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I found this strange rock at a South Florida beach today. This was pretty far away from the water, at a volleyball court. It was fairly deep in the sand, I would say a good 10 inches. It feels abnormally heavy, weighs 76 grams and a magnet does stick to it. Both my PI metal detector and Pro Find 35 pin pointer go nuts near this thing- the Pro Find 35 makes the ferrous metal sound. Does this look like something I should send out for verification?? With luck, this could help fund my future purchase of an Equinox 800... ?

On my way to Rye Patch last Thursday morning about 1:17 AM I was on 395 and observed a meteor or 'fireball event' that was just incredible. I now see that there is a video that does not do it justice. Before I put a link to that video and those reports let me tell you what I saw and how I reported it. This is what I saw: About 20 minutes north of Ridgecrest on 395 I had just gotten out of my car. As soon as I opened the door I could see it coming. It was several objects burning in the sky with 6-7 separate streaks. It was a dark night and no moon. It was perfectly clear where I was and I thought I was just looking at a huge screen TV. The height seemed to be that of a commercial jet but this was much larger. It didn't remind me so much of a meteor as it did space junk. I guess we'll find out more about that later. It was just a coincidence that I stop at this particular time and place. I probably would not have seen it or I would not have seen as much of it if I was still in the 4Runner. Most of my report is in the report itself. So, what do you do when you see an 'event' of your own? Well, I drove all night to go looking for some gold at Rye Patch so that is what I did. That night I had to sleep. The next night I had a chance to get on the computer and ask the question 'What was that?' Where do you go, what do you do online to report something? As it turns out you go to REPORT A FIREBALL at the American Meteor Society. https://www.amsmeteors.org/ When you get there you can click on Report a Fireball. You will get asked a series of questions to describe what you saw in a technical way that will let the software develop a map of the event as you and hopefully many others saw it. You can upload pictures and video. You can also search for events from all over the world. So, I reported and I didn't see my report with the others. As it turned out there is a pending report file and if you don't state it as they are compiling it then your report will not be added. I now knew my event number was 4094 so I edited my report and it was added to the 29 others and still counting. It was a very, very neat experience. The video now posted on YouTube is only 1/100th of what I saw. I had better than a front row seat. I was in the middle and there were no heads or clouds in my way! Here is the report link: https://www.amsmeteors.org/members/imo_view/event/2018/4094 Here is the video: https://www.amsmeteors.org/videos/?video_id=1445 Mitchel

A US professor has established a rock used as a doorstop is actually a meteorite worth thousands of dollars. Mona Sirbescu from Central Michigan University was asked by a local man to inspect the object he had kept for 30 years after finding it on a farm. The 22lb (10kg) meteorite was the biggest the geologist had been asked to examine in her career. The rock, which came down on farmland in Edmore, Michigan, in the 1930s, could be worth $100,000 (£77,000).“ For complete article go to https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-45765458

Sorry for a maybe dumb question, but just what is the draw of meteorites? I understand that it is unique and interesting but is there any other reasoning? I am not saying monetary returns but more like registeries or some acknowledgment of finds etc? Again I apologize for this if dumb. I mainly got interested in detectors for gold as I am getting a little fragile with age and no longer play like mountain goats. I am brand new to detecting but just from reading this forum I have decided coin, beach, jewelry hunting may fit me also. I understand relics and "old" items from history. But rocks from space? Now if they were large enough to mine that another story, but I would want to find it here on earth unless it fell ages ago. A dinosaur didn't like theirs. LOL Thanks, Dan

"This is only the fifth fall in Arizona and the first one in the Valley," said Arizona State University professor Laurence Garvie, curator of the Center for Meteorite Studies. "He is asking anyone within two miles of Deer Valley Road and 75th Avenue in Glendale to look for black rocks in their yard that weren't there before." Full article here

A handy FAQ from the natural History Museum about meteorites, meteors and other small celestial bodies that Earth encounters in its travels around the Sun. http://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/meteorites-and-meteor-wrongs.html

Fragments of meteorites fell in southwest China’s Yunnan Province on June 1 and two pieces fell through villagers’ house roofs while one fell on the dry ground and another one was found in a cornfield. https://www.shine.cn/viral/1806045767/

Here is a good video of the meteor striking the ground turning it into many meteorites! https://www.amsmeteors.org/videos/?video_id=1222 Mitchel

