Hafnium is never found as the free element in nature.

It is
found in the ore alvite [(Hf, Th, Zr)SiO .xH O] and thortveitite.
4 2

Most zirconium minerals (zircon, baddelyite) contain 1 to 3%

hafnium and in practice most hafnium is produced as a
byproduct of zirconium production, presumably because it is
necessary to remove the hafnium from the zirconium used in
the nuclear industries.

Tantalum is found mainly in the minerals tantalite

[(Fe,Mn)Ta O ] (easily confused with columbite, the niobium
2 6

analogue of tantalite) and euxenite. Ores are found in

Australia, Brazil, Mozambique, Thailand, Portugal, Nigeria,
Zaire and Canada. It is also a byproduct from the extraction
of tin.
Tungsten is found in wolframite (iron-manganese tungstate,
FeWO /MnWO ) and scheelite (calcium tungstate, CaWO )
4 4 4

ores. China produces 75% of the world's tungsten.

Rhenium does not occur as the free element in nature.

Rhenium is found as minor components in the mineral
gadolinite, which contains beryllium, and molybdenite,
which contains molybdenum. In practice, it is extracted
commonly as a byproduct from molybdenum smelter flue
dust.

Osmium if found as the free element in iridiosmium, a

naturally occurring alloy of iridium and osmium, and with
platinum-bearing sands and ores.
Iridium is found as the free element alloyed with platinum
and other platinum metals. Naturally occurring alloys
include osmiridium and iridiosmium, both mixtures of iridium
and osmium.

Platinum is found as the free element, usually mixed with

other metals including gold, nickel, copper, palladium,
ruthenium, rhodium, iridium, and osmium in Columbia, the
USA, Ontario (Canada) and the Urals (USSR). Platiniridium is
a naturally occurring platinum/iridium alloy. Platinum is also
found in ores such as sperrylite (platinum arsenide, PtAs )
2

and cooperite (platinum sulphide, PtS).

Gold is found as the free element in nature and associated

with quartz, pyrite and other minerals. Two thirds of the
world's supply comes from South Africa. Much of the USA
production is from the states South Dakota and Nevada.
Gold is found in sea water (about 5-6 g in a million tonnes of
seawater), but no effective economic process has been
designed (yet) to extract it from this source.
Mercury only occurs rarely as the free element in nature.
Overall, it is a rare element in the earth's crust. Its main
source is cinnabar ore (HgS) from Spain and Italy. The
Almaden mine in Spain has been in continuous operation
since 400 BC. Other sources include Yogoslavia, Russia, and
North America.