What do you think this is?

[bottlebum]

Well, I couldn't hold off any longer from showing this mysterious find.

The object was found somewhere out west, possibly Oklahoma, with a metal detector. It was found by my friends Grandfather. It's been used as a door stop for the last 50-60 years, and after all that time the color has not changed. It's about 6 inches long and around 4 inches tall. As you can see in the pictures, it is almost flat on two sides. By the colors, It looks like it had been very hot at one time. It weighs in at 10 lbs, is real heavy for its size, and is very hard. Unfortunately, the man that found it has passed away, and none of the family bothered to find out any of the particulars pertaining to where it was found. All we do know is that it was the only object like it that was found in the immediate area. We took it to the local museum in Bradenton, Florida. The museum director was very interested in it and wanted to take it with him to New York, to a meeting that he planned to attend. He wanted to let some of the other attendants at the meeting look at it to see if he could find out what it was. Since we really didn't want to let it out of our sights, we decided to pass on handing it over to him.

Here are some pics. Maybe you can help?

 

Amazon Forum Fav 👍

A History of Mining on the Kenai Peninsula, Alaska - Grab it through Amazon!

[able_walker]

If it is some kind of meteorite I would imagine it would be a very special one indeed.

 

[stoney56]

It looks almost like some kind of smelter slag. Dad used to work in a zinc smelter here in Okla. and he has a piece of slag chipped out of their furnace stack. But don't think your's is zinc.

 

[bottlebum]

If it is some kind of meteorite I would imagine it would be a very special one indeed.

We were thinking the same thing. That was the reason for not wanting to let it out of our sights.

 

[bottlebum]

If it is some kind of meteorite I would imagine it would be a very special one indeed.

Going by the weight, we couldn't think of any metal that it could possibly be besides lead,but it's too hard to be lead.

 

[bottlebum]

When looking at the structure of it, you get the impression that it had alot of pressure exerted on it at one time.

 

[able_walker]

Maybe take it in to a local university with a geology dept.Some professor would love to see it and give you his or her opinion I imagine.Most of those people are very curious and approachable,maybe break up the routine of their day.Metal Spectro analysis machines could give you a reading of what the exact metals are.

 

[bottlebum]

Maybe take it in to a local university with a geology dept.Some professor would love to see it and give you his or her opinion I imagine.Most of those people are very curious and approachable,maybe break up the routine of their day.Metal Spectro analysis machines could give you a reading of what the exact metals are.

I think you are right. That would probably be the best thing to do. I'll have to see what options are available, here in Ocala.

 

[bottlebum]

It looks almost like some kind of smelter slag. Dad used to work in a zinc smelter here in Okla. and he has a piece of slag chipped out of their furnace stack. But don't think your's is zinc.

We had thought the same, but what kind of slag, is the question. And you would think that there would have been more of it in the area, if that were the case.

 

[Bigcypresshunter]

I dont know what it is but it looks like it was at one time melted.

 

[texan connection]

Maybe take it in to a local university with a geology dept.Some professor would love to see it and give you his or her opinion I imagine.Most of those people are very curious and approachable,maybe break up the routine of their day.Metal Spectro analysis machines could give you a reading of what the exact metals are.

I think you are right. That would probably be the best thing to do. I'll have to see what options I have in that regard, here in Ocala.

metal spectro analysis machine,I thought thats what a metal detector does where do I get one of those

 

[Old Dog]

Looks to be a large piece of Galena that has been exposed to a tremendous heat at one time or another.
The galena is natural ......... the heat source, I don't think so.
Have a geologist look at it,

Just my opinion
OD

 

[bakergeol]

What the last poster was referring to is the cubic crystals which is common for galena. What color are the crystals- yellow or gray? Galena would be gray and soft. Pyrite cubic crystals would be yellow and harder. It looks like it has been heated. It also looks like it has been cut - rock saw?

George

 

[bottlebum]

What the last poster was referring to is the cubic crystals which is common for galena. What color are the crystals- yellow or gray? Galena would be gray and soft. Pyrite cubic crystals would be yellow and harder. It looks like it has been heated. It also looks like it has been cut - rock saw?

George

The whole thing is metal and is silver, gray colored, no glass like crystals anywhere to be seen. Has tones of yellow,grange and blue (like it was real hot at one time)
Has kind of a crystal structure but not the same shape as mineral type crystals, more like fracturing.

The segments start large on one side and gradually get smaller as you make your way 3/4 of the way through and then gradually get a little larger till reaching the other flat side, which is really not flat because of the nodules or blobs protruding.

Does not look to have been cut anywhere. Looks like there was pressure introduced from the flatter sides towards the almost center where the segments are smallest. Kind of hard to describe.

 

[savant365]

I am not sure but it looks like slag from a railroad rail grinder. When I worked for the railroad they had huge machines that go down the tracks that grind and reshape the rails. This slag would build up under the machine and just fall off to the side of the tracks when it got so big.

 

[Bigcypresshunter]

I remember having a small chunk of Galena as a kid. It looks similar.

Galena is Lead Sulfide PbS, and it is one of the primary ore minerals of Lead Pb. Galena is a common mineral and often found along with other sulfides in mines in Arizona.

 

[Angelo]

Here's a couple of pictures of Pyrite.

Tony

 

[re-tek]

take it to a university or try a different science museum. looks kinda like a meteorite to me with all the melting on one side like that. i work in a science musuem and if i had tht rock i'd be researhing it. meteorites can be worth quite a bit of $$ aside from the fact they're out of this world!

 

[bottlebum]

I am not sure but it looks like slag from a railroad rail grinder. When I worked for the railroad they had huge machines that go down the tracks that grind and reshape the rails. This slag would build up under the machine and just fall off to the side of the tracks when it got so big.

That's interesting, I'll have to check that out. Thanks

 

[bottlebum]

Thanks everyone for all of the replys. I've heard some great guesses and suggestions. I even thought it looked kind of like the pyrite. But the fact that this rock looks melted on the surface, makes me believe that it is not pyrite. But then again, I don't know it all. I think the best thing to do, like a few have suggested, is take it to a University and let the experts decide.
I will deftinatly post an update if and when I find out anything.
Thanks again everyone
Bill