Maybe someone can help me identify this rock I found. I was detecting in the Southern Ca high desert near Randsburg. It gave me a super hard signal. I thought maybe a "hotrock", but it is NOT magnetic! I ground a portion of it off and it is silver/black metallic looking (shiny spot in the picture). Could it be Silver?? Nickle?? Platinum?? Meteorite?? Please help.
Thanks
I found a rock similar to that in Arizona while gold hunting near payson 4 years ago.Looks like magnetite to me. If it has any reddish spots in the rock , It is definite magnetite/hematite, an iron ore. A rock shop might still give you some bucks for it so don't throw it out. It doesn't look right for a meteorite.
-tom
SPHALERIT (Zn, Fe)S, Zinc Iron Sulfide and when the iron is not present, makes some really cool crystals.
In a nut shell, High grade zinc ore.... I would look for the Limonite deposit that spit it out, Normally the strata will go oxidized limonite(micron gold)/sphalerit cap and decent gold at the bottom of the cap at the sheer zone.
This is going by the pic, Silver is a possible contender as well as some Pyrites.
"Exploration is the Foundation of the Modern World"
It sure looks "volcanic" in orgin!
AND!
HAY!
It could be a Type of Meteorite
You know, the kind blown out of a volcano,
A!
Volcanic Bomb?
Any volcanos in the general area (w/in 10-20 miles?)
Sphalerite(?) has a red/ reddish yellow streak and also, when struck, has a sulfur odor. If it is soft, it could be molybdenum or it could be psilominane(?)
From the photo it should be either galena, silver or platinum. Buried silver can sometimes be tarnished black, but most natural silver comes out of the ground looking "silvery" as heck. Exposed silver will tarnish from a dull grey to black. Take it to a jeweller/gemologist for quick identification, and pls lets us know the results.
if you cannot figure it out, send it to me i could take it to work and have one of the guys shoot it with a analizer, we got it for checking weld compositions, a had a piece that had me stumped, that he tested and it was 98% zinc, which had a grey and white exterior, and shined up nice, as your piece does
Did you ever get that silvery material in the host rock checked? I believe it will be either galena (check the streak on some unfinished porcelain...it's lead grey whereas silver is silvery-white) or silver (platinum is possible too). It is not molybdenite, I was checking some samples tonight and molybdenite gives only the faintest response even if the ground balance is jacked way up into the high magnetite range. No way. And pyrite would not give you a good signal response either.
SPHALERIT (Zn, Fe)S, Zinc Iron Sulfide and when the iron is not present, makes some really cool crystals.
In a nut shell, High grade zinc ore.... I would look for the Limonite deposit that spit it out, Normally the strata will go oxidized limonite(micron gold)/sphalerit cap and decent gold at the bottom of the cap at the sheer zone.
This is going by the pic, Silver is a possible contender as well as some Pyrites.
I think it looks like Biotite that is a common phyllosilicate mineral within the mica group.......
it is an indicator rock when looking for gold....
db
Anyone else have more info on this statement? I know where there is a good bit of Biotite and quartz not far from my house, but I sure haven't found any gold there, yet anyway.
As to the rock, pictured; I am sorry I don't know enough about it to offer any feedback.
The gold is down there dig deeper. If that doesn't work dig deeper...
I think it looks like Biotite that is a common phyllosilicate mineral within the mica group.......
it is an indicator rock when looking for gold....
db
Anyone else have more info on this statement? I know where there is a good bit of Biotite and quartz not far from my house, but I sure haven't found any gold there, yet anyway.
As to the rock, pictured; I am sorry I don't know enough about it to offer any feedback.
Nah, Biotite has nothing to do with gold..
Except it's very common and as such could be found with gold...
Most/all Granite consist partly of Biotite..
But Biotite doesn't have a metallic surface, hence this is not Biotite!
Hematite is a possibility.. Makes a reddish streak against a unglazed piece of porcelain.
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Originally Posted by tvanwho
