Can anyone help me identify this? Found on my property in TX (digging - deep in grou)

[GSnider]

 

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[xr7ator]

Campfire nugget. Melted cans.

 

[Fat]

It looks like melted aluminum poured into an anthills hole. I’ve seen a few different attempts. You pour down the hole and than after it cools down, you carefully dig up the sculpture left over..

 

[Tony in SC]

Welcome to Tnet. Will it stick to a magnet?

 

[xr7ator]

LOL! A new use for those old ant farms!

 

[Kj Upton]

Now that’s what you call a fire ant

 

[GSnider]

Hi all, it will not stick to a magnet & my son/ husband tried cutting it with torch with no luck. I also attempted to use a hammer to break it with no luck? It is a silvery/gold color with black on it- there are also several smaller pieces we have found all over our property along with some rocks with the same silver/gold stuff in it?
I have never heard of poring melted aluminum down any hills- interesting. Is there a way to test it to see if it is indeed aluminum? It is pretty heavy.

 

[Joe-Dirt]

Someone may have torched a car. I find them from time to time on remote roads here in Massachusetts where torching cars used to be the state pastime ):

 

[No gold in NY]

I'll go with campfire nugget. The gold staining could be from other contaminants in the fire.
Here is a quite hefty one I dug...

 

[ARC]

Hi all, it will not stick to a magnet & my son/ husband tried cutting it with torch with no luck. I also attempted to use a hammer to break it with no luck? It is a silvery/gold color with black on it- there are also several smaller pieces we have found all over our property along with some rocks with the same silver/gold stuff in it?
I have never heard of poring melted aluminum down any hills- interesting. Is there a way to test it to see if it is indeed aluminum? It is pretty heavy.

"Area 51" comes to mind.

 

[eman1000]

Can you scratch it? Aluminum is soft so pressure from a key should scratch it. It you can scratch it and a magnet will not stick then it is probably Aluminum slag. I find it from time to time a home sites where cans have been thrown into the fire. Seems odd that it doesn't melt though... A propane torch should melt the aluminum in 30-40 seconds

 

[xr7ator]

A metal that can't be cut with a cutting torch!? ARC must be on the right track with alien material, then!

 

[4treasures]

That looks a lot like slag ("trash metal") that I've found (also in Texas, in a park that used to be a WW1 training camp before soldiers were sent off). Sometimes those slag castoffs actually contained a good amount of precious metals, you might want to test it to see!

Edit: Since you are:
1. finding this all over your property
2. It didn't cut with a torch
3. You are finding similar metal in rocks on your property

I'd ABSOLUTELY test it (even just acid tests, cheap on amazon), as well as testing the minerals you can visibly see in the rocks. Heck, with those three variables, I'd probably get it assayed asap.
Good luck! Hey, what area of TX? That will be a big clue!

 

[Reanm8er]

Having not said cutting torch I'd offer this perspective. Aluminum is a terrific conductor of heat or cold. It basically resists being flame cut by wicking the heat away to the other parts
of the piece. This causes the piece to melt all at once when heated, but that takes a lot of heat.

I found an old "Guardian Ware" griddle at a scrap yard. It was originally meant to be used on a wood stove or campfire. It's 20" in diameter and 3/8" thick with heavy handles on both sides.
I bead blasted it clean and I use it for thawing frozen foods. Cuts thawing time in half, because the area of the platter that's not covered by the food is constantly trying to reach the same
temp as the part the food is touching. Best wishes

 

[GSnider]

Hi again - I tried scratching with a knife as well as flathead screw driver & was not successful in creating a scratch ��. I am not sure if it is the aluminum/ campfire metal or some other strange residual left from prior individuals melting items. I am in the southern part of Johnson County, close to the old Chisholm Trail (back in the day)

 

[GSnider]

Hi- how would I get this assayed? I am new to this & am not sure what steps are involved with finding out who or where to take this or a smaller piece to get it assayed. Thank you

 

[ARC]

Hi again - I tried scratching with a knife as well as flathead screw driver & was not successful in creating a scratch ��. I am not sure if it is the aluminum/ campfire metal or some other strange residual left from prior individuals melting items. I am in the southern part of Johnson County, close to the old Chisholm Trail (back in the day)

Ok... you did not use a screwdriver with the words "Play-School" on it did you ? ? ?

IF you in fact tried HARD... and i mean above just trying... to scratch that piece... AND without doing so much as a slight scratch...

Um... you re definitely outta my category... and without joking... possibly "out of this world"... heh

The only other thing in mind would be melted stainless.

 

[Reanm8er]

Try a regular metal file. Sometimes molten items can absorb particulate or even gaseous substances that may alter the
working characteristics of the metal. In example Grade S steel. High carbon steel alloyed with silicates. Makes great car
springs or one hell of a knife. It work hardens very easily, that is just the act of drilling or sawing the stuff is not easily
done without a cooling apparatus, like a water jet with soluble oil.

 

[Tony in SC]

Take it by a local scrap yard. They should be able to tell you what it is.

 

[GSnider]

Haha not losers but that’s a good idea I will try taking it by the scrap yard and see if they can tell me what it might be - if they can’t figure it out then I’m lost & it could be something out of this world haha