Weird ROCK - help needed

[Willow]

Went up past Briagolong yesterday and found the rock (below). It was about the size of a soccer ball and quite heavy. I broke off a small piece and weigh was approx 4kg and volume about 1.2 liters. The whole rock weighs about 20kq. Showed it to my Vanquish 540 and it lit up like a christmas tree, displaying at least 5 codes. 15,16,17,18,22,32 Rough SG test =3.3. Parts of rock seem metamorphic with heavy intrusions. Drilling with masonry bit caused rock to break down fault lines but could not get through the harder parts

Can anyone suggest what it is? Am I about to be rich or does it go in the shed as a worthless curiosity - like the rest of my rock collection! I forgot to mention we found it partially submerged in a creek. We searched but could not find any others.
PS- please ignore file re Walhalla - attached in error and I don't know how to delete it

 

[Hawkear]

Looks like a natural cement. Can see a few rounded inclusions in the second photo. The difference between a cement and a conglomerate is that conglomerates are at one end of the spectrum composing largely pebbles, sand and stone cemented together. A natural cement usually consists of fine silty material cemented. There is no firm dividing line between the two and conglomerates may occasionally have very fine sand and cements some larger rock inclusions.
If I had to guess, I would put the rock in the latter class.

 

[Willow]

Went up past Briagolong yesterday and found the rock (below). It was about the size of a soccer ball and quite heavy. I broke off a small piece and weigh was approx 4kg and volume about 1.2 liters. The whole rock weighs about 20kq. Showed it to my Vanquish 540 and it lit up like a christmas tree, displaying at least 5 codes. 15,16,17,18,22,32 Rough SG test =3.3. Parts of rock seem metamorphic with heavy intrusions. Drilling with masonry bit caused rock to break down fault lines but could not get through the harder parts

Can anyone suggest what it is? Am I about to be rich or does it go in the shed as a worthless curiosity - like the rest of my rock collection! I forgot to mention we found it partially submerged in a creek. We searched but could not find any others.
PS- please ignore file re Walhalla - attached in error and I don't know how to delete it

More on the weird rock.
I broke off a few small pieces and found what I am hoping is gold in the middle of the left piece. Am I dreaming?

 

[grubstake]

More on the weird rock.
I broke off a few small pieces and found what I am hoping is gold in the middle of the left piece. Am I dreaming?

Yes, you're dreaming - I'm afraid that's definitely not gold.

 

[davsgold]

More on the weird rock.
I broke off a few small pieces and found what I am hoping is gold in the middle of the left piece. Am I dreaming? Is gold ever found in this type of rock? If the answer is yes I am happy to mail it to you.
Your time and expertise is most appreciated

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dolly it up, or some of it anyway and pan it off, gold is about 19 times heavier than water and over 10 times heavier than the rock that is dollied so gold will be the heaviest thing in your pan and should leave a trail in the bottom edge as the lighter rock/sand gets washed away.

Obviously something was making you detector sound off but that could easily be just part of the darker ironstone looking stuff in the rock.

I doubt there is gold but better dolly and pan and then you will be sure,

 

[Hawkear]

It is not impossible for gold to be in a cement or conglomerate. When you break up a piece of rock with gold in it, usually only one or two fragments of the rock react to a metal detector. You can keep breaking them into smaller pieces until you should be able to see the clear gleam of gold.
If all or most of the fragments react to a metal detector you can Usually assume it is a hot rock.
As Davsgold suggests the only sure way is to pulverize a piece that reacts to a metal detector and pan it off for gold colours.

 

[Willow]

dolly it up, or some of it anyway and pan it off, gold is about 19 times heavier than water and over 10 times heavier than the rock that is dollied so gold will be the heaviest thing in your pan and should leave a trail in the bottom edge as the lighter rock/sand gets washed away.

Obviously something was making you detector sound off but that could easily be just part of the darker ironstone looking stuff in the rock.

I doubt there is gold but better dolly and pan and then you will be sure,

Thanks.

Showed it to my Vanquish 540 and it lit up like a christmas tree, displaying at least 5 codes. 15,16,17,18,22,32 Rough SG test =3.3. Parts of rock seem metamorphic with heavy intrusions. Drilling with masonry bit caused rock to break down fault lines but c.

Can anyone suggest what it is? Am I about to be rich or does it go in the shed as a worthless curiosity - like the rest of my rock collection! I forgot to mention we found it partially submerged in a creek. We searched but could not find any others

Yes, you're dreaming - I'm afraid that's definitely not gold.

Thanks anyway. I will just have to wait a little longer to order my Aston Martin

 

[Willow]

It is not impossible for gold to be in a cement or conglomerate. When you break up a piece of rock with gold in it, usually only one or two fragments of the rock react to a metal detector. You can keep breaking them into smaller pieces until you should be able to see the clear gleam of gold.
If all or most of the fragments react to a metal detector you can Usually assume it is a hot rock.
As Davsgold suggests the only sure way is to pulverize a piece that reacts to a metal detector and pan it off for gold colours.

