# Rock Experts?



## kccjer (Jan 27, 2012)

I have a large black rock. Very black...never seen one this black before. It attracts a magnet but is not itself magnetic (so it is NOT magnetite). It does not rust...it has been black since I first saw it 12 years ago and it has been sitting outside ever since. Squarish in shape. Extremely heavy for it's size. I can't pick the thing up and I should be able to. My husband says it probably weighs 100 pounds. It measures about 12 inches tall and about 10 inches on 2 sides. I'll put up pics from my phone next. Any ideas?


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## sweetgoats (Oct 18, 2007)

WOW can't wait to see it.


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## kccjer (Jan 27, 2012)

Pics

Carmen, Oleo Acres LLC, NW Ks


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## Scottyhorse (Feb 11, 2013)

I'll show it to my grandma, she and my grandparents are into rocks and gems, she will probably know.


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## kccjer (Jan 27, 2012)

We are thinking it is probably a meteorite, but not positive and not sure how to get it identified. Like I said....it attracts a magnet! I used a piece of known magnetite and it latched right onto that rock! But a piece of metal that the magnetite attracts, did NOT attract to the rock at all. I would almost say iron ore, but it's not rusty at all and sitting out in the weather like it has....it should have some rust spots.


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## Darlaj (Dec 10, 2013)

If it's a meteorite it can be worth some bucks!


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## Scottyhorse (Feb 11, 2013)

Ok, just sent them an email! If I could get on facebook, I would send the link to my grandma (yes... she has a facebook :lol but the internet is acting up so I can not get on. Maybe in the morning or later tonight.


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## goathiker (Apr 14, 2011)

It looks like Hematite. It's still worth something for jewelry.


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## kccjer (Jan 27, 2012)

goathiker said:


> It looks like Hematite. It's still worth something for jewelry.


What I can find on hematite says that all hematite have a rust red streak...there is no rust red streak on this anywhere that I can find? And the rest of the description gets too scientific for me! LOL But since it says it comes basically from iron ore that would account for the metal in it that attracts magnets.

edit: another place says I have to break it to see what color the inside is. How the heck do I go about doing that? LOL


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## Scottyhorse (Feb 11, 2013)

Hammer and chisel?


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## Scottyhorse (Feb 11, 2013)

Maybe drop it off a cliff... :lol:


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## kccjer (Jan 27, 2012)

Scottyhorse said:


> Maybe drop it off a cliff... :lol:


Never been to the NW corner of Kansas have ya? There are NO cliffs out here!!! :ROFL: And if there were it would just drop into dirt!!


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## Scottyhorse (Feb 11, 2013)

:laugh: I remembered there were no cliffs as soon as I clicked post... :lol:


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## goathiker (Apr 14, 2011)

Tell a Lapidary Hobbiest you'll give him a few slabs if he'll cut it for you. On second thought, a rock saw that big may not exist...


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## LibertyHomesteadFarm (Feb 1, 2014)

looks like hematite.


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## NubianFan (Jun 3, 2013)

Don't chisel it until you know for certain it isn't a meteorite. At first look I thought meteorite too. Though I am definitely no expert and it could be something else. The reason you don't want to chisel into if it is a meteorite is that once you break open the shell of a meteorite it lets loose all these dangerous space gases inside and sometimes it even lets out little aliens!!!!!!!! :shock: :help::ROFL: Just kidding, don't chisel it until you know for sure because if it turns out to be a meteorite someone might pay a lot more for it whole, like it fell, instead of chiseled up.


