percentage; two examples are Iron-Nickel (Fe,Ni) and Allemontite (As,Sb).
The minerals Gold and Platinum are considered native elements even though they are never 100% pure gold or platinum, containing indefinite traces of other elements, thereby causing them to be metallic alloys.
The native elements may be divided into three groups: The metallic elements, The semi-metallic elements, and the non metallic elements.