Nugget

[chaindropz]

I have a nugget that I think is palladium. I have about 2 oz. I cut a nugget off the large nugget and hit it with a hammer. It is mallable. To view the nugget go to chaindropzoctagonhouse.blogspot.com or ringdrops.blogspot.com and then view profile then click on rocks and minerals. How can I identify the nugget.

 

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[chaindropz]

Thanks I can't get to the site. It helps to know it is not just me.

 

[chaindropz]

Here is the small nugget I cut of the larger nugget.

 

[chaindropz]

If you visit my blog when the site is back up you can get more information. I would say it is very heavy. The sp. Gr. I got was 9.9 but this is not accurate because it has cavities that trap air. I have a jeweler helping me identify this nugget. The other part is very large over 40 grams. You will get a kick out of my methods. They are helpful in identifing rocks. I think the sp. gr. is above 10 which would make it in the silver range but marble would not scratch the nuget and obsidian barely scratched it so the hardness is around 4.5( not silver as I thought it was).

 

[djui5]

Take a white piece of printer paper, and run the smaller nugget across it. Tell me what color the streak is.
Also see if it will scratch the side of a knife blade.

 

[chaindropz]

Very good question Randy
Marble has the hardness of 4 and obsidian has the hardness of 5.
Marble would not scratch the nugget and obsidian will make a scratch. So that establishes the hardness at about 4.5. A Knife blade is about 5.5 mohs for the streak I have used a piece of ceramic and it looked a little gray but when the light hit it just right it shines like silver. Look at # 46 & # 47 on the link below. This nugget is locked up and no longer in my rock collection. When I determined it was not silver and I don't believe it could be nickel. I give it lots more respect and I wish I had never hit it with a hammer. I am glad I cut some off before I butchered the big nugget.

http://www.themineralgallery.com/goldroom1.htm

 

[djui5]

platinums streak is steel grey It's hardness is 4-4.5. Might just be a bit of platinum you found there. Could be Nickel too, it has the same characteristics.

Might wanna have that little bit you knocked off assayed.

 

[chaindropz]

I am having a problem finding where to assay the nugget. I believe that is in the platinum group. Most likely palladium. nickel ore is brittle and I have not found an example of nickel nuggets. My jeweler was in touch with a master jeweler that said if it changed color when heated it was not platinum. It did change color. I am now sure that that proves that it is palladium. It looks like a platinum nugget and paladium is a PGM. Did you look at the links I provided or my blog.

 

[Postalrevnant]

I just sent a good amount of silver and gold jewelry to these guys:

http://www.midwestrefineries.com/

Other member's here have had success with them. I have also seen one negative post on them. I have a pawn shop owner friend who was happy with them and enough members here for me to send in. Thier turn around is supposted to be around 5 days according to most peps I have seen use them. I would say that I will find out how it went a little less than 2 weeks from now. I will be posting what I thought of it.

Read the site. They say the assay, buy, create bars...etc.. for a percentage of the market value. They do Platinum and Palladium too I think. Check em out and call them for questions. They were extremely helpful when I called and its 1-800 number. Then if you want wait for my post and see also how they did with what I sent them as well.

Good luck. I hope that is a chunk of Plat you have there. Certainly looks like a great find.

Postalrevnant

 

[chaindropz]

Thank you post.
That is the kind of information I was hoping to find. I am still working with my jeweler and we are waiting on a man who is a rockhound to give us some advice after he looks at the nuggets. We have been told by some that if we don't know what metal it is they will not assay the metal. I thought that was why you used an assayer. I will post a picture of the larger nugget that I tried to shatter with a hammer. This is the side after the jeweler cleaned it with some kind of buffer.
Thanks Again
chaindropz

 

[chaindropz]

What Assayer do you recommend and what does it cost. Postalrevna gave me a name and I appreciate any information on assayers because I know that is my next step.
I will see my Jeweler tomorrow and see what he has learned. I am not going to move fast on this but I think I need to speed up a little I have had this a few years. It has been in a rock collection that was misplaced. Now I am willing to spend a little to find out what it is worth.

 

[Monty]

How expensive is an essay? I have a mystery substance I found last summer. Monty

 

[chaindropz]

Thanks Mrs. Oroblan I will print my post and take to the jeweler today. I am like Monty about the price but I suspect you may get a discount where I may be a one time customer. Thanks for the information I can call these people and get the price from them. Thanks again. Chaindropz

Monty you can do a lot to identify a substance and I suggest you try. Post back if you have not used the mohs scale, specific gravity or a streak test. These are three very inexpensive methods for identifying anything. I am working on a blog on rocks and minerals and will soon post my updated scales that I built for obtaining specific gravity. I was almost certain my nugget was platinum before I ask anyone for help. It is still in the running for a platinum group metal. I would hope for a high Rhodium content but it’s probably going to be nickel.
This board has a lot of knowledge and is very helpful. I promise I will post the results sometime in the distant future of my assay report.
my last nugget found separate. All three total 63.8g on the jewelers scales.

 

[chaindropz]

Thank you! You are a great help.
I am headed to my Jeweler with my new information.

I am sorry about the last picture. Thanks again.
chaindropz

 

[Monty]

That looks a lot like my mystery substance. I posted it once on Tnet but no one had a clue. It has a silver crystaline structure and tarnishes black where exposed to air. I at first thought it was silver, but I have about changed my mind. It is heavier than iron or steel, softer than steel, but not as soft as lead. I can't see much of any residue when I do the scratch test, just a faint gray smudge. So, Maybe someday I'll get curious enough to have it assayed. Monty

 

[chaindropz]

Go some where that you can buy labeled rock samples. They will usually have the hardness on the sample.
You can use these samples to scratch your sample to determine closer to the hardness of your mystery rock. If it is not refined by man and you can cut a peace off and hammer it flat you have a nugget of something. It is very unusual to find something that is malleable in the lower 48 unless you’re panning below a mother load. Mrs. Oroblan would know if I am right on that statement. A Childs Geology kit usually comes with a streak plate that looks like a small peace of marble except I think it is ceramic and harder. The sp. Gr. Is harder to determine. This is heaver than that is not very accurate. Almost any attempt to obtain the Sp. Gr. is much more accurate. I have measured 8.4 Sp. Gr. on brass which gave me confidence in my ability to obtain sp. Gr.

To Mrs. Oroblan I have not been able to reach the assayer that you recommended until now.
He called and talk to me. He no longer does assays but he recommended David H Fell & Company.
I have talk to them and they will do the work for me. Thanks again Mrs Oroblan.
Good luck Monty they are going to charge me $40.

 

[chaindropz]

I am new and don't know where my post went or why?
Thanks to Mrs Oroblanco I will know the results of the Assay today or tomorrow. I would be glad to post the results for her and the others that helped me.

 

[djui5]

I would be glad to post the results for her and the others that helped me.

Yes please!

 

[bakergeol]

Good luck on the assay.
Perhaps the thing that bothers me are the small round holes
which suggest melting and not a natural nugget. The rounded globs also.

I hope your assay comes back and you can say "You Suck" to me.

Good Luck
George

 

[chaindropz]

Thanks george

On the goldroom site #46 and #47 look simular to the nugget I sent to be assayed. If I have been fooled and it has been melted. It would take a rock hound to have so many of the right statistics for a pgm. I still know it could turn out to be nickel. I think it is good to have people post different views. Tell me what you think after looking at # 46 & # 47.




look at # 46 and #47

http://www.themineralgallery.com/goldroom1.htm