New Iron Meteorite potential in Arizona?

[nuggethunting]

Hello All,

Just wanted to post this new find and see what you all think. I won't say too much, cause I have someone looking at the piece now that believes it's a new iron meteorite find, but I won't know for sure until it's tested and results come back. I know some of you guys are "meteorite guru's" so thought you might give me some input on what you think.

The piece was found in a dry wash at several foot in depth. The piece screamed like a huge chunk of iron, but once I seen it I had a better idea it could be a possible iron meteorite.

Let me know what you think.

Thanks for looking.

Rob Allison

[Uncle Ron]

Hey Rob, I'd say there's a very good chance you've got a meteorite there, but it might not be an iron...Looks like it's been down in wet ground for a long time...You should grind a window on it to see what's inside...I found one very similar but it wasn't an iron, it was a chondrite ... It was down in the ground and was very weathered... Keep us posted on what you find out... Cheers, Unc

[DOC]

It looks like a chondrite, but not a L4 like in Gold Basin. Looks like there is fusion crust.

Hope you got a good one there Rob.

Doc

[nuggethunting]

Hey Uncle Ron & Doc,

You might be right, but the weight is 2-3 times heavier than any stone or stony-iron I have that is similar in size. I guess I just need to get it tested to see what it might be.

Anyone else have any thoughts?

[Miner49]

Rob,

I have found several pieces that look just like your pictures,,,,extremely heavy for their size. Here's a recommended test off the internet that might be of some help.

STREAK TEST

Iron ore is the most common meteor-wrong. Magnetite especially is very magnetic (hence its name) and hematite may or may not be mildly magnetic. Both these minerals may possibly be distinguished from meteoritic material by a characteristic known as 'streak'. You can test the streak very simply. If you take a common ceramic tile, such as a bathroom or kitchen tile, it has a smooth glazed slide and an unfinished dull side which is stuck to the floor/wall when installed. Take the sample which you think is a meteorite and scratch it quite vigorously on the unglazed side of the tile.

If it leaves a black/gray streak (like a soft leaded pencil) the sample is likely magnetite, and if it leaves a vivid red to brown streak it is likely hematite. A stone meteorite, unless it is very heavily weathered will not normally leave a streak on the tile.

You say that you don't have a ceramic tile? You can use the bottom of an ceramic coffee cup or you can also use the inside of your toilet tank cover. (the heavy rectangular lid on top of the tank)

[SoCalJohn]

I will also say it is a chondrite. File a window on one edge and take a look inside. Like Doc said, it looks like there is a fusion crust. Parts of the crust have broken off over time. Regards, John.

[fredm]

Rob;

I doubt it is a chrondrite...but a window will certainly reveal that much...it looks like a heavily oxidized piece of iron to me...I found a similar piece once...when I cleaned it up I found a made in USA or US Army stamp on it...thought sure I had a nice iron space rock...

anyway you can have it tested for about 15 dollars plus postage...

Fred

[enigmatic]

Well I'll stick my neck out...The more I look at it it does not look like a meteorite...I would like to say you found one there Rob, but only the experts can really answer this one. Resembles in some respects...but the more I look at my samples they are different. I know there are allot of variables out there in this game. The oxidation value seem too high in the photos compared to the Gold Basin variety. If it is a meteorite I assume the iron/nickel of 17 to 25% content of Gold Basin samples is lower that your sample. Good Luck on the analysis...Guido

[Reno Chris]

I hope the analysis proves it to be a meteorite, but as a raw guess just from the photos, I'd have to agree with Fred and Guido that I think its a chunk of heavily oxidized man made iron.

[Guest goldstudmuffin]

I'm guessing scrap iron also. Here's a chunk of iron with a small window cut at center right.

[dutch john]

well what do I know, but my guess it is a badly oxidized "nut" off of a bolt or a rod as there seems to be an outline of a grove. js

[Paseclipse]

Definitely isn't a chondrite like some have suggested. Heavily weathered chondrites look nothing remotely close to that.

It has a nice shape, but that’s about the only thing it has going for it. Best to be very skeptical since iron and stony-iron meteorites make up less that 5% of the overall meteorite finds especially if it was found in an old mining area (we all know how much trash is in old mining areas). One thing I've noticed with heavily rusted man made iron trash is that layered flakes sometimes peel off of the surface.

Whatever you do please don't take it in to have one of the meteorite research institutions look at it. Why? Well the places that classify meteorites are overwhelmed with so many people bringing in what they think are meteorites it's starting to suck up their research money. It makes it harder for those of us who get meteorites classified to bring the real deal in. There's a couple things you can do to help determine if it's a meteorite-

1. Get a nickel test kit. Grind a small window into it and dab a little of the test kit on it. If it turns pink there's a chance it has nickel in it. These tests aren't the most reliable though and I've read accounts about false positives using these kits.

