Weird shiny metalic mineral

Kozmo*13 · Nov 1, 2023

I recently found a dark silver (very shiny) mineral. It is also very heavy and a knife cant even scrath it. It is also highly magnetic. I did a scratch test and there was no mark left behind. Can anyone help identify.

russau · Nov 1, 2023

No scratch mark..... That's strange ....... What material did you use for the other half of the scratch test

I always kept a piece of tile and use the unglazed side of it to scratch on . I would take this to one of the State Colledge's that have a mineralogy lab and ask them to I.D. It for you unless someone here can make a stab at it .. :dontknow:

my uninformed guess would be something in the platinum group , BUT with no scratch marks ,I'm scratching my head wondering !

Kozmo*13 · Nov 1, 2023

russau said:
No scratch mark..... That's strange ....... What material did you use for the other half of the scratch test I always kept a piece of tile and use the unglazed side of it to scratch on . I would take this to one of the State Colledge's that have a mineralogy lab and ask them to I.D. It for you unless someone here can make a stab at it .. my uninformed guess would be something in the platinum group , BUT with no scratch marks ,I'm scratching my head wondering !

I used the top of the toilet tank lid that had the unglazed side and I used a pocket knife then also a peice of quartz crystal that had a sharp edge. I thought for sure it was mica when I picked it up because it was extremely shiny, but then realized it was very heavy and the it was still shiny after scrubbing it with a metal brush. I am stumped what this thing is. That's why I have been asking on here lol Does it cost anything to get this checked out?

robertk · Nov 1, 2023

Could be magnetite. It would be harder than a knife (wouldn't scratch) and strongly magnetic. It can be massive or crystalline, and an internet search for images have a few that show similar structure to yours.

Kozmo*13 · Nov 1, 2023

robertk said:
Could be magnetite. It would be harder than a knife (wouldn't scratch) and strongly magnetic. It can be massive or crystalline, and an internet search for images have a few that show similar structure to yours.

I didn't know Magnetite was that dense with a silver glittery shine to it. I'll have to check out pics on Google. I think what's throwing me off is how heavy and metalic it is. But the shape is also kind of weird.

Blackfoot58 · Nov 1, 2023

Keep us posted if you find more information. That is interesting.

russau · Nov 4, 2023

The answer to your question on cost from a Colledge Minerology Department is , NO they don't charge , infact some of them that I used enjoyed doing it and said they liked doing something different for a change ! :coffee2:

blauer · Nov 4, 2023

Looks like Magnetite to me as we have (and I've found) plenty of it in NEPA coal country. It can take on a shine as well as rust. Where did you find it (locality)?

pepperj · Nov 4, 2023

Kozmo*13 said:
I used the top of the toilet tank lid that had the unglazed side and I used a pocket knife then also a peice of quartz crystal that had a sharp edge. I thought for sure it was mica when I picked it up because it was extremely shiny, but then realized it was very heavy and the it was still shiny after scrubbing it with a metal brush. I am stumped what this thing is. That's why I have been asking on here lol Does it cost anything to get this checked out?

What does this piece weigh?

russau · Nov 10, 2023

And the answer to this question is

?? WAZZIT ? :dontknow:

russau · Nov 20, 2023

Did you get it checked out ??

pepperj · Nov 20, 2023

russau said:
Did you get it checked out ??

She hasn't logged on for a couple of weeks so we may never know.
Actually it was one the more interesting post ups as there wasn't a claim of it looking like a 🦄

Kozmo*13 · Dec 13, 2023

Hey everyone!! No I haven’t found out yet. I’ve been really busy with work. I actually found another mineral or nugget. I’ll attach a picture. My friend who is a jeweler said it’s not silver. I was thinking platinum because it’s really heavy and it actually scratched silver. I also put it in peroxide and it bubbled. So now I have 2 unknown minerals or something.