hematite, magnetite iron rock or meteorite?

Hi guys, I've found this rock in riverbed near Sofala. My Minelab Eureka Gold went off like there's no tomorrow. It was embedded on the side of the river bank. Very heavy for its size ( see pics) it weights 1430g. I polished the tip of it to see inside, also I managed to fracture a piece off from the side. It is very magnetic, using magnet from disassembled dvd drive, it sticks to it and its hard to take off. I have looked up some tests for meteorites, scratching with porcelain (passed ) magnet ( passed obviously ), metal specks inside ( passed ) but still think it probably is just iron rock or magnetite. There is a little of red (rusty) oxidation happening on the outside. Its not porous inside ( as I found out that meteorites aren't ) but it does have few small bubbles like holes. What you guys think?

This looks like a very good candidate for a meteorite, although a detailed photo of the cut edge may provide better clues.

Fresh meteorites will have a black outer crust. This one looks like to have a highly weathered crust, but you would expect this in an environment like Sofala. I have a meteorite from China that looks very similar to this one, although your outer surface is a bit rough for a meteorite.

It also has at least one rounded edge, and what could be a large regmaglypt (thumb print) on one side.

99% of meteorites are attracted to a magnet, but some earth rocks are as well.

If you have been prospecting in the area for a while and this is the first rock like this you have found, it's unlikely to be native to the area, so again, a good candidate for a meteorite. A wider search may find other pieces though.

The only way to tell is to send it to an expert for identification and classification. I recommend Prof Phil Bland from the Desert Fireball Network at Curtin University in Perth. They will only need a small sample for testing, but they may request to retain that sample (or a smaller portion of it) as payment for their testing services.

If you google Phil's name & Curtin together you'll find his phone number and address. He's overseas at the moment, but should be back in the country at the end of next week.

Regard
David
Twitter: @clearskiestv

Thanx mate will do. I haven't been detecting for long and been only once near Sofala, did few hours and out of all the rocks this one stood out with the signal from my detector. Will go back and see if I can find more. Cheers

Sorry but I don't think it's a meteorite , you mentioned it had small bubbles ' those bubble holes are called (vesicles) .
Most meteorites don't have vesicles.

Hi Promo, definitely not a meteorite, I have handled many and collect them.. 90% sure from the images that it is a piece of basalt, which is iron rich. I spend a lot of time out Sofala way and basalt from an old lava field above Sofala has spilt basalt rocks down the hills and into the river. They really give a nice signal, especially when the high iron content in them oxidizes a bit.
Don't stop picking up interesting rocks and checking em out though.
cheers RedDirtDigger

Now that I've been able to look at this on my computer (rather than my phone), I have to agree with the comments above. The surface of the rock is far too rough. And those small bubbles look volcanic in origin. You won't get bubbles on the outside of a meteorite. Even when highly weathered they'll still be mostly smooth.

That's a shameit would have been a good size for a meteorite.

Clear Skies
Dave

Thanks guys, oh well pity its not. Better luck next time. cheers