2. Calculate the density (probably the best test in this case)- Weigh it on a scale in grams then drop it in a graduated cylinder with water in it to figure out the volume. Divide the weight by the volume and if you have something that is over 7 grams per cubic centimeter there's a chance it might be something.

I'm not trying to burst your bubble or anything and I'm certainly no expert with meteorites but looking at the pictures I'd have to say no on that one.

Del

[DOC]

I looked at pictures on Google and I can't find any metorite that looks that rusty. Still it sure looks like fusion crust, then again maybe it is just a layer of oxidation.

It will be interesting to find out if it is a meteorite.

Doc

[John B.]

Hi Rob ,Doc and All

Goldstudmuffin Russ has been spankin your minelab butt on new meteorite finds !! I would consider him somewhat of an expert since I personally trained him . Rob I've had many pieces of rusty iron tested hoping they were part of a famous meteorite down here. The best and simplest way to test them is take about a gram of material off and send it to the local assay office for a nickle assay. If it comes back at least 4% NI then get excited and get it to ASU. Russ can baby you thought that !! Other wise it's just another unidentifiable hunk of iron dropped by our for fathers . Looking at your pix generally the nickle in meteorites helps to inhibit rusting to some degree. Generally you can brush the rust scale off quite easily to see bright shiny metal. As many do with canyon diablo and odessa pieces. Oddly I once was in northern Nevada with a famous Phoenician prospector . Teaching him a lesson on humility at rye patch when we drove to the far side of a drylake to take a break and look for space rocks . Well that impatient Phoenecian had a little tantrum about wanting to gold hunt so 20 minutes huntin and we left. A few years later I took another hunter there where we discovered 2 large strewnfields of some absolutly gorgeous fresh looking stones . He got his name in the history books for the discovery just as Russ and I have . But we're getting a little impatiant waiting on you to finally make a find !! I thought finding your very own meteorite was a prerequisite for being a minelab dealer or at least a coil tech dealer ?? As for seeing fusion crust or chondrules these guys either have vision close to blindness or real vivid imaginations !! Happy Huntin John B.

[fredm]

FYI; you do not need to bother your local meteorite acadamia...New England Meteoritical offers a service for a very reasonable fee...I had a suspect iron checked by them. They did what they said in the time frame they said for the fee they said...

no, it was just terrestrial iron...but maybe next time.

The fee was 15 dollars which is less than most single element assays, as far as I know...

They offer this as a public awareness and educational service so there is no intrusion...on their precious time.

If you are interested go to their website and read ALL the Info before you send anything...

They also offer information regarding initial tests to know if you should even send them a specimen...

www.meteorlab.com

fred

[DOC]

I have a VIVID imagination and I am an eternal optimist. Come on John you can't see something that looks like fusion crust? Look really hard, cross your eyes, have another drink, now look again. Have another drink. Do you see it yet?

Take care!

Doc

Hi Rob ,Doc and All

Goldstudmuffin Russ has been spankin your minelab butt on new meteorite finds !! I would consider him somewhat of an expert since I personally trained him . Rob I've had many pieces of rusty iron tested hoping they were part of a famous meteorite down here. The best and simplest way to test them is take about a gram of material off and send it to the local assay office for a nickle assay. If it comes back at least 4% NI then get excited and get it to ASU. Russ can baby you thought that !! Other wise it's just another unidentifiable hunk of iron dropped by our for fathers . Looking at your pix generally the nickle in meteorites helps to inhibit rusting to some degree. Generally you can brush the rust scale off quite easily to see bright shiny metal. As many do with canyon diablo and odessa pieces. Oddly I once was in northern Nevada with a famous Phoenician prospector . Teaching him a lesson on humility at rye patch when we drove to the far side of a drylake to take a break and look for space rocks . Well that impatient Phoenecian had a little tantrum about wanting to gold hunt so 20 minutes huntin and we left. A few years later I took another hunter there where we discovered 2 large strewnfields of some absolutly gorgeous fresh looking stones . He got his name in the history books for the discovery just as Russ and I have . But we're getting a little impatiant waiting on you to finally make a find !! I thought finding your very own meteorite was a prerequisite for being a minelab dealer or at least a coil tech dealer ?? As for seeing fusion crust or chondrules these guys either have vision close to blindness or real vivid imaginations !! Happy Huntin John B.

[Paseclipse]

Hey Doc it's great to be an optimist but optimism won't turn that into a meteorite. There's no fusion crust, the surface isn't smooth enough and there's no thumbprints on the surface. These are all indicators of a meteorite and that has none of them. If you want to see a good picture of something that is most likely a highly weathered iron meteorite have a look at this link-

New Meteorite

Hope this helps

Del

[Azoverland]

Not all iron meteorites have fusion crust or heat affected zones. Check out the Tucson Ring Meteorite.