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## kccjer (Jan 27, 2012)

But, but...but....how AWESOME would that be to hatch little aliens????? Really!!  hehe No, not going to chisel until I know a little more. I decided to look and hematite in Kansas tends to be the "red, earthy type". HOWEVER.....in the area where I did find my cool black rock there is Ilmenite " Massive variety has been found in kimberlite....Platy crystals have also been found as grains in sand" But another site describing it also says "Ilmenite is commonly recognized in altered igneous rocks by the presence of a white alteration product, the pseudo-mineral leucoxene. Often ilmenites are rimmed with leucoxene, which allows ilmenite to be distinguished from magnetite and other iron-titanium oxides. " And there is no white stuff on this rock...other than good old kansas dirt. LOL


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## NubianFan (Jun 3, 2013)

Take a gander, some of them, look pretty similar to what you have
https://www.google.com/search?q=met...i=2&ved=0CAcQ_AUoAQ&biw=1821&bih=889&dpr=0.75


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## NubianFan (Jun 3, 2013)

And this might be useful to you also
http://meteorite-identification.com/streak.html


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## TDG-Farms (Jul 12, 2013)

LOL dont hammer and chisel it  Should be a geologist in your area you an take it to. I would guess basalt with maybe some iron ore or a granite or maybe even obsidian. here is a blurb.

Obsidian is mineral-like, but not a true mineral because as a glass it is not crystalline; in addition, its composition is too complex to comprise a single mineral. It is sometimes classified as a mineraloid. Though obsidian is usually dark in color similar to mafic rocks such as basalt, obsidian's composition is extremely felsic. Obsidian consists mainly of SiO2 (silicon dioxide), usually 70% or more. Crystalline rocks with obsidian's composition include granite and rhyolite. Because obsidian is metastable at the Earth's surface (over time the glass becomes fine-grained mineral crystals), no obsidian has been found that is older than Cretaceous age. This breakdown of obsidian is accelerated by the presence of water.
Pure obsidian is usually dark in appearance, though the color varies depending on the presence of impurities. Iron and magnesium typically give the obsidian a dark brown to black color. Very few samples are nearly colorless. In some stones, the inclusion of small, white, radially clustered crystals of cristobalite in the black glass produce a blotchy or snowflake pattern (_snowflake obsidian_). It may contain patterns of gas bubbles remaining from the lava flow, aligned along layers created as the molten rock was flowing before being cooled. These bubbles can produce interesting effects such as a golden sheen (_sheen obsidian_). An iridescent, rainbow-like sheen (_rainbow obsidian_) is caused by inclusions of magnetite nanoparticles


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## kccjer (Jan 27, 2012)

Doesn't look like obsidian occurs naturally in Kansas so that big a chunk of it is unlikely. Plus I don't see where it attracts a magnet. It's not granite cause I know that one and this isn't consistent with that. Not sure on the basalt tho..." basalts weather relatively fast. The typically iron-rich minerals oxidise rapidly in water and air, staining the rock a brown to red colour due to iron oxide (rust)." That last doesn't fit with this rock. I found it in water and it has sat out in the weather and where my mama "watered" it regularly while watering her lawn.


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## nchen7 (Feb 25, 2013)

maybe find a geology group and post something there?

I'm zero help with this..... it's pretty cool you have that rock there though.


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## kccjer (Jan 27, 2012)

There aren't any geologists that I know (and would trust LOL) out here. I do have an email into Kansas University geology department. I had seen the rock when we lived back near Manhattan, Ks and just thought it was a cool rock. I mean...this rock is solid black. I've never seen one like that. The day we moved I talked my hubby and brother into going into the creek and getting it for me. :eyeroll: They weren't exactly thrilled. hehe They got out into the water and one went to pick it up and they grunted. Took both of them to get my rock for me. :lol: At that point they were even more thrilled. 

I put it at my mom's cause we were on our way to Europe. I was informed then by all involved with moving it that it was NOT going to be moved anywhere else. :| It got moved because they had to fix the hydrant it was put beside. Since it was sitting out away from the fence corner and kinda in the way, my mama had my 2 nephews move it down here.


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## kccjer (Jan 27, 2012)

Ok, a little more testing on my part. Ilmenite is suppose to be "mildly magnetic"....this rock doesn't even hold a paper clip. LOL And the one really good pic of Ilmenite I found absolutely doesn't look like what I have. This should be easier! heheh


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## TDG-Farms (Jul 12, 2013)

Should be a geologist at your locale or state college.


