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Some minerals are not really in a family because
they are composed of only one element. There are only twenty elements
that are found in a native, solid state that we can classify as
minerals. Some of these elements are considered metallic
including gold, silver, copper, lead, platinum, palladium, iridium,
osmium, iron, nick, mercury, tantalum, tin, and zinc. There are also nonmetallic
native minerals including sulfur and carbon in the form of graphite and
diamond. Three native minerals are considered semimetals which
include arsenic, antimony, and bismuth.
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