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Identity HelpHi everyone! Here’s another oddity (to me) I found in Flag Pond Tennesse

17th Nov 2018 16:40 UTCTina Williams

I haven’t a clue. It’s very hard. There’s tiny crystals in the tiny hole in the pic with the end of the stone being wet.

Thank you for your time.

Tina

17th Nov 2018 17:40 UTCKevin Conroy Manager

Chert?

17th Nov 2018 17:57 UTCPaul Brandes 🌟 Manager

Chert, or potentially silicified limestone.

Can't see the crystals well enough to hazard a guess.

17th Nov 2018 20:29 UTCReiner Mielke Expert

Chert would be my guess as well.

17th Nov 2018 22:09 UTCTina Williams

Thank you!

18th Nov 2018 21:48 UTCEd Clopton 🌟 Expert

The second photo (with ruler) looked at first very much like metallurgical slag, but on magnification the holes at the top are angular as though they were formerly occupied by crystals rather than being spherical gas bubbles. The third photo looks more like natural rock, so although I still wouldn't rule out slag, chert seems likely.

19th Nov 2018 03:54 UTCGregg Little 🌟

I would also vote for chert. Note that a number of the voids in the second photo appear to have the geometry of leached fossil fragments, particularly crinoid ossicles and possibly brachiopod shells. This would confirm a silicified fossiliferous limestone.

22nd Nov 2018 16:20 UTCTina Williams

Thanks so much. I had almost asked about a fossil of some sort within the rock at the top Where it’s broken. The bottom of it being an opaque white with lines kind of confused me altogether.

22nd Nov 2018 16:58 UTCTina Williams

Here is the other side of the stone.

And I’ve put a couple pics of other stones I found in the same area that I’m having trouble identifying. The first couple are of special interest because Rubys are my favorite gemstone and I’m just having trouble identifying what the tiny red crystals are on these.

22nd Nov 2018 17:05 UTCTina Williams

...a few others found there. The large one with black in it, the black shimmers like a metallic. Hemitite? And the very flat one also has a coppery colored shimmer on one side and a golden shimmer on the other side but I’m having trouble photographing it. The long narrow one has a red and gold shimmer it’s very pretty in the sunlight, just wish I knew what