I am not claiming that my rock find is a meteorite. I found this with my Minelab Musketeer over the weekend in a local park. It rings out nicely and I thought I had another quarter. In fact I get a strong tone response even with the discriminate turned to full. The rock was about 6 inches in the earth. I pulled it out of the hole thinking that the coin I was after was below it. Turns out the rock was my coin. I initially thought about cracking it open to see what was inside then decided to wait and see if someone had any suggestions. The rock is fairly smooth all over and about the size of an outstretched hand.
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Strange Rock
- Thread starter lloyd0161
- Start date
turtlefoot
New member
I don't know for sure but I find hematite from time to time. In all that I have found, the hematite shows through to the outside but I am sure there are samples where is doesn't. Is there a lot of limestone in the area that you are hunting?
Doug
Doug
The thing about meteorites is that they come as stony and metallic. Suggest a nearby museum of science. I'd take it to the Franklin Institute after calling and making and appointment with a meteorite specialist.
That shape apprear right for flight...
Don't cut it before asking and having an expert view it.
That shape apprear right for flight...
Don't cut it before asking and having an expert view it.
Too late, I cracked the rock open to see what was inside and this is what I find: The inside is a dark gray color with a granular texture. There appears to be very small flecks of metal. A refrigerator magnet barely clings to some spots while not in others (as seen in two of the photo's). There is a distinct thin crust which has some black on one side but not on the other at all. I have scrubbed at this and it has not changed. I did some more testing with the Minelab Musketeer on the two pieces and still have the same results. With the discriminate turned all the way up I get a clear positive signal.
Jim West Pa
New member
With magnetite in it.
Larry (IL)
Well-known member
That is a nice sample of natural magnetite worn smooth, likely by water action.
http://geology.com/minerals/magnetite.shtml
http://geology.com/minerals/magnetite.shtml
drillman1965
New member
lol i was thinking magnitite also however meterorites are magnetic also
drillman1965
New member
doesn t really look like a meteorite judging from the grain of it
Well, it really does not look anything like a meteorite. It does look like an ordinary rocks worn smooth by being in a stream bed at one time or being deposited by a glacier maybe. I'm a bonehead when it comes to geology. So, I would imagine that this is in fact some kind of ordinary rock with a slight magnetism. Someone above mentioned granite. It does look like granite I guess. Does granite frequently have magnetic properties? I have never found a rock that looks like granite that registered as a non ferrous material on my detector though. I even turned the disc all the way to full and still got a very good signal response. Will a magnetic rock do this with the Minelab Musketeer Advantage? This is only slightly magnetic; very week. Does magnetite have weak or strong magnetic properties? I was using a very weak refrigerator magnet for my test. I am sending a chip of this rock to someone that will help me ID the composition. So maybe I will know what it is for sure in the very near future.
Larry (IL) said:
I would agree with you but this rock has very weak magnetism. Your link suggests magnetite has very strong magnetism. It does have a similar overall color inside. I suppose that the outer "shell" being a lighter color could have been due to the minerals being leached out of the outer layers. It is almost like a thin egg shell of lighter colored material with a very dark grey inside. The inside also has very small clear glass looking granules as well as some very small metallic looking granules. These all appear to have sharp edges.
I also looked up magnetite and found several pictures where the magnetite actually attracted some pins as it is magnetic on its own. My sample will only hold a weak refrigerator magnet and is not magnetic on its own. Hence, a pin will not stick to it.
http://www.mindat.org/photo-215260.html