In 2013, Cabezas et al. reported the detection of hydromagnesium isocyanide (HMgNC) both in the laboratory and toward IRC+10216. The observations were made with the IRAM 30m telescope on Pico Veleta in Spain. The detection has not yet been confirmed or supplemented with observations toward other sources or with isotopic substitutions. HMgNC was formed in the lab by ablating a Mg rod with a laser in very dilute ethylcyanide.

HMgNC is a linear molecule related to the first Mg-containing species that was discovered, magnesium isocyanide, MgNC.