Got out to Holbrook Arizona to hunt Meteorites with a few friends. Ended up with 168 Grams of meteorites, a few coins and items from the railroad. Eyeballed the meteorites, and used the Equinox 800 for the items. The Equinox 800 would hear the LL/LL6 Holbrook meteorites with no discrimination. As soon as I put discrimination on, I could not hear the meteorites. I could not hunt with discrimination off because of all the trash on the side of the railroad tracks... Dave

I have been using the GM1000 for maybe 20 hours, covered some (often difficult and shifting) ground and found what I normally would find, mostly trash, most interesting so far an old key. So far so good. It is not impossible that there might be some gold to find, but highly unlikely. I am trying to dig every clear signal. I am mainly out to find meteorites, and I am still unsure how not to overlook a possible meteorite. Very, very often I would get a clear signal with iron characteristic. When I remove the ground cover, it often slowly fades away. Not sure what that is. Sometimes I do find small corroded iron crumbs (then the signal does not fade). But most often nothing. Also, very often the GM1000 would give a really strong signal, but it is not possible to localize, because it just fades away even before I notice if it was an iron signal or not. I assume due to the auto tracking, so this might indicate a hot rock. But what would I have to expect from a meteorite? If there is iron, also as quite tiny grains, the signal should not just fade, is this correct? So I do not have to worry about the signals from hot rocks? Thanks for help.

I was going out to watch the meteor shower tonight and detect nuggets in the desert but it is cloudy. If you are in clear skies this is the night! https://www.livescience.com/62376-lyrid-meteor-shower-before-nibiru.html?utm_source=notification Mitchel

Searching a new spot in the sunny Arizona desert this morning netted 3 small nuggets. While aimlessly swinging the mighty Zed back to the truck for lunch, a faint signal stopped me cold; what at first glance appeared to be a small magnetite hot rock turned out to actually be a meteorite fragment. After lunch, the Zed went to bed and out came the Gold Monster. While searching for more fragments, the GM 1000 signaled with a strong non-ferrous target response that turned out to be another small gold nugget. All in all, a fantastic day. More details here:

Pictured is a 15 gram meteorite fragment I came across while detecting for gold nuggets in the Arizona desert today, in an area with no recorded meteorite falls. The stone is from a relatively recent fall; the primary and secondary fusion crusts are still quite black and unoxidized. Now the real fun begins: searching for more fragments!

http://www.foxnews.com/science/2018/02/16/arizona-meteorite-fetches-record-breaking-237500-at-auction.html

Heard the news lately? Today a fireball exploded over SE Michigan and registered a 2.0 earthquake. Now, since we know the rock exploded, how to find the meteorites on the ground ,if they made it that far? I always heard that when the meteorite light goes out, the rock can still be 5 miles high? So, how would you trace it to where the rocks fell to earth exactly? It was seen in 6 states and Canada. -Tom

A Jeweler I know wanted a piece of Gold Basin meteorite to play around with. I rough-polished an end piece and some slabs for him to look at...he picked aan interesting end piece to set with gold and diamonds...I think it is very nice and pretty.... Diamonds Ltd. 2812 Fletcher Parkway El Cajon, CA 92020 619-698-3583www.diamondsltd.com I have no financial interest in the piece nor the company....

Got out yesterday with 2 buddies to Franconia, AZ. meteorite hunting. It's been a long time since getting back out there. I didn't miss all the hot rocks, WW2 bullets and trash, digging 2 foot .50 cal bullets, ect. The GPZ handles hot rocks pretty good, but not out there, there are some hotter than a goats ass in a pepper patch. ? But overall it was a nice day, and we all beat the skunk. Here are some H Metal Iron meteorites found out there. Dave

Arent meteorites / meteorite hunting with a metal detector still exempt from placer or lode claims? I know there has been some nice meteorites found in the Rye area's. Just be sure to leave the gold right where its at if you detect it on someones claim... :) Dave

Made it out for a half day this past weekend, covered a lot of ground, but was worth it. The biggest was 5.4g and was over a foot down, 3 inches into hard caliche. Loving the GPZ. Did well with the meteorites as well. Chris

I went out for a couple of days to Gold Basin seeking gold. It was not to be so when in Gold Basin you seek out some meteorites. This trip it was difficult. Nothing until the final couple of hours on Saturday night. All of my previous locations didn't produce this trip so I went to nearby locations. The larger 37g meteorite was found in an area without many dig holes. It is hard to find a location in Gold Basin without any did holes! After moving on from that location I went to an area where I could see some very old dig holes. They were deep and big and not filled but weathered down. It was time to slow down. I checked around the dig holes and voila ... a hit about 8 inches from a previous dig. Time to scrape and dig and there is a stick to rock on the magnet. (Was it part of the previous dig hole and meteorite?) Don't leave your hole in Gold Basin. Check it again. When this was done there was still a target. Upon recovery it was a broken off piece of the meteorite that was dug. They fit. Total meteorite weight is 54g.

