Chris Gholson 821 Report post Posted April 10, 2017 Hi All, I was out a few weeks back doing some prospecting when I came across an unusual target. It was buried down about 3” and gave off a distinct zip-zip signal. When I got it in my hand I thought it was just a bit of old-timer junk, so into the pocket it went. Later that evening I was looking at my trash targets and tossing them out, when I spotted this again. I washed it off and it looked more like rock than iron. I tested it on my magnet, and no go, not magnetic. I look at it more closely through a small microscope and it definitely does not appear man-made to me, so I’m guessing a meteorite. Maybe a stony? I have found plenty of meteorites before, but most have been much larger and easier to identify. This one is just strange and has me curious. Any ideas out there? 3 nugget108, Gerard and beatup reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kyle 1 Report post Posted April 10, 2017 looks like a meaty to me Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
beatup 58 Report post Posted April 10, 2017 nice find Chris Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
fredmason 7 Report post Posted April 11, 2017 Hi, Chris; not likely to be a meteorite if it is not attracted to a magnet...but it sure looks like one... fred Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Chris Gholson 821 Report post Posted April 11, 2017 Hi Fred, The fact that it is not magnetic seems weird to me too. However, it is not man-made (or a hot rock) and there are only a handful of naturally occurring non-magnetic metals. I wonder if something like tin, zinc or titanium is a possibility? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bado1 121 Report post Posted April 11, 2017 I don't know anything about meteorites other than I get tired of them sticking to the magnet on my pick and making my detector sound off...just another pesky hot rock that I have to kick out of the way ! That specimen looks like it has a crust layer on the outside. Are all of the stony meteorites magnetic? Would a nickel based meteorite be magnetic? Dean Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rob Allison 3 Report post Posted April 11, 2017 Hey Chris, Just a FYI, many of the martian and Lunar meteorites are not magnetic at all. They are extremely rare, but seen a handful of them at the Tucson Gem and Mineral show and they have no attraction to a meteorite. Majority of all the meteorites found do have some attraction to even a cheap meteorite, but not all. We can always hope you found a Martian or Lunar! 1 nugget108 reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Chris Gholson 821 Report post Posted April 11, 2017 Rob & Dean, I'm with you guys, and still think this is a meteorite. When I look under a scope, I can definitely see bright, shiny metallic particles. There is no quartz or any sort of rust. Perhaps its nickel content is much higher than its iron. Or as Rob, mentioned, maybe a lunar or martian. If this is the case, I'm taking the entire forum out for dinner! I have spent a lot of time detecting this area and have never found anything else like it. Definitely not a mineralized piece of country rock or a traditional hot rock. I will try to get some better photos. Unfortunately my phone isn't so good on close-ups...I really appreciate all the feedback. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
fredmason 7 Report post Posted April 12, 2017 Chris, take a small super-magnet and suspend it from a string and hang the magnet very close to the rock...if there is even a tiny attraction this will reveal it. Some of the very rare chrondrites have very little nickel/iron...only a lab can really determine if it is any other type of meteorite...good luck!!! fred Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kyle 1 Report post Posted April 12, 2017 forum out to dinner that could be pretty spendy 1 Gary reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
