[meteorite-list] Metallic Rock Baffles Experts

From: Ron Baalke <baalke_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Mon Jul 31 12:56:54 2006
Message-ID: <200607311620.JAA02460_at_zagami.jpl.nasa.gov>

http://www.daytondailynews.com/localnews/content/localnews/daily/073106mysteryrock.html

Rock baffles experts; can't figure out what it is

A Preble County farmer found the very heavy, likely man-made
pieces on his property.

By Steve Bennish
Dayton Daily News
July 30, 2006

A mysterious 400-pound load of metallic rubble found by a Preble County
farmer in a creek near his home is baffling geology experts at Sinclair
Community College who have tried to analyze it.

The material appears to be man-made and the result of some industrial
process, but even after a half-dozen common tests over many weeks, its
composition and origin remains unknown, said Anne Henry, associate
professor of geology at Sinclair.

The material's unusual properties have baffled testers, Henry said.

Some of it has been found in 20-pound chunks the approximate shape of
squashed bread loaves with scorched, blackish exteriors. Broken open,
the chunks have bright, aluminum-colored, granular interiors with some
traces of green or gold. It does not attract a magnet, nor is it
radioactive.

The hardness of the material is remarkable, measuring between an eight
and a nine on the scientific Mohs scale of hardness, harder than steel
and in the range of precious stones like topaz.

It's also extremely dense, greater than iron and on par with a lead ore
or bronze alloy. Exposed to temperatures of 2,100 degrees Fahrenheit,
the material didn't melt. Scrape a piece of it on unglazed porcelain, a
common geology test, and it leaves a blackish streak.

Research into possible industries in the area that might have generated
the material as waste has come to no conclusions, Henry said.

Mike West, the farmer who found the metal, said he was enjoying an
afternoon with his granddaughter this year on the 80 acres he farms in
northern Preble County when he was throwing some rocks in the creek. "I
picked up one rock and it was unusually heavy, so I saved that one."

Weeks later, still intrigued, he returned with a metal detector. The
detector lit up on the piles of rocks in the creek.

If someone dumped the material long ago, it would have been a tough job.

Not only is the stuff heavy, but the driveway is three-quarters of a
mile from the road. The owner of the land moved there in 1968 and has no
knowledge of the deposit, West said.

West at one time thought it might be the remains of a meteor impact.
Henry doesn't think so, and is pretty much convinced the material is
man-made. Henry hopes that more sophisticated testing, using equipment
the college doesn't have on hand, will expose the nature of the deposit.

Her best guesses are that the material is some form of industrial ingot
or casting. She's hoping a local expert or business will volunteer to
provide some guidance or more advanced testing facilities.

"From a geology point of view, I'd like to know what it is, what its
industrial application is and why it is sitting in this guy's field,"
Henry said.

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-7407 or sbennish_at_DaytonDailyNews.com.

Want to help?

To volunteer expertise help Anne Henry identify the rocks, you can reach
her at (937) 512-4560 or write her at: Anne Henry, Geology Department,
Sinclair Community College, 444 W. Third St., Dayton, OH 45402 or e-mail
anne.henry_at_sinclair.edu.anne.henry@sinclair.edu.
Received on Mon 31 Jul 2006 12:20:16 PM PDT