I'm going to stretch the topic just a little bit and tell you that you don't always need to use a metal detector to find meteorites! This meteorite was found with my eyes and a magnet on Coyote Dry Lake. It weighs 13g and is only my second find there. The metal detector was in the car. We don't normally use them on a dry lake but sometimes you can. We used the GB Pro one time on a dry lake bed in Nevada to test meteor wrongs vs meteor rights. Let's say we only tested targets we saw and didn't swing randomly. Not all lake or meteorite areas are suitable for metal detectors. Holbrook in northern Arizona is an example that comes to mind. If you don't see it then you aren't going to find it. The ground is too mineralized for a detector to work. Mitchel

Gold in Meteorites and in the Earth's Crust, U.S.G.S Circular 603 by Robert Sprague Jones, 1968 Original pdf https://pubs.usgs.gov/circ/1968/0603/report.pdf ABSTRACT The reported gold contents of meteorites range from 0.0003 to 8.74 parts per million. Gold is siderophilic, and the greatest amounts in meteorites are in the iron phases. Estimates of the gold content of the earth's crust are in the range of 0.001 to 0.006 parts per million. INTRODUCTION This report is one of several that summarize available data on the occurrence of gold. They have been prepared as background material for the Heavy Metals program of the U.S. Geological Survey, an intensified program of search for new sources of heavy metals, including gold. Data on the occurrence of gold in meteorites and tektites are summarized, and recent estimates of the abundance of gold in the earth's crust are compiled. GOLD IN METEORITES Table 1 shows reported gold contents of tektites, aerolites, siderolites, and siderites. The table is arranged so that the data on tektites, which have the lowest iron contents, are at the top of the table and the data on siderites, which have the highest iron contents, are at the bottom. The other meteorite groups are intermediate in iron contents except for the siderolites. Gold is most abundant in the siderites and least abundant in the tektites; therefore, meteorites supply good evidence of the siderophilic character of gold. The tektites and the achondrites are relatively low in gold contents and are distinct from the other groups of meteorites in this respect. The gold contents of tektites and achondrites are of the same order of magnitude as those of terrestrial rocks. The other meteorites, on the average, contain appreciably more gold. Although the iron contents of meteorites are similar in many respects to those of mafic and ultramafic rocks, the meteorites tend to contain much more gold. In chondrites, the gold seems to be almost entirely in the dispersed metallic phase (Vincent and Crocket, 1960), and this is probably true of the other meteorite. The gold content of the metallic phase of the chondrites is about 1.4 ppm (parts per million), which is similar to the gold contents of siderolites, octahedrites, and ataxites (Vincent and Crocket, 1960; Goldberg and others, 1951). The carbonaceous chondrites are primitive, relatively undifferentiated matter from which the other meteoritic types have evolved (Mason, 1962; Baedecker and Ehmann, 1965). The occurrence of gold in such primitive types may be of special interest. The average gold content for 13 carbonaceous chondrites is 0.16 ppm, an amount greater than that in the average terrestrial rock by a ratio of about 40 to 1. It has been suggested (Aller, 1961) that the best approximation to the average composition of the earth's mantle or even the entire earth is provided by the composition of the chondrites. They are similar in chemical composition to the ultramafic rocks, and their isotopic constitution for several elements is basically the same as that for the rocks of the mantle. Baedecker and Ehmann (1965) shew the abundances of gold, iridium, and platinum in four groups of chondrites. In the olivine-bronzite (H group), the olivine-hypersthene ( L group), and the carbonaceous chondrites, the abundance ratio of Pt :Ir :Au is approximately 7-9:2:1; but for the enstatite chondrites, gold is more abundant and the Pt :Ir :Au ratio is 3.5:0.2 :1. The iridium shows