I'm betting this one it not a meteorite however. I wish it was because I found a similar looking piece in the Box Canyon area near Tucson but with what looks like more nickle flake in it......if Rob get's positive results back on this it will give me hope I have a small part of the Tucson Ring(wishful thinking) and I'll send it out for testing.

[DOC]

I agree it looks awful rusty to be a meteorite. The only meteorites I am pretty good at identifying are L4 chondrites that we find down at Gold Basin.

Doc

Hey Doc it's great to be an optimist but optimism won't turn that into a meteorite. There's no fusion crust, the surface isn't smooth enough and there's no thumbprints on the surface. These are all indicators of a meteorite and that has none of them. If you want to see a good picture of something that is most likely a highly weathered iron meteorite have a look at this link-

New Meteorite

Hope this helps

Del

[Terry Soloman]

Hey Uncle Ron & Doc,

You might be right, but the weight is 2-3 times heavier than any stone or stony-iron I have that is similar in size. I guess I just need to get it tested to see what it might be.

Anyone else have any thoughts?

Yep, I had a thought. I thought, wouldn't it be great if it WAS a new meteorite! How friggin cool you must have felt when you dug that sucker out and said to yourself, "Wow, wonder if this is a meteorite?" I wonder how many people will actually get off their computer chair and go out into the wide world to try and find one - because you found that unidentified iron object and asked the simple question, what if? Gawd I miss Arizona! - Terry

PS - Looks like a piece of artillery shrapnel to me

[Guest goldstudmuffin]

Hi Rob and Doc and All,

Check out this new Arizona meteorite find... it has a couple sisters over at ASU being classified.

Because this one is a complete oriented piece we would'nt let ASU cut it. The smaller piece is number 4 from this area... hoping it's a new strewn field.

John B. you're a great teacher! Thanks, will see you soon!

[John B.]

Hi Doc, Del, Fred, Russ, Rob and All

Well doc I drank, squinted, farted, crossed my eyes and I still can't say it's a meteorite or even looks like one . But it doesn't mean it isn't one . A Ni test is a must to be determinative !! Del I have a complete falling apart rust ball munionlusta (sp?) that could be a twin . I also have shale balls from Wolf Creek that would fool an expert if they didn't know where they came from ? I also wouldn't be so quick to declare Lunks mothers find a space rock unless it's from a known find ?? I know I've had some pretty good looking candidates assayed to find out they were terrestrial scrap iron . I know how badly Rob wants to find his very own space rock and join that exclusive historic group of people . Maybe I can talk Gold Studmuffin Russ in to giving him a training lesson in exchange for the overdue patch invites we were promised !! Happy Huntin John B.

[Azoverland]

I guess I don't get it? John B. found a meteorite that had not been documented before? Did they name it after you or do you get to name it? Most meteorites are part of larger ones that break up on entry and the strewn feilds of identified meteorites are what is most likely found?

[nuggethunting]

Hey Russ,

If you only knew how many of those pieces you posted I toss out detecting from Quartzite East you would be amazed. Seeing what you have I know I have found handfuls of meteorites that got tossed back on the ground. I'm far from the meteorite expert, so probably need to keep more of these "strange finds". I have boxes of Gold Basins, some Franconias, a few Canyon Diablo's and some other stuff that probably needs to be looked at some time.

I know back in the mid-90's I found a very nice sized iron meteorite with thumb prints around the Quartzsite area, but tossed it back on the ground. I knew nothing at that time about meteorites and my focus was gold nuggets with my new SD2100. I went back several times looking for this pieces, that was probably softball size, but was a bit longer in length. I could never locate the exact spot, even though I knew I was within 100 yards or so from where I found it. It's amazing after 10 years how the ground and vegitation will change in one location.

Will keep you all updated on what I found out about this piece. It was not found in a mining area, no trash around, so that is what sparked my interest in the find. I was not prospecting for gold.

Rob Allison

[fredm]

Azoverland...."I guess I don't get it? John B. found a meteorite that had not been documented before? Did they name it after you or do you get to name it? Most meteorites are part of larger ones that break up on entry and the strewn feilds of identified meteorites are what is most likely found?"

I think you have some misunderstandings...don't we all...

meteorites are usually named after the location where they are found...in the old days the nearest post office was the name used...

Most of the meteorites we hear about on these forums are from strewn fields that have been openly talked about...some meteorites are from larger pieces that broke during entry...and they form strewn fields...but,there are plenty of individual falls...20-40 tons of space dust and rocks every day...more or less

The last few meteorites I found were because someone had dug a piece and threw it back thinking it was a hot-rock of some sort...one must pay close attention and if in doubt save for further examination...

O.Richard Norton's Field Guide would be a very useful book to read....

Fred