How many elements occur naturally?
The number depends on what is counted: the traditional figure is 92 elements, from hydrogen through uranium. But trace quantities of some elements, including technetium and plutonium, are produced by natural nuclear processes and have been detected in ores. So “92” is a useful traditional approximation, not a complete count of every element ever found in nature. “In the free state” is also imprecise: most elements occur in compounds or minerals.
The traditional count is 92 through uranium, though some heavier elements have also been found in nature in trace amounts.