a relatively large decrease with respect to gold. These values, however, represent only analysis of the Abee enstatite chondrite made by Baedecker and Ehmann (1965) by neutron-activation methods. Analysis of this same meteorite by Crocket and others (1967), who also used neutron-activation methods, gives a somewhat different relationship. Their ratio for Pt :Ir :Au is 5.9 :1.5:1. The amount of platinum, iridium, and gold reported by Baedecker and Ehmann is 1.3, 0.083, and 0.37 ppm, respectively; Crocket and others reported 1.3, 0.32, and 0.22 ppm, :respectively. The iridium-gold ratio of terrestrial rocks is more like that of tektites than it is like the ratios of the other meteorites (Baedeckler and Ehmann, 1965). The gold contents of the octahedrites do nott seem to vary with the coarseness of the octahedrites. Cobb (1967) noted that most of his valules for gold in meteorites were in the range of 0.2 to 2.5 ppm. Cobb (1967) and Goldberg, Uchiyama, and Brown ( 1951) analyzed parts (three in all) of the same meteorite, and Cobb obtained lower values. The average values of gold in hexahedrites were also low compared with those of Goldberg, Uchiyama, and Brown (1951). For the same 11 meteorites analyzed by neutron-activation methods by Goldberg, Uchiyama, and Brown (1951) and Fouche and Smales (1966), the average contents were 1.1 ppm gold and 0.9 ppm gold, respectively. The various types of siderites have differing amounts of gold. Ataxites and octahedrites have an average gold content of ab1ut 1.3 ppm, which is about twice that for hexahedrites (0.64 ppm). The hexahedrites usually have less nickel than either the ataxites or the octahedrites. The Santa Catharina ataxite contained the most nickel ( 38.5 percent) and r.lso the most gold (4.0 ppm), but the Deep Springs ataxite (13.4 percent nickel) contained the least amount of gold (less than 0.1 ppm, but considered as 0.05 ppm for table 1). Fouche and Smales (1966) analyzed 70 siderites and found gold contents that ranged from 0.055 to 3.61 ppm. The correlation coefficients between gold and rhenium and between gold and chromium were low and negative, giving values of -0.41 and - 0.31, respectively, but the correlation between gold and arsenic was +0.82 and between gold and palladium +0.68. Goldschmidt and Peters (1932) analyzed the Coahuila, Mexico, meteorite and reported that it contained 1 to 5 ppm gold, whereas analysis by the neutron-activation method by Goldberg, Uchiyama, and Brown (1951) gave 0.743 ppm gold; by Fouche and Smales (1966), 0.70 ppm gold; and by Cobb (1967), 0.43 ppm gold. Goldschmidt and Peters (1932), analyzed the Mount Joy, Pa., meteorite and reported that it contained 5 to 10 ppm gold, whereas analysis by the neutron-activation method by Goldberg, Uchiyama, and Brown (1951) gave 0.994 ppm gold. These comparative values along with others in this report seem to indicate that lower values are obtained for gold when neutron-activation methods are used. ESTIMATES OF GOLD IN THE EARTH'S CRUST Parker (1967) has pointed out the difficulty in estimating the composition of the earth's crust, which forms less than 1 percent of the earth's mass (Aller, 1961). Differences among the estimates given by various authors since Clarke and Washington (1924) are due partly to different concepts of what constitutes the earth's crust, the depth to the Mohorovicic discontinuity, the composition of the oceanic crust compared with the continental crust, and the changes in crustal composition with depth. Also, with respect to gold specifically, the newer method of analysis, that of neutron activation, has resulted in a general downward revision of gold values. Table 2 gives the various estimates for the abundance of the precious metals, gold, platinum, and silver, in the earth's crust. Precious metal contents of various parts of the earth's crust has been noted by Tung and Chi-Lung ( 1966). These data are given in table 3. The estimates of gold and silver in the earth's crust have varied little since those of Clarke and Washington in 1924, although the estimates for platinum have varied substantially. The Ag :Pt :Au ratios, based on Tung and Chi-Lung's (1966) figures, are 21 :13:1. REFERENCES CITED Aller, L. H., 