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## kccjer (Jan 27, 2012)

TDG-Farms said:


> Should be a geologist at your locale or state college.


hehe You never been to NW Kansas either, have you?! LOL Closest "state college" is 5 hours away! I did send pics and an email to the KU geology department so we'll see what they say.


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## kccjer (Jan 27, 2012)

Ok, reply from KU says they think it is Gabbro. I used a hammer and flaked a couple pieces off of it. Doing the "streak" test leaves the lead-like marks that says it's magnetite....but it's not magnetic itself, so I'm ruling that one out. Here's a pic of the flakes I got... AND....it is found in Kansas in the area where I found it. Darn...I wanted to hatch aliens. LOL


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## justspry (Feb 5, 2014)

I have no idea but very cool !!!!!!!!!


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## Goat_in_Himmel (Jun 24, 2013)

I have a geologist coming over to supper tomorrow, and will ask him if he can identify it remotely with the info you've given. (And if he says "it's a rock", that will be a little _too_ remote of an identification, and will get smacked with a wet noodle!)


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## kccjer (Jan 27, 2012)

Goat_in_Himmel said:


> I have a geologist coming over to supper tomorrow, and will ask him if he can identify it remotely with the info you've given. (And if he says "it's a rock", that will be a little _too_ remote of an identification, and will get smacked with a wet noodle!)


Make it at least twice with that wet noodle! :ROFL: Here are a couple more pics for him. One is a better pic of one of the chips and the other is where I chipped it off the rock.


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## LonesomeDoveRanch (Sep 20, 2012)

TDG-Farms said:


> LOL dont hammer and chisel it  Should be a geologist in your area you an take it to. I would guess basalt with maybe some iron ore or a granite or maybe even obsidian. here is a blurb.
> 
> Obsidian is mineral-like, but not a true mineral because as a glass it is not crystalline; in addition, its composition is too complex to comprise a single mineral. It is sometimes classified as a mineraloid. Though obsidian is usually dark in color similar to mafic rocks such as basalt, obsidian's composition is extremely felsic. Obsidian consists mainly of SiO2 (silicon dioxide), usually 70% or more. Crystalline rocks with obsidian's composition include granite and rhyolite. Because obsidian is metastable at the Earth's surface (over time the glass becomes fine-grained mineral crystals), no obsidian has been found that is older than Cretaceous age. This breakdown of obsidian is accelerated by the presence of water.
> Pure obsidian is usually dark in appearance, though the color varies depending on the presence of impurities. Iron and magnesium typically give the obsidian a dark brown to black color. Very few samples are nearly colorless. In some stones, the inclusion of small, white, radially clustered crystals of cristobalite in the black glass produce a blotchy or snowflake pattern (_snowflake obsidian_). It may contain patterns of gas bubbles remaining from the lava flow, aligned along layers created as the molten rock was flowing before being cooled. These bubbles can produce interesting effects such as a golden sheen (_sheen obsidian_). An iridescent, rainbow-like sheen (_rainbow obsidian_) is caused by inclusions of magnetite nanoparticles


I'm a Geology minor. I've worked with obsidian and no it isn't obsidian it is a glassy and chips easily. You must be near a lava source to have obsidian.


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## LonesomeDoveRanch (Sep 20, 2012)

I know a couple of Geology students and professors at The University of Texas - Pan American that would love to get a hold of a little piece of Meteorite to study


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## kccjer (Jan 27, 2012)

I'd love to send them a piece! But it's not looking like a meteorite now. I'm being told it's gabbro? Send me a PM with your address and I'll send you a small chunk of the thing.


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## goathiker (Apr 14, 2011)

They have one at Oregon Museum of Science and industry that they let me touch and feel. It was pretty awesome. It's a big one a couple feet across.


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## Goats Rock (Jun 20, 2011)

I was following the thread. I wanted to see baby aliens too! It's a cool rock, anyway!


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## LonesomeDoveRanch (Sep 20, 2012)

I'd email both the Arizona State University (known for meteorite studies) and A & M College Stations geology department. It does look like Gabbro but then there is that shiny silky layer on top that kind of makes me wonder.


