Help ID'ing Nuggets found Metal Detecting River Bed

hittinofr

Tenderfoot
Feb 28, 2017
9
0
Durango, CO
Detector(s) used
Garrett AT Gold
Primary Interest:
Prospecting
Hello everybody less than a week old to metal detecting so bear with me. So I was out on my second ever metal detecting trip with my new Garrett AT Gold and found two nuggets 5 feet apart 4-6 inches down in the gravel bed of my favorite river. Both nuggets were found in an area where Silver and Palladium were mined as well as small quantities of Platinum. There is actually an old Palladium mine aprox. a quarter mile up the hill from the river bed. I did a hydrogen peroxide test and they did react and had bubbles rising off them. The large nugget is 3.3 grams and the small is .76 grams. They feel light for their size but given these are my first nuggets of any kind it could be just my perception. They are bright but dull at the same time if that makes sense. Also they register 60-68 on my AT Gold. The photos I've attached are of both sides of each and the first photo of both was prior to hydrogen peroxide test which seemed to clean and remove some of the patina. I am hoping someone can help me identify until I can find an official testing kit. Please let me know if you have any more questions I can answer and thanks everyone for your help! 20170308_191817.jpg 20170309_111447.jpg 20170309_111458.jpg 20170309_111516.jpg 20170309_111528.jpg 20170309_111544.jpg
 

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arizau

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May 2, 2014
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Melted aluminum from an old campfire? Not sure but I think H2O2 will react with alum. and off gas hydrogen and/or oxygen so the bubbles.
 

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hittinofr

Tenderfoot
Feb 28, 2017
9
0
Durango, CO
Detector(s) used
Garrett AT Gold
Primary Interest:
Prospecting
Melted aluminum from an old campfire? Not sure but I think H2O2 will react with alum. and off gas hydrogen and/or oxygen so the bubbles.

My understanding is that was whole point of H2O2 test is that it won't react with Aluminum, but will with both Silver and Platinum. But I could have been mislead on that at some point...
 

Rean.c

Full Member
Dec 4, 2014
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Aluminum would probably come up higher on your detector. I think it could be lead, scratch it with a knife and see if the scratch mark is shiny


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Hoser John

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Mar 22, 2003
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The 2 on wood seem real. Just go to the local Pawn shop and they test free to try and steal your gold for about half spot. Sorry too low and away you go question answered. Other wise back of unglazed piece of ceramic tile, scratch for a inch of so and a drop of nitric will answer your question . Pawn shop easier and no danger to you-John
 

Goldwasher

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May 26, 2009
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looks like lead.
The platinum nuggets you may find near a palladium mine would look different. and are super rare at that size. They would also be near twice as dense.

Platinum: The mineral native Platinum information and pictures

Platinum Nugget Crystals


the easiest way besides a streak test would be to hit it with a torch if you have one.

Don't do it inside what you have is most likely lead. It will melt pretty quickly if it is. You can also build a fire wait til the coals are hot and put it in something that won't melt and melt it in that and make a bullet if you want:tongue3:

Sort of a full circle sort of thing.

Don't be mis- LEAD:laughing9:.....by pebbles and sand caught up in the metal that happens when hot lead meets sand and gravel.

I hope I'm wrong
 

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hittinofr

Tenderfoot
Feb 28, 2017
9
0
Durango, CO
Detector(s) used
Garrett AT Gold
Primary Interest:
Prospecting
The 2 on wood seem real. Just go to the local Pawn shop and they test free to try and steal your gold for about half spot. Sorry too low and away you go question answered. Other wise back of unglazed piece of ceramic tile, scratch for a inch of so and a drop of nitric will answer your question . Pawn shop easier and no danger to you-John

The two on wood are the same ones as the rest. It was right after i found them and before they got cleaned up by my H2O2 test that is the reason they look different.
 

