Cone 4 Posted May 21 Share Posted May 21 Any help in identifying this would be appreciated. Picked this up in North Central Arizona while surveying a prehistoric Pueblo outside the town of Mayer. It was located adjacent to the site amongst a scatter of potsherds. It is about twice as heavy as the surrounding rock specimens and measures approximately 45 mm in length and weighs in at 48.5 grams. It is attracted by a magnet. Any thoughts? Cheers, Chris - Prescott AZ 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Bedrock Bob 3,961 Posted May 21 Share Posted May 21 If it is attracted by a magnet it is iron. If it is mineral iron it is terrestrial. A streak test and a window to see the inside is the next step. If it streaks in hues of red or grey it is mineral. If the luster is sub metallic it is a mineral. If it is free metallic iron it is an artifact or a suspect meteorite. Meteorites leave no streak color. Metallic iron streaks metallic. It looks like mineral iron to me. It does not look like a meteorite. The only way to tell for sure is to determine the state of the iron that is attracting the magnet. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Cone 4 Posted May 21 Author Share Posted May 21 I should restate that it’s only moderately attracted to a magnet. I thought magnetic properties were associated with meteorites, no? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
billpeters 380 Posted May 21 Share Posted May 21 Cone, I like your rock whether it is a meteorite or not. I'm in Mesa and wouldn't mind meeting you sometime. Bob is right. Turn over the porcelain top of the toilet tank and scratch your stone hard enough to leave a streak. It it is grey, black, or reddish grey it is oxidized terrestrial iron, which does not occur in space. Cheers! billpeters Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ivigo 10 Posted May 21 Share Posted May 21 If scratch it with fusion crust the most possible is the streak to be gray, brown or black . They need to greed first. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Cone 4 Posted May 21 Author Share Posted May 21 So... me and my toilet cover see a dark red streak which leads me to believe I have a chunk of hematite... dammit! Thanks or the input, Chris 3 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Gilaoro 318 Posted May 22 Share Posted May 22 10 hours ago, Cone said: Any help in identifying this would be appreciated. Picked this up in North Central Arizona while surveying a prehistoric Pueblo outside the town of Mayer. It was located adjacent to the site amongst a scatter of potsherds. It is about twice as heavy as the surrounding rock specimens and measures approximately 45 mm in length and weighs in at 48.5 grams. It is attracted by a magnet. Any thoughts? Cheers, Chris - Prescott AZ Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Gilaoro 318 Posted May 22 Share Posted May 22 Welcome to the forum Cone! My only thought is that unless you where on an official survey you may get a reply from the woods cops! 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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