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## goathiker (Apr 14, 2011)

Meteorites don't have fracture lines. In the first photo you can see where it broke off the parent rock, which makes it an Earthling. Baby aliens would be cool though as long as they weren't like giant cockroaches or something.


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## springkids (Sep 12, 2013)

I would hope hatching baby aliens is easier than waiting on baby goats...or I would just go nuts.

I agree with goathiker on the cockroach thing....I am also VERY anti-spider.


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## kccjer (Jan 27, 2012)

Well...no aliens...cockroachy or spidery. :tear: Pretty sure we have what is known as kimberlite or gabbro. So...I'm down from my $1 a gram 100 pound rock that was going to pay off my mortgage :wink: to diamonds and opals. :chin: How do I get my diamonds and opals? :shrug: And what are they worth?  My son says there will be less than a carat of industrial grade diamonds that will cost me more for the tools to get it out than the diamond itself will be worth. :sigh: I do have a friend that said if I can get it ground down to at least some semblance of a sphere and polished he'll build me a stand.


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## NubianFan (Jun 3, 2013)

I wasnt envisioning cock roachy or spidery aliens. More amphibias with big red eyes and pointy ears and lots and lots of sharp pointy teeth, BUT green and walked upright and only about an inch tall....


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## NubianFan (Jun 3, 2013)

I can see them clearly. I wish I had a mental camera so I could take a snapshot of them for you... They certainly dont look friendly though


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## kccjer (Jan 27, 2012)

As my son put it: "On the upside you won't have the physical strain of a prolonged battle when it tried to kill you!" :ROFL::ROFL:


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## NubianFan (Jun 3, 2013)

LOL :lol:


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## Goat_in_Himmel (Jun 24, 2013)

Well, looking at the pictures you posted, and the flake, and taking into account the weight and the magnet-attracting properties, my geologist friend said he thinks it's some sort of magnetite, which does not itself have to be magnetic. Certainly something with a lot of iron content to give it that weight. Yes, it may have broken off a meteor a loooooong time ago, but unfortunately so long ago that the poor little alien eggs will have become non-viable by now.


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## NubianFan (Jun 3, 2013)

Thats probably a good thing... If my mental image is correct...


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## kccjer (Jan 27, 2012)

But they ARE alien so do we really KNOW how long they would be viable? Maybe they are just waiting for some stupid sucker to think how cool it would be to crack open that rock and then they will POUNCE! hahahahaha


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## NubianFan (Jun 3, 2013)

True... but they forgot that most earthlings arent all that interested in hard labor like breaking rocks.


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## goathiker (Apr 14, 2011)

Maybe the idea was to wait a million years until the rock weathered away. By that time humans will have destroyed themselves and the Earth will have recovered.


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## NubianFan (Jun 3, 2013)

:idea::mrgreen:


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## kccjer (Jan 27, 2012)

NubianFan said:


> I wasnt envisioning cock roachy or spidery aliens. More amphibias with big red eyes and pointy ears and lots and lots of sharp pointy teeth, BUT green and walked upright and only about an inch tall....


My husband says....just like the Geico gecko!! hahahahah


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## NubianFan (Jun 3, 2013)

ummmmm yeah pretty similar actually only they have these pointy upright freakish ears....


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## kccjer (Jan 27, 2012)

:ROFL: So. A gecko with pointy ears? My daughter thinks we are all crazy, by the way. She thinks we got a little off the wall here. Ha! What does she know...when those little gecko aliens hatch and come after her I'll just remind her that WE tried warning her...


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## NubianFan (Jun 3, 2013)

Tell her my imagination is never ending and my mind never stops... and it is okay to be silly sometimes, other wise it sure is one boring big old world... with tiny little green aliens in it


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## kccjer (Jan 27, 2012)

Sigh....my rock turned out to be nothing exciting. Basalt. No aliens hatching...no mortgage payment.... Oh well. I have a super cool BLACK rock by my front gate.


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## goathiker (Apr 14, 2011)

They didn't look the right way probably. The aliens just aren't ready to hatch yet so, they are still really hard to see. How do you candle a black rock after all?


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