1961, The abundance of the elements: New York, Interscience Publishers, 283 p. Anderson, J. S., 1945, Chemistry of the earth: Royal Soc. New South Wales Jour. and Proc., v. 76, p. 329-345 . Baedecker, P. A., 1967, The distribution of gold and iridium in meteoritic and terrestrial materials: U.S. Atomic Energy Comm. [Pub.] OR0-2670-17, and Ph.D. thesis, Univ. Kentucky, 110 p . Baedecker, P. A., and Ehmann, W. D., 1965, The distribution of some noble metals in meteorites and natural materials: Geochim. et Cosmochim. Acta, v. 29, p. 329-342. Berg, Georg, 1929, Vorkommen und Geochemie der mineralischen Rohstoffe : Leipzig, 414 p. Clarke, F. W., and Washington, H. S., 1924, The composition of the earth's crust: U.S. Geol. Survey Prof. Paper 127, 117 p. Cobb, J. C., 1967, A trace-element study of iron meteorites: Jour. Geophys. Research, v. 72, no. 4, p. 1329-1341. Crocket, J. H., Keays, R. R., and Hsieh, S., 1967, Precious metal abundances in some carbonaceous and enstatite chondrites: Geochim. et Cosmochim. Acta, v. 31, p. 1615-1623. DeGrazia, A. R., and Haskin, Larry, 1964, On the gold content of rocks: Geochim. et Cosmochim. Acta, v. 28, p. 559-564. Fersman, A. E., 1933, Geokhimiya, Tom 1: Leningrad, 328 p. Fouche, K. F., and Smales, A. A., 1966, The distribution of gold and rhenium in iron meteorites: Chern. Geology, v. 1, no. 4, p. 329-339. Goldberg, Edward, Uchiyama, Aiji, and Brown, Harris~n, 1951, The distribution of nickel, cobalt, gallium, palladium, and gold in iron meteorites: Geochim. et Cosmochim. Acta, v. 2, p. 1-25. Goldschmidt, V. M., 1934, Drei Vortage uber Geochemie: Geol. Foren. Stockholm For h. v. 56 p. 385-427. ---1937, Geochemische Verteilungsgesetze der Elemente. IX. Die Mengenverhaltnisse der Elemente und der Atom-Arten: Norske Vidensk.-Akad. Oslo, Skr., Matematisk-Naturvidenskapelig Kl., 1937, no. 4, 148 p. Goldschmidt, V. M., and Peters, Cl., 1932, Zur Geochemie des Edelmetalle: Gesell. Wiss. Gottingen, Nachr., Math.-Phys. Kl., no. 4, p. 377-401. Hey, M. H., 1966, Catalogue of meteorites: British Mus. (Nat. History) Pub. 464, 637 p. Mason, Brian, 1952, Principles of geochemistry: New York, John Wiley and Sons, 276 p. ---1958, Principles of geochemistry [2d ed.] : New York, John Wiley and Sons, 310 p. ---1962, Meteorites: New York, Joln Wiley and Sons, 274 p. Noddack, Ida, and Noddack, Walter, 1930, Die Haufigkeit der chemischen Elementen: Naturw., v. 18, p. 757-764. Parker, R. L., 1967, Composition of the earth's crust: U.S. Geol. Survey Prof. Paper 440-D, 19 p. Polanski, Antoni, 1948, A new essay of evaluation of the chemical composition of the earth: Soc. Amis Sci. et Lettres Poznan Bull., Ser. B., v. 9, p. 25-46. Rankama, Kalervo, and Sahama, Th. G., 1950, Geochemistry: Chicago, Univ. Chicago Press, 912 p. Schneiderhohn, Hans, 1934, Die Ausnutzungsmoglichkeiten der deutschen Erlagerstatter : Metallwirtschaft 13, p. 151-157. Shcherbakov, Yu. G., and Perezhogin, G. A., 1964, Geochemistry of gold: Geochemistry Internat., no. 3, p. 489-496. Tung, Li, and Chi-Lung, Yio, 1966, The abundance of chemical elements in the earth's crust and its major tectonic units: Scientia Sinica, v. 15, no. 2, p. 258-272. Vincent, E. A., and Crocket, J. H., 1960, Studies in the geochemistry of gold. II. The gold content of some basic and ultrabasic rocks and sto:-1e meteorites: Geochim. et Cosmochim. Acta, v. 18, p. 143-148. Vinogradov, A. P., 1956, Regularity of distribution of chemical elements in the earth's crust: Geokhimiya, translation, no. 1, p. 1-43. ---1962, Average content of chemical elements in the principal types of igneous rocks of the earth's crust: Geokhimiya, translation, no. 7, p. 641-664.

http://meteorites.wustl.edu/what_to_do.htm#actlabs Salutation at this very informative website us below: (and yes, do click on those read this and this links too) Prepared by: Randy L. Korotev Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences Washington University in St. Louis Please don't contact me about the meteorite you think you've found until you read this and this.

Got out Saturday for a day hunt at Gold Basin, Arizona. Ended up with 3 Gold Nuggets, and a few meteorites, wish the weather stayed like this all the time ..... Dave.