Awaruite occurs in river placer deposits derived from serpentinized peridotites and ophiolites.

It occurs in association with native gold and magnetite in placers; with copper, heazlewoodite, pentlandite, violarite, chromite, and millerite in peridotites; with kamacite, allabogdanite, schreibersite and graphite in meteorites.

[2] It was first described in 1885 for an occurrence along Gorge River, near Awarua Bay, South Island, New Zealand, its type locality.

[5] An occurrence of awaruite was examined as an ore mineral in a large low grade deposit in central British Columbia, some 90 km northwest of Fort St. James.

In the deposit awaruite occurs disseminated in the Mount Sidney Williams ultramafic/ophiolite complex.