What kind of ore/rock is this? :tesoro:

[nwdetectorist]

Hello fellow detectorists,

Does anybody have an ideas what I found at the park yesterday?

The rock/ore is silver colored flecks and is approx. 1.25" long, by 1" wide, by .585 thick and very heavy weighing as much as lead of the same size, maybe a bit more.

[attachment 136710 What_Ore.jpg]


Thanks for looking,

TOO MUCH DIRT, NOT ENUFF TIME!
nwdetectorist

 

[GoGoGopher]

Almost looks like black pyrite...Never seen anything quite like that...

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=28174303

neat looking rock though...

 

[Jim West Pa]

n/t

 

[nwdetectorist]

Thanks to Jim West and to GoGoGopher for the information on my little find from the park


TOO MUCH DIRT, NOT ENUFF TIME!

nwdetectorist

 

[NJgeoman]

my guess is GALENA

 

[united]

I'm with NJgeoman, it's Galena.

 

[old fogy]

Looks like Nickel ore. They use it in making steel
Old Fogy

 

[1859large]

I go with galena a lead sulfide. It is fairly soft.

It could however be specular hematite, an iron ore.

I cannot hazard a guess as how you would tell them apart but I think galena has a cubic habit and hematite does not.

I am a geologist but my mineral skills are a bit rough.

If you look up images of both on line you may find a match. IE google images.

HH

1859

 

[old fogy]

Not iron , but could be Galena ? If i remember right ,Galena should have cleavable masses.
He found it in a park and it doesn't belong there. I don't know his location but I'm thinking
there is a foundry or steel mill not far a way and it fell off a rail car and someone found it
and droped it in the park . Only way to know for sure is to cut a sample and send it to a
lab for a chem check.
old fogy

 

[jerseydigger]

Hows about a Streak test? Specific gravity? Fracture? If you want to know how to do these tests, e mail me and I will help you out. What is the location of the find? I can tell you pretty quickly if it is native ot not according to your area and test results. Parks can have fill dirt that could be from anywhere...

 

[edjcox]

I see boxcars of this stuff go by here everyday on the way to Philadelphia. It's nickel ore I'll bet.

 

[nwayrue]

my area is known for mining galena. galena is crystal lead. most have almost perfect crystal cubes and should be very heavy for its size. dont let your children handle it.