rock from Nth QLD

[choiceshot2]

Hi fellow rock hunters hope someone can shed a light on this piece of rock , looks like it had come from a volcano extremely heavy so I thing it is iron .
only problem I have is when I place a magnet on it it will not stick , I run a SD 2300 and it sounds off big time with this unit , in fact I could not run it in the location for long as I found it keeped on resetting its self.

his some pics

regards the Panner

 

[dam it]

Hit that sucka with a big hammer

 

[SC75]

It looks volcanic. AtomRat is the man to talk to.

 

[Wishfull]

Hit it, smack that rock.

 

[Keen Ken]

Don't hit it! It looks like a nickle/ iron /olivine meteorite maybe.
Have it checked out, don't be duped out of it, could be worth $1000 a kilo or more if it is.
Is there a spot on it that looks like a blow torch has melted it a little.
Most times meteorites have striations radiating from the centre of the atmosphere entry point.
I found a small one years ago whilst beach detecting, didn't know back then, I hit it and broke it in two, was after that I noticed "hopper" etching on one side and fused striated surface on the other side. It was nickle/ iron, magnet did not stick.

 

[mbasko]

It's basalt & yes it's a volcanic rock. If you stuck a strong enough magnet near it I'd be betting there would be some magnetism there i.e. rare earth magnet.
Gold can be associated with it by way of the basalt flow (lava flow) capping old leads. I've never seen nor heard of gold being contained within it but have seen & found gold in amongst decomposed basalt.
Some areas the basalt has a higher iron content & nearly every rock signals. Others aren't as problematic with only the odd one signalling here & there which would indicate a lower iron content. This may be the case with your rock i.e. from a lower iron content area with less magnetism but still enough to signal.
SDC's love the stuff but I found the salt timings could mellow it out or get rid of some of them.

 

[choiceshot2]

thanks fellows for the insight gold is not always the main object learning whats out there and experience it is BIGGER in my eyes

the panner

 

[mbasko]

in fact I could not run it in the location for long as I found it keeped on resetting its self

Also this would have not been caused by the makeup of the rocks as such but more likely hitting the coil against them. A quick fix is some tape around your batteries to stop them moving when you hit the coil against something.

 

[Heatho]

I agree with Mbasko, basalt, that stuff makes the worst hotrocks ever.

 

[Lefty]

How heavy is basalt? It might vary. I have a chunk of vesicular basalt about that size that and it's as light as a feather. But that's probably because it's much more perforated than this specimen.

It does look volcanic though. Maybe it's kimberlite or lamproite - keep an eye out for diamonds in that spot

 

[mbasko]

Considering that basalt can vary fairly widely in makeup I'd suspect so could the weight/density? If you have an extremely lightweight piece it could be scoria or even pumice which are very light & contain numerous vesicles. Most basalt I find around here is relatively heavy - definitely not as light as a feather anyway.
IMO it looks a lot different to kimberlite or lamproite examples & given the rarity of diamond deposits + basalt being one of the most common rocks I am sticking with it.

choiceshot2 - it might be worth reading up on greenstone/basalt in your area. I know you say gold isn't the main object but you were using a gold detector in the area
If gold is associated with basalt where you are it could be beneficial to know if it's associated by way of capped leads or with the contact zones of another rock/rock types. Knowing this & especially where the leads are/could be or what other types of rock to be looking for in close proximity to the basalt would improve your search chances.