In nature, only a few elements occur in their native form as a single, solid element, not chemically combined with others. Gold, the best known example, is less chemically active than most other elements that exist in solid form. Gold occurs as tiny particles in rocks; as hot water seeps through bedrock, it may carry the gold bits until they accumulate into small nuggets. A few other metals, such as silver and copper, are sometimes found in small standalone amounts in nature. Whether silver, copper, and platinum combine with other elements or remain as native elements depends on their proximity to other chemically active substances. A few nonmetallic elements also may occur in native form. For example, plain sulfur collects around the vents of hot springs and volcanoes, as well as in sedimentary structures like salt domes. In nature, carbon can appear in two different native forms, graphite and diamond, depending on how much heat and pressure have been applied to it.

Polymorphic minerals have the same chemical composition but different crystal structures. (The word "polymorphic" means "many forms" in Greek.) These structures may have vastly different properties. Polymorphism occurs because the minerals crystallized under different temperature and pressure conditions. The most well-known example of polymorphism is carbon: it occurs both as graphite - a soft, opaque mineral that splits into layers - and diamond - transparent and the hardest substance on Earth. Silicon dioxide has several polymorphs: quartz, tridymite, cristobalite, coesite, stishovite, and seifertite. The last three of these polymorphs form only under extreme conditions of temperature and pressure - in meteorite impacts in nature or experiments in the laboratory.

About 200 years ago, scientists studying electricity realized that metals allowed electrical currents to flow through them much more easily than most nonmetals. Because of its relative abundance, high electrical conductivity, and malleability (or ability to be shaped), copper has become the standard material for electrical wiring and switching. Certain types of low-iron silicates, such as muscovite and pyrophyllite, are naturally occurring electrical insulators. Glass or porcelain insulators, made from such minerals as quartz and feldspar, keep high-voltage power-transmission lines from touching their poles. Pyrolusite is the naturally occurring mineral version of manganese oxide, which is inside every non-rechargeable alkaline battery. Gasoline-powered articles start their engines with a jolt of electricity from lead-acid batteries, which get their lead from the mineral galena. Other rechargeable batteries contain nickel, cadmium, or other metals, found in a variety of ores.