✅ SOLVED Silver/lead? Not aluminum can.

[NoobProspector]

Hello treasurenet,

I recently got into prospecting and went down a wash near the 395 hwy norcal. The wash runs alongside a river and theres tons of galena type of dark gray rocks that flake off when broken. My detector kept going off under these huge river rocks, not around it, not om the surface, but underneath which confirms it isn't slag. I was able to get one piece with the limited resources i had but i know for a fact there's plenty more there. Any suggestions as to what this is? It weighs 14 grams.

 

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[NoobProspector]

So when they did the acid test at the pawn shop it didnt come back as any color. I guess the refinery is my last and only option.

 

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[nsdq]

Could be nickle

 

[mk4125]

Hey man.I am quite newb as well.View attachment 1475982View attachment 1475983 This is silver and recent for me too. Yours also looks like silver to me. I have found quite a few aluminium fire nuggets with my detector.None of them looked like that. Hope its silver for you dude. Nice. I thought this was some melted garbage as well.It wasn't until I got home and looked under a loupe and saw garnets on the bits of rock in the nugget.Had it not been for them,I wouldn't have even bothered testing it. Just thought it was metalwork/fire trash.
So goodluck

A 'Silver Sea Cucumber'. Solid.

 

[boogeyman]

Is the backside smoother than the front? The ones I've found were. The metal melted ran down what was left of the engine block and hit the dirt leaving the front looking like yours, and the back smoother. Did you get back out there and look for more or check for burned spots?

You could always drag out the plating rectifier and plate it with gold. Hang it on a nice chain & watch people freak over your giant nugget. Remember you just gotta have fun with it!!!

 

[mick56]

Looks like melted aluminum to me. How are you so sure it isn't?

 

[NoobProspector]

I just didnt see how melted aluminum could end up below a riverbed rock that was that big.. perhaps.. doesn't melt easily like aluminum would but i just held a lighter to it for about 2 minutes and it is light, so maybe.

 

[NoobProspector]

Is the backside smoother than the front? The ones I've found were. The metal melted ran down what was left of the engine block and hit the dirt leaving the front looking like yours, and the back smoother. Did you get back out there and look for more or check for burned spots?

You could always drag out the plating rectifier and plate it with gold. Hang it on a nice chain & watch people freak over your giant nugget. Remember you just gotta have fun with it!!!

Hahahaha yeah, i should keep the tags on my clothes too. And yeah, the backside is flatter like you said. There's more of whatever it is all along the wash underneath the same type of riverbed, flaky rock i found it under. How can you tell if its aluminum? Any tests for aluminum? Acid streak test came back as no color change.

 

[Icewing]

If it doesn't react to nitric acid it's either aluminum or zinc. If it's in the ground and not all crusty, it's almost certainly aluminum. I've got a bucket full of them in my garage for absolutely not good reason at all.

 

[NoobProspector]

If it doesn't react to nitric acid it's either aluminum or zinc. If it's in the ground and not all crusty, it's almost certainly aluminum. I've got a bucket full of them in my garage for absolutely not good reason at all.

Hahaha. I see. I will set this one to finished. I truly thank everyone for their advice. Hopefully we meet each other in, "today's finds" thread next.