[meteorite-list] Mystery Rock....

From: Don Merchant <dmerchan_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu, 12 Jan 2012 15:04:27 -0500
Message-ID: <000301ccd165$63efbe20$6401a8c0_at_donaldmerchant>

Hi List. Not being a geologist, I found a large rock the other day (2 lbs
and a little bigger then the size of a fist) which seemed heavier then most
that size I have come across and having brownish non-porous territorialized
look. I took it home as I really wanted to know what the heck it is. Of
course the first thing I did was test it with a neodymium magnet and it
stuck to the rock, but it did not snap to the rock as if say like a solid
iron rock. Still I could move and wobble the rock by waving the magnet over
it. I then decided to use my metal detector and it would not register even
when using "all metal" for detection...quite odd. I then decided to grind a
small part of it just to see if maybe there might be visible chondrules. I
ground that rock for about 7 minutes hard with a hand power grinder. It
hardly ground off anything and I was using a grinding wheel used to cut or
grind stainless! I did notice several small areas with what looked like
black fusion crust but felt that since it did not cover a majority of the
meteorite that it might of been just asphalt tar that may have attacked
itself during its life. Digging deeper and leaning to the side that it is
NOT a meteorite, I checked up on magnetite and or hematite and living up
here in Upstate New York was not sure that those types were common in my
area. Anyways...any one out there have any idea what type of Earth rock this
could be for my own curiosity? I will take a few pics to those who would
like to view it and or send it to someone who has a strong background in
geology to kill the curiosity of the cat. One big thing I forgot to mention
was that under a large magnifying glass that there were glitters of what
look like or could be tiny crystals giving a diamond glitter look, which
again would stray away as of meteorite origin. Would be nice if it was
loaded with diamond!! Any thoughts!
Sincerely
Don Merchant
IMCA #0960
Received on Thu 12 Jan 2012 03:04:27 PM PST