Native Elements

Native elements are made of elements of a single kind. They include native gold, diamond and graphite.
The native gold displayed here is from the Shishiori mine in Miyagi Prefecture. This is "monster gold," the largest gold nugget in this country.
Two kinds of minerals, diamond and graphite, are made of carbon alone. While diamond is hard enough to cut glass, graphite is such a soft mineral that some will rub off in your hand when you hold it. The hardness of the two minerals differs because their carbon atoms are arranged differently in their crystal structures.