🔎 UNIDENTIFIED Probably not meteorites but what are they?

[DANGLANGLEY]

My nephew found over a dozen of these in a huge farm field in East Tennessee many years ago. A regular magnet won’t stick to them and they are pretty heavy for their size. They are some sort of metal with a thick black crust on them. They are very brittle. I broke one with just a sharp whack with a hammer.

 

[robertk]

I don’t know what they are but I’m curious why you think they are metal? They look like compressed solid pieces of ash or something similar in the photos?

 

[russau]

To I.D. them ,take it to a Colledge Science Department and have them look it over and tell you EXACTLY what it is ! I've done this myself to know for sure !

 

[DANGLANGLEY]

I don’t know what they are but I’m curious why you think they are metal? They look like compressed solid pieces of ash or something similar in the photos?

I’m sorry, I should have mentioned I tested them with my metal detector.

 

[DANGLANGLEY]

To I.D. them ,take it to a Colledge Science Department and have them look it over and tell you EXACTLY what it is ! I've done this myself to know for sure !

Thank you!

 

[beekbuster]

I have chiseled into serpentine that had a great signal only to find that material. Very interesting to see it by itself as a rock of all things. It looks like Micah or pyrite that is heavily dissolved in sulfides. Thought I'm not sure what it is. Does give a great signal on a detector.

 

[DANGLANGLEY]

I ground one down a little with my bench grinder and it’s very hard. It’s definitely metal. The dimensions of this container is
12 1/2” x 8” by 4” tall. It weighs 28.2 lbs. it has taken me several posts to say what I should have in one post. Sorry about that everyone. It sure has me scratching my head about what these are. I’m looking for a university to check them.

 

[Red-Coat]

Well, if they are actually metallic but not attracted to a magnet, they definitely ain't meteorites. Metallic meteorites are always strongly attracted to a magnet (there are no exceptions to that rule).

My guess would be some kind of industrial slag. Just because it was found in a farm field doesn't make that improbable. It turns up in all kinds of places as a result of spillage from vehicles in transit to dumping locations, and because it has seen wide usage as hardcore for paths and farm tracks, as well as things like use for ballast and as rubble in soakaways pits.

 

[DANGLANGLEY]

Well, if they are actually metallic but not attracted to a magnet, they definitely ain't meteorites. Metallic meteorites are always strongly attracted to a magnet (there are no exceptions to that rule).

My guess would be some kind of industrial slag. Just because it was found in a farm field doesn't make that improbable. It turns up in all kinds of places as a result of spillage from vehicles in transit to dumping locations, and because it has seen wide usage as hardcore for paths and farm tracks, as well as things like use for ballast and as rubble in soakaways pits.

Thank you for the your. Does sound reasonable

 

[DANGLANGLEY]

Thank you for the your. Does sound reasonable

Oops. Thanks for your reply.

 

[metalman2024]

My nephew found over a dozen of these in a huge farm field in East Tennessee many years ago. A regular magnet won’t stick to them and they are pretty heavy for their size. They are some sort of metal with a thick black crust on them. They are very brittle. I broke one with just a sharp whack with a hammer.

the 4th photo and the stone with the indents looks to me like a meteorite, the indents are called regmaglypts, the black crust is called fusion crust, it may very well be a meteorite

 

[Red-Coat]

the 4th photo and the stone with the indents looks to me like a meteorite, the indents are called regmaglypts, the black crust is called fusion crust, it may very well be a meteorite

Definitely NOT meteorites. As I said in post #8, meteorites with a metallic appearance always exhibit strong attraction to a magnet because they are high in native iron plus some nickel. Not all meteorites exhibit attraction to a magnet but - if they have a metallic appearance - they always will.

 

[Mine Shaft]

I picked this rock up wile prospecting lol I picked it up and thought its quite heavy for such a small stone. It is highly magnetic and weighs 3.49 OZ its in a 1/3 cup for sizing don't know if its just Iron Ore or something else.

 

[searcher]

@DANGLANGLEY
Have you considered Cobaltite?
And tested accordingly?