Nugget

[bakergeol]

It was a good trip on your link just looking at those beautiful gold specimens. I also have some nice wire gold specimens from Leadville. One platinum specimen had some nice cubes. The other placer specimen from Russia had more of a pitted surface. Still the almost hollow center of your specimen calls into question a natural origin. You do realize these nuggets are incredibly rare. I have seen some from placer gravels in California. Where this was found may actually tell you it's chances of being a palladium nugget. Also I am only advancing the opinion that it is not a natural nugget. It could very well be a PGM. I once found a palladium/gold button which apparently had a dental origin.

Good Luck
George

 

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[Monty]

My mystery nugget was found where a foundary dumps slag. It was in with some melted iron, etc, but set off my detector in the silver range. Oh well, it is put away among my treasures and I'l get curious enough some say to have it assayed. Monty

 

[chaindropz]

Nugget Assay
This board has been a great help for me. I have had this nugget for many years and could not determine what metal that it contained. I found this among chalcopyrite and antimony which turned to dirt and gave me an education on hydrothermal redeposit specimens. They need to be submerged in kerosene because the moisture in the air will reduce them to dirt.

I fully realized later on in my search for the content of my nugget, that a 50 oz nugget of a pgm was not a reasonable expectation. Many things pointed to a pgm and that drove me to settle the matter. It may be that I am still being unreasonable but I fully believe this is a genuine natural nugget. Why would anyone make such an expensive elaborate hoax? This nugget was made up of smaller nuggets and the larger nugget I think may contain more Iron. It could also contain other metals other than what has been determined. These metals rolled down an ancient stream into a peat bog and became trapped and pressed together in coal. I also had fossils that turned to dirt. Thanks to David H Fell Company for the Assay. They were very patient and courteous. Thanks to All on this board and Happy Hunting.
This is it of the 6 grams I sent to David H Fell Company.
Titanium .04%
Gold .09%
Molybdenum 2.49%
Nickel 12.46%
Chromium 15.21%
Lead .14%
Iron 69.56
Nugget 99.99%

 

[bakergeol]

Thanks Chaindropz for your assay report. You were true to your word and resolved the mystery of the nugget with an assay report. I am sorry the report was not more favorable.

From the assay report it is apparent that the iron nugget is man made. All of these metals do not occur together in nature. Molybdenum is used as a hardening agent for steel and only reaches .01% to .5% in high grade ores.

Just join the crowd Chaindropz. I have a fist full of bad assays in my drawer that I had high hopes for.

Again thanks for your posts
George

 

[chaindropz]

Thanks George but I am satisfied with the report, can you imagine the heat that would have went with a 50 gram pgm nugget . Please disregard my 50 0z. Mistake in my other post. I am willing to learn but I do not see how you know it is man made. I have wondered if it was man made as anyone can read my blog where I said samples like this make me think my site may have been salted. On the site I was finding my rocks nothing would accidentally have been man made containing these metals. It was coal rejects. I know that pyrite which is Iron can contain Gold. All this other metal may be another story. If you are right someone would have had to purposefully put these together as a hoax? AT the price of Gold it would be a $100. Dollar laugh. I have possibly 2oz.

 

[chaindropz]

What I needed was strong evidence of a hoax. These metals could be found in meteors but 316 (ss) is not in meteors. At last I know. What are friends for if they are not willing to spend $100 to get you?
My conclusion is that Titanium,lead and Gold was added to stainless steel by a welder as a joke on me and it worked.

(*) C Mn Si Cr Ni V W Mo

316 (SS) 0.08 2.00 0.75 17.00 12.00 2.50 Nugget 15.21 12.46 2.49