possible ataxite?

[inhochsignovinces]

i found this while metal detecting on a plough field. Very heavy , slighlty attracted to magnet, possible fusion crust on top, metalic. No widmanstatten pattern at etching with feric chloride . I'm confuse now

 

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[Red-Coat]

Welcome to Tnet

Widmanstetten figures arise from the interwoven lamellar crystallisation of the two nickel-iron alloys kamacite and taenite in octahedrite iron meteorites (and some pallasites). Kamacite has a low nickel content compared to taenite.

Ataxites are composed principally of taenite with only minor amounts of kamacite and the resultant high-nickel composition means that they do not exhibit Widmanstatten figures when etched.

Nevertheless it’s not an ataxite, nor a meteorite of any kind. Any meteorite showing as much as metal as in your specimen would be very strongly magnetic not just “slightly attracted to a magnet”.

 

[Red-Coat]

PS: although not relevant to your specimen because it's not a meteorite, Widmanstatten figures are not always evident after etching... even when kamacite and taenite are present in the necessary amounts.

Sometimes the scale of the pattern is sufficiently large that you won't see it on a small specimen. A bit like expecting to see the stripes on the American flag if you only had a small piece of its red or white fabric.

 

[inhochsignovinces]

Thank you for your reply Red Coat !!! What else could it be

do you know a place in the uk where can I get it tested?

 

[Red-Coat]

Thank you for your reply Red Coat !!! What else could it be

do you know a place in the uk where can I get it tested?

Sorry, I only just noticed that you had responded again.

I hadn’t realised that you are in the UK… do I read you correctly? Was this specimen actually found in the UK? If so, that considerably narrows down the possibilities for anything natural. The only likely possibilities for something as metallic as your specimen where the metal could (rarely) be in native form would be lead, tin, silver or combinations thereof in admixture with other minerals. I don’t see any yellowness, so admixture with copper isn’t likely. All of these would be relatively soft and give distinctive streaks on the back of a porcelain tile.

It also appears that you have cut or ground one surface yourself(?). What you used to achieve this and with what degree of difficulty will also give an indication of what kind of metal/alloy it might be. As will the locality where you originally found it. You haven’t given any of this information.

If it’s a man-made smelting product (including the possibility for it being historic) then there’s a wider set of possibilities and wider still if it’s a piece of something from a modern industrial process.

You might try ringing around scrap merchants in your area to see if anyone has an XRF gun and will scan it for you. That would at least give you some pointers from its proximate composition.

Proper ‘wet-chemistry’ analysis from a laboratory will give you an exact composition, but will cost you and probably won’t do much more than satisfy your curiosity about the composition but without necessarily telling you its origin.

You could also mail some good, sharp pictures to the Natural History Museum identification service at [email protected]

Don’t snowstorm them with pictures but make sure to show the exterior and interior (in close-up too if possible), and give them as much information as you can… as a concise summary. Magnetic strength, streak result, hardness, XRF scan if you can get it done, find location.

Good luck.

 

[inhochsignovinces]

Thank you again Red Coat !

Yes I'm in the UK ! The item was found metal detecting somewhere between Sheffiels and Huddersfield . Yes I have ground the surface myself . Was easy . The only flat surface. I used a rotary machine to remove what I believed to be fusion crust (lol I know) , after , plain sand paper grit 1500 to 7000. The finish mirror I made it using cigarette ash on a soft microfiber cloth. In my opinion the metal is soft enough . Also is strongly etched by the ferric chloride . I wil try to find a scrap yard who owns a PMI gun ! I will keep you updated !

 

[inhochsignovinces]

those are the values