Why are only some minerals found as native minerals? For example, iron and aluminum are almost never found as native elements in nature.

Answer: Metals found as native minerals in nature are not highly reactive

Explanation:

Native minerals refers to minerals that are found in nature in their pure metallic form such as gold. Iron and aluminum are highly reactive metals. Highly reactive metals are far up in the activity series of metals, they have a great tendency towards oxidation. On the other hand, noble metals have less tendency towards oxidation and are found close to the bottom of the activity series for example, gold.