Very Heavy Rock (reposted)

[JCinNJ]

I reposted this since I noticed I posted the same picture twice. My apologies.

Found this rock years ago at the beach on the Jersey Shore. Before I picked it up, I thought it was a piece of coal or a piece of jetty rock. It is way way heavier than coal and much heavier even than jetty rock. I had thought meteorite but it is not magnetic, does not read on a metal detector and has what appears to be small white crystals here and there on it. I have tried many times to break off a piece of it but could not get the smallest chip off it with a small sledge hammer. I am reluctant to even consider sending the whole rock to a geology department or lab. Although it apparently is not metal it sure feels like metal. It is a little smaller than a man's fist. I took geology 101, historical and environmental geology in college but that was long ago. I never thought of bringing in the rock to the class back then. And I have looked at a million pictures online and have not seen one that looks like this. I am assuming it is probably metamorphic or perhaps igneous but it certainly is not sedimentary.

Any comments appreciated.

Thanks & HH!

- joe

 

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[jewelerdave]

Streak it on a tile, see if the streak is red. it could be hemitie. A lot of Hemitie is non magnetic. Go down the list of the usually Id factors, find the hardness, streak, specific gravity etc. Narrow it down to the list of usual suspects.

 

[goldinmypan]

If you can find a gem & minerial club in your area, contact them. They would have a saw that coulde cut off a slab for you.

 

[JCinNJ]

Streak it on a tile, see if the streak is red. it could be hemitie. A lot of Hemitie is non magnetic. Go down the list of the usually Id factors, find the hardness, streak, specific gravity etc. Narrow it down to the list of usual suspects.

Thanks. No red streak on tile. Black streak.

 

[allen_idaho]

looks like asphalt.

 

[JCinNJ]

looks like asphalt.

Perhaps but weighs about 8x as much. Not crumbly either. Thanks.

HH

- joe

 

[Red_desert]

Find someone who owns a gold detector like a Gold Bug. I've found iron stones in New Mexico, were so heavy they almost seemed like lead. They had a deep brown color, coin detectors wouldn't detect these. Hematite can be black also.

Could it possibly be sea water concretion like they find on shipwreck objects?

How about those clay balls found in some pirate caches which contain large diamonds inside?

 

[emtrescue]

you've had geology 101 so you probably already know this, but here's a link that is very useful in helping.....



http://www.rockhounds.com/rockshop/rockkey/index.html#TOC

 

[silverthorn]

Is it radioactive, such as in ore?

 

[DD-777]

I see this is an older post but I'll throw my two cents in anyway. Have you managed to have this i.d.'ed yet? Any possibility of this being a piece of slag?

 

[jimb]

I would have to see inside to look for nickle iron. But I would sure put it on my meteorite pile! It looks like a new find, with 100 percent fusion crust. Take it to a rock shop and get a quarter size piece cut off, for a small fee, and send it to a professional meteorite lab.

 

[jimb]

One more thing. Post the pic. in the meteorite section of this site.

 

[DD-777]

One more thing. Post the pic. in the meteorite section of this site.

Definitely think it's worth re-posting! Who knows what it could be...

 

[silverthorn]

One thing is certain; it’s not Aerogel !!!

 

[MEinWV]

I was thinking about Columbite when I first saw it. Columbite is a very heavy mineral and is a source for exotic metals like Columbium, Tantalum, and Niobium. I think it might be harder to ID by sight because the crystal structure has been smoothed a bit by the ocean.

Keep us updated if you find out! HH

 

[jimb]

You were suppose to re-post the pic. in the meteorite section!

 

[trish76642]

METEORITE OR METEORWRONG?
magnetic
Most meteorites (chondrites, irons) will attract a magnet because they contain a lot of iron-nickel metal. Some of the rarest kinds of meteorites, however, are not magnetic (achondrites, lunar meteorites, martian meteorites). A meteorite, however, even an iron meteorite, is never so magnetic that it will attract metal objects like paper clips and pins.

Most terrestrial (Earth) rocks are not magnetic, but some are. Magnetic Earth rocks are those that contain magnetite or some other iron-rich minerals. Natural Earth rocks never contain iron-nickel metal.

A good way to test if a rock is attracted to a magnet is with a circular ceramic magnet like those often used for "refrigerator magnets." Put it on its edge on a flat, hard surface. If a rock is magnetic, you can cause the magnet to roll by pulling the magnet with the rock.

Sometimes the surface will display tiny "flow lines," showing where melted material flowed off the surface upon atmospheric entry. Your rock looks to have 'flow lines' in it. Check out this websight, its very interesting. I found alot of great info on it about meteorites. I think you have one!

http://earthsci.org/fossils/space/craters/met/identify.html

Have another websight that will test your rock for you, all you have to do is snip off a piece (size of a pencil eraser) and mail it to them, cost nothing but the postage, i'll look it up for you.

 

[jimb]

Trish, thats an interesting site!

 

[trish76642]

Take a look at this one Jim...scroll down to the bottom...im pretty sure i have one of these. Having it tested now.

http://www.meteorlab.com/METEORLAB2001dev/Open1.htm

 

[Newt]

Maybe it's Galena?
Newt