I crushed a small piece (not easy) and panned it = pics follow Your Thoughts?

dolly it up, or some of it anyway and pan it off, gold is about 19 times heavier than water and over 10 times heavier than the rock that is dollied so gold will be the heaviest thing in your pan and should leave a trail in the bottom edge as the lighter rock/sand gets washed away.

Obviously something was making you detector sound off but that could easily be just part of the darker ironstone looking stuff in the rock.

I doubt there is gold but better dolly and pan and then you will be sure,

Thanks.

Showed it to my Vanquish 540 and it lit up like a christmas tree, displaying at least 5 codes. 15,16,17,18,22,32 Rough SG test =3.3. Parts of rock seem metamorphic with heavy intrusions. Drilling with masonry bit caused rock to break down fault lines but c.

Can anyone suggest what it is? Am I about to be rich or does it go in the shed as a worthless curiosity - like the rest of my rock collection! I forgot to mention we found it partially submerged in a creek. We searched but could not find any others

Thanks anyway. I will just have to wait a little longer to order my Aston Martin

If I could impose on your time a little before I give up on my million dollar rock. please see photos. I broke off a small fragment and crushed as best I could before panning My 540 displayed a lot of codes and from nearly every piece. At a more civilized hour I will try its reaction to a blow torch and then dousing it in cold water. Cheers - Guy

 

[gef12]

have you tried a magnet ?

 

[Willow]

Suddenly not so weird rock.
First thanks to put their 2 cents in to help identify the find. "Hawkear" nailed it - a type of conglomerate.
I managed to break up some smaller bits by my gas fired blow torch and then plunge it into cold water.
I got nothing from my pan yet my detector still reacted to it
Just blame the Aliens!
Thanks again - this is a great group. Guy

 

[davsgold]

Suddenly not so weird rock.
First thanks to put their 2 cents in to help identify the find. "Hawkear" nailed it - a type of conglomerate.
I managed to break up some smaller bits by my gas fired blow torch and then plunge it into cold water.
I got nothing from my pan yet my detector still reacted to it
Just blame the Aliens!
Thanks again - this is a great group. Guy

it's a detector I would not trust then, as a dolly pot and pan do not LIE

these pictures show you what gold in a pan looks like after crushing and panning

 

[Willow]

I appreciate your assistance Davsgold (and every other contributor. I have a friend who has the same detector (Minelab Vanquish 540 Pro. Next time we can test them over a variety of known items. Not going to be a happy camper if mine is dodgy !
Cheers - Guy

 

[Moneybox]

I appreciate your assistance Davsgold (and every other contributor. I have a friend who has the same detector (Minelab Vanquish 540 Pro. Next time we can test them over a variety of known items. Not going to be a happy camper if mine is dodgy !
Cheers - Guy

Reaction to a rock other than gold doesn't mean your detector is faulty. We often find HotRocks. These rocks can give a signal just like gold or often even a sharper signal. Your metal detector will react to any conductive element and more often than not it's iron.

 

[Deano]

Sorry to interrupt, I bought a new GPX 6000 last year and only went out prospecting with it only ‘one time’ so far. On about a 6” to 8” inch sized ‘black rock’ I got a ‘very loud’ signal with my GPX 6000 and double-checked it with my X-Terra 70 which read >minus -8<. Yes I know it is NOT Gold but does anyone familiar with the X-Terra 70 know what that number means, is it a Hot Rock “or” Meteorite??
~I did not have a magnet with me and I left that rock in the bush, but I know almost exactly where it’s at and I could go back to it when the weather warms up as it is about minus -20*C right now. I just went outside and plugged in my trucks engine block heater otherwise it may not start up in the morning due to the cold.

 

[grubstake]

Sorry to interrupt, I bought a new GPX 6000 last year and only went out prospecting with it only ‘one time’ so far. On about a 6” to 8” inch sized ‘black rock’ I got a ‘very loud’ signal with my GPX 6000 and double-checked it with my X-Terra 70 which read >minus -8<. Yes I know it is NOT Gold but does anyone familiar with the X-Terra 70 know what that number means, is it a Hot Rock “or” Meteorite??

According to the X-Terra 70 manual, -8 most likely means that the detector was not ground balanced:

 

[Deano]

grubstake
Thank you very much for the extra effort to help me out, I appreciate that, which I read. That particular black rock was a loud signal on the GPX 6000 and a loud signal “again” on the X-Terra 70, so I do not think it was a ground balance problem. I think it was either a hot rock’ or’ meteorite but I am not totally sure. I am still learning my GPX 6000 with only one trip out prospecting so far last year. I will go back there when the weather warms up, it is under a deep freeze here now, I just had the snowblower out clearing the outside garage pad.

 

[davsgold]

grubstake
Thank you very much for the extra effort to help me out, I appreciate that, which I read. That particular black rock was a loud signal on the GPX 6000 and a loud signal “again” on the X-Terra 70, so I do not think it was a ground balance problem. I think it was either a hot rock’ or’ meteorite but I am not totally sure. I am still learning my GPX 6000 with only one trip out prospecting so far last year. I will go back there when the weather warms up, it is under a deep freeze here now, I just had the snowblower out clearing the outside garage pad.

https://geology.com/meteorites/meteorite-identification.shtml