Help ID'ing Nuggets found Metal Detecting River Bed

hittinofr

Tenderfoot
Joined
Feb 28, 2017
Messages
9
Reaction score
0
Golden Thread
0
Location
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 questions I can answer and thanks everyone for your help!
20170308_191817.webp 20170309_111447.webp 20170309_111458.webp20170309_111516.webp20170309_111528.webp20170309_111544.webp
 

Last edited:
Upvote 0
Images didn't post...
 

Appears to be melted aluminum... commonly found anywhere there may have been a campfire.
 

Appears to be melted aluminum... commonly found anywhere there may have been a campfire.

That was my first instinct but doesn't hydrogen peroxide test rule out Aluminum.
 

Appears to be melted aluminum... commonly found anywhere there may have been a campfire.

Also it is not nearly as brittle as all the other melted aluminum I've encountered. But certainly could be...
 

Here is a image of some pieces I found on my last hunt.. at the beach. I've found the same at just about every place I hunt that has sand.

They appear to be similar to yours.

I just always assumed that they are melted aluminum.

However.. I have never tested them so I can't say with certainty.

Also.. I found these in Washington state on the beach; I've found the exact same in Texas on the beach as well as a sandy park I hunt that is 70 miles north of the beach...

ImageUploadedByTreasureNet.com1489098466.191514.webp

ImageUploadedByTreasureNet.com1489098479.885166.webp
 

Last edited:
Here is a image of some pieces I found on my last hunt.. at the beach. I've found the same at just about every place I hunt that has sand.

They appear to be similar to yours.

I just always assumed that they are melted aluminum.

However.. I have never tested them so I can't say with certainty.

Also.. I found these in Washington state on the beach; I've found the exact same in Texas on the beach as well as a sandy park I hunt that is 70 miles north of the beach...

View attachment 1424636

View attachment 1424637
Yeah looks same. Thanks for the input
 

They look like molten aluminum can nuggets to me. Very common find on beaches that allow campfires.
 

I found a couple of these last week around campfire pits. I brought them home, cleaned them up and determined the were aluminum. A magnet wouldn't stick, they were light weight, and aluminum colored. I'm not in a gold area, but you never know and it's fun to hope...
 

Top Member Reactions

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top Bottom