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hittinofr

Tenderfoot
Feb 28, 2017
9
0
Durango, CO
Detector(s) used
Garrett AT Gold
Primary Interest:
Prospecting
Aluminum would probably come up higher on your detector. I think it could be lead, scratch it with a knife and see if the scratch mark is shiny


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So scratched it with knife. First off it was REALLY hard to scratch, not a soft metal at all. The scratch mark was a bright silver though so might be lead.
 

Rean.c

Full Member
Dec 4, 2014
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Weird, lead is easily scratched. God only knows what you could have, there's a lot of silver looking metals. Just be careful because some are not very good for your health

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Lanny in AB

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Apr 2, 2003
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That's strange about your scratch, that it's silver, that doesn't happen with gold, and super hard? That's not how gold responds either. The other thing, for me at least, gold always feels heavy, and for your small nugget (of whatever material it is) to read as high as the large one, that's strange as well.

I'd take Hoser's advice and get a truly reliable answer, but it seems like you've eliminated some of the sure gold tests already. That doesn't mean the metal, if it's not gold, isn't valuable.

All the best,

Lanny
 

Kenmitch

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Oct 7, 2016
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Nice photos! Looks interesting. Let us know when you find out what it is.
 

californiagold

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Go with hosers idea, they have testers at a jewelery store too I think. I have found gold that is more silvery, because of silver impurities, and I have gold that is more coppery colored from copper impurities. I think also you should take a after peroxide cleaning picture on the same piece of wood to see the difference. I think the other pics have more ambient light in them and makes them look more silvery white. good luck
 

Goldfleks

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I'm tossing my hat in as campfire nuggets from melted cans. Looks just like the ones I find at the beaches that have fire pits/allow bonfires.
 

Goldwasher

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I'm tossing my hat in as campfire nuggets from melted cans. Looks just like the ones I find at the beaches that have fire pits/allow bonfires.

looking at the size vs. weight i'm changing my guess to campfire nugs as well
 

Clay Diggins

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Nov 14, 2010
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Definitely melted metal, maybe aluminum but it looks like Babbit metal. Tougher than lead and found wherever machinery has been used. It's commonly over poured when forming bearings and the excess mixes with whatever sand or rock was on the ground when it was still molten.

Still used in car and machinery bearings it's a common find wherever mining or milling took place. It was used for wagon bearings and an axel bearing could be repaired on the trail with a hot fire and a hot pot. Literally tons of the bearing shell over pours are still sitting on the land in remote areas. It tends to harden and crystallize even more when exposed to the elements for long periods of time.

Heavy Pans
 

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Jim Hemmingway

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Jan 26, 2008
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Definitely melted metal, maybe aluminum but it looks like Babbit metal. Tougher than lead and found wherever machinery has been used. It's commonly over poured when forming bearings and the excess mixes with whatever sand or rock was on the ground when it was still molten.

Still used in car and machinery bearings it's a common find wherever mining or milling took place. It was used for wagon bearings and an axel bearing could be repaired on the trail with a hot fire and a hot pot. Literally tons of the bearing shell over pours are still sitting on the land in remote areas. It tends to harden and crystallize even more when exposed to the elements for long periods of time.

Heavy Pans

Those pieces certainly don't look natural Barry, and I think you've nailed it down. I didn't think of babbit... but should have because we certainly find plenty of it up here. In fact newcomers are easily convinced they have found native silver... but it doesn't look like silver to an experienced eye, and usually our babbit is covered in a greasy or oily film.

Jim.
 

Ragnor

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Dec 7, 2015
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They look like can melt in the lighter pictures. Look like platinum in the darker image. You could do specific gravity on them and that will help some with a 100th gram scale and a graduated cylinder. Can also test them with acids. The problem with mystery nuggets is that some of them are location specific. Since your in an area with some less common materials it's certainly worth getting them checked out. I have an area that gives up all kinds of weird metal nuggets so I keep everything for further testing. I'm actually planning on setting up a basement lab just to positively identify the materials I'm finding. Guess work only goes so far. Fractional distillation, that will truly put it to rest.:laughing7:
 

Capt.E

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Melted Pewter, from a pan thrown in the fire !!
 

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