Any ideas what this could be?

[Chrisrobe]

Hello there guys, I posted along time ago and I'm finally coming back to this as it's been annoying me as to what it could be.

i found this years ago , it's a solid iron piece, very magnetic, extremely hard though surprisingly brittle, I'm a metal worker so I typically know my metals, though I'm stumped to what this could be , I cut off this section on an industrial band saw and it took 8 hours.. 

 

I applied some nitric acid and it's exposed some tiny dark spots, ( these are not porous, they're on the surface of the material and didn't show without etching) 

has anyone previously etched a material to expose this grain, and if so, please let me know what you think it is.

thank you 

[Morlock]

Well, I'm not an expert but it looks man made...not natural. Probably some type of alloy. Where did you find it?

[DarkSilicate]

Does it give a black streak?  Looks to me like magnetite.  Magnetite has some weight to it and is quite hard.  Lodestone possibly.

[Chrisrobe]

1 hour ago, DarkSilicate said:

Does it give a black streak?  Looks to me like magnetite.  Magnetite has some weight to it and is quite hard.  Lodestone possibly.

Thanks, although it looks similar to magnetite and loadstone, this is solid iron, harder than stainless steel, which I'm guessing neither of those rocks are

This is considerably heavier than the equivalent mass of steel or any metal I'm used to working with.

 

[Bedrock Bob]

It's not a mineral. It is metallic. Iron minerals are not metallic. It is definitely not magnetite.

It is obviously magnetic. Does it show magnetism?

The shape just screams "MAN MADE!" It looks like cast iron with contaminates in it.

With free metallic specimens like yours there is no way to definitively say whether it is a meteorite or not. But that is definitely not a natural mineral. That much is obvious.

Neither is it slag. Slag is mostly oxidized metal and silica. But it could be refractory waste of some kind. I would say it is a crude casting material.

Meteoritic iron is hard and heavy. But it is not any heavier nor harder than a man made metal of the same mass and alloy/hardness.

You are going to need to get a metallurgical study to determine exactly what it is. Some guys get nickel tests but that does not reveal much info.

 If I were to suggest a next step I would get several XRF shots of the polished surface. There is free metal there and (most probably) oxidized material. So you might make some educated assumptions based on XRF data.

A close look at the inclusions with a strong magnifier might be a simple way to determine the origin too. 

There are many more tests that can be done. Most people are not motivated to take it that far. But if you are determined to find out you can get any type of assay or analysis that you think is needed. Or you could enlist the help of someone who can tell you what tests are appropriate. 

Pieces like that can be whatever you want them to be. At least until an expert tells you otherwise. And you are not going to find any experts here. 

It's not a meteorite to me. But it might be to someone else. And I could be wrong. Free metal objects are either meteoritic or man made and you really can't tell unless they are obvious based on shape, crust, chondrules, etc. Without these clues it is a matter of testing and expert analysis. And even the experts disagree over some specimens.

 

 

[Chrisrobe]

14 hours ago, Bedrock Bob said:

It's not a mineral. It is metallic. Iron minerals are not metallic. It is definitely not magnetite.

It is obviously magnetic. Does it show magnetism?

The shape just screams "MAN MADE!" It looks like cast iron with contaminates in it.

With free metallic specimens like yours there is no way to definitively say whether it is a meteorite or not. But that is definitely not a natural mineral. That much is obvious.

Neither is it slag. Slag is mostly oxidized metal and silica. But it could be refractory waste of some kind. I would say it is a crude casting material.

Meteoritic iron is hard and heavy. But it is not any heavier nor harder than a man made metal of the same mass and alloy/hardness.

You are going to need to get a metallurgical study to determine exactly what it is. Some guys get nickel tests but that does not reveal much info.

 If I were to suggest a next step I would get several XRF shots of the polished surface. There is free metal there and (most probably) oxidized material. So you might make some educated assumptions based on XRF data.

A close look at the inclusions with a strong magnifier might be a simple way to determine the origin too. 

There are many more tests that can be done. Most people are not motivated to take it that far. But if you are determined to find out you can get any type of assay or analysis that you think is needed. Or you could enlist the help of someone who can tell you what tests are appropriate. 

Pieces like that can be whatever you want them to be. At least until an expert tells you otherwise. And you are not going to find any experts here. 

It's not a meteorite to me. But it might be to someone else. And I could be wrong. Free metal objects are either meteoritic or man made and you really can't tell unless they are obvious based on shape, crust, chondrules, etc. Without these clues it is a matter of testing and expert analysis. And even the experts disagree over some specimens.

 

 

Thanks Bob, you were very helpful all those years ago too.

I'll get it tested and come back with the results 🙏