JUSTIN Williams 0 Posted February 7, 2011 Share Posted February 7, 2011 Hello everyone:I am new to this. My father was away on a trip and discovered 3 unique pieces of metal that we suspect to be goldand aluminum- possibly native! I have organized photos in three different collages - see attachments.Anyone interested please do respond. I communicate most efficiently through email, but I will be watching the forum.L. Justin Williamsljwilliams@crimson.ua.edu Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Uncle Ron 1,491 Posted February 7, 2011 Share Posted February 7, 2011 Looks like mostly you have what we call "Cow Aluminum" ... Cows chew up cans and it is very very common (and irritating) to get in a CA patch...It does look like you may have a small gold nugget and the other rounded silver nugget looks like babbit, a combination of lead and tin that was used to seal together pipe sections back in the day... Some is hard to tell by picture, but the cow aluminum stands out...Cheers, Unc Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Goldfinger 43 Posted February 7, 2011 Share Posted February 7, 2011 I had never heard of native aluminum so I did a search. What do you know? Native aluminum does exist but very rare. http://www.mindat.org/gallery.php?min=107While I have never heard of "cow aluminum" either, that's a better explanation then finding a piece of native aluminum in Arizona.- if it's even aluminum at all.Steve Quote Link to post Share on other sites
JUSTIN Williams 0 Posted February 7, 2011 Author Share Posted February 7, 2011 Each sample was found in clay deposits in a small area- the gold and aluminum. A local chemist tested the round silver piece, and concluded that it was aluminum. That piece has been heat and has a huge capacity for heat - I doubt it was ever used for sealing pipe because it is difficult to heat to a malleable or liquid form, even with a torch. Also, after heating it, there was a release of what smelled like sulfur from pores within the round silvery piece. Also, a local jeweler tested the presumed gold piece and confirmed it to be between 12 to 14k - he suggested it was a copper/gold combination. Anyhow, each of these strange pieces were found within 100sf of one another, roughly. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
OldSalt 1 Posted February 7, 2011 Share Posted February 7, 2011 About three years ago, I found some items that look almost exactly the same as what you found. I found them up by Table Mesa Road in a wash. It turned out to be man made/slag or metal that had been thrown into a fire. I had also found the remains of an old structure nearby, and I guess it could have been possible that there had been an accidental fire or it could have been some type of smelting structure.I also considered the possibility of pieces from an aircraft crash. Electronics also contains some precious metals. I suppose if you had enough of it and threw it into a big bonfire, you might end up with some odd mixtures. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Bedrock Bob 4,019 Posted February 7, 2011 Share Posted February 7, 2011 "Alumanuggets" are very common where there has been a party with a fire. You stand by the fire and throw your beer can (oor tinfoil from a burrito)into it when it is empty. It melts and creates an "alumanugget". I have found tens of thousands on the beaches at Elephant Butte Lake, as well as on the river, in the desert and everywhere people have been standing around a fire driniking.Almost all camp fires in all camping areas have a few "Alumanuggets" from tin foil, beer cans, aluminum roasting pans, etc.etc. About 1/4 of my trash found around a firepit consists of "Alumanuggets". Quote Link to post Share on other sites
JUSTIN Williams 0 Posted February 8, 2011 Author Share Posted February 8, 2011 Here are some more detailed images of the individual samples. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Goldfinger 43 Posted February 8, 2011 Share Posted February 8, 2011 Chemical tests will also be helpful.http://www.lacywest.com/t_goldt.htm#testgoldintroSteve Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Goldfinger 43 Posted February 8, 2011 Share Posted February 8, 2011 Keep in mind you need to be real accurate with your measurements, if you are off by just a little bit then it can drastically change the result. That's going to be your biggest problem when performing this test...Steve Quote Link to post Share on other sites
JUSTIN Williams 0 Posted February 9, 2011 Author Share Posted February 9, 2011 Ok, tomorrow I am scheduled to do some electron spectroscopy chemical analysis (ESCA) on the samples. I will post the results and any images.Then maybe I can figure out where they came from and why we keep discovering more of these odd form metals. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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