Can certain rocks make a metal detector go off??????

Maryland Ace

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Feb 29, 2008
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Garrett AT PRO
I just got a metal detector. Found two rocks, I guess, today. I was just curious if a type of rock can set off a metal detector or if it is something else..... The one rock thing is very heavy for its size, and the other is very , very , light. Just wondering what the heck the are, if they aren't rocks. thanks
 

Yeah, raw iron clumps can do it. There is also lodestone, which is naturally occuring and usually magnetic. You can also find what are called hot rocks, which are rocks that have veins of different metalic material within them.
 

yea they can, I run into them every now and then. Other than that I couldn't tell you why I've always called them "hotrocks"
 

Maryland Ace said:
I just got a metal detector. Found two rocks, I guess, today. I was just curious if a type of rock can set off a metal detector or if it is something else..... The one rock thing is very heavy for its size, and the other is very , very , light. Just wondering what the heck the are, if they aren't rocks. thanks
may have came from the sky/space!!!!....I once caught a rock while cat fishing..''really'' thought i had a record fish.. :-\
 

Hot Rocks. . . . . I don't like them >:(

semi precious rocks. . . . .I love them ;D

HH

PTP
 

Yes... hot rocks, meteorites, iron slags from railroad tracks.LEAD!!!!!
RD
 

"Hot Rocks" are often the mineral magnetite, and there are other ores that occur naturally that will set off a detector.

Everything manufactured of metal you see in the world, from BBs to Battleships, came from some ore in the ground. Ain't too uncommon.
 

With all this info, I say ditto and for sure check out what BillyBob said ,
those meteorites are worth a lot, you might want to take a little magnet with you.
Gnewt
 

Have pics I can tell you if they are meteorites.
RD
 

Here are the pics. you requested...............
 

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It is not a meteorite, hot rock.
if you ever want to post more pics just resize it to 250 ;)
RD
 

theres an old old site around here that is almost impossible to hunt because the rocks (that are literally everywhere) ring in like a silver coin. it drives you nuts!
 

Ok cool , I didnt think they were anything special , just wanted to check. Being new to the game and all , just curious............thanks for all the input.........
 

My son and I found several of these recently. We kept getting a high signal like a quarter only to get a rock! We started calling them Magic Rocks. The guy tht sells detectors near us told us tht they were called Hot Rocks.
 

Any rock with a metallic content will set it off. I have rocks with an iron content on my farm that will detect. Some rocks with a blue gray cast might contain bauxite which is the raw form of aluminum and will set it off. I was working with some archeologist on items pumped up on shore while dredging a channel and the bricks sounded off. They must have been brought over as ballast and then used for construction in an old De. settlement. European bricks sometimes contained bauxite. Some mineral salts will trigger VLF detectors. Here's a good one. In an area near the Salton Sea (Niland, Cal)called the Slabs, I kept getting hits from rocks but when I picked them up and wiped them off, they no longer triggered my detector. They were coated with gold dust washed down from the Chocolate Mts. I wiped off a lot of rocks in a big zip lock bag that week. Frank...

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I ran across a bunch of these "rocks" at Slaughter Beach Delaware.
 

The one you said was heavy for it's size is intriguing. You might want to check the TN forum "Meteorites" there is information on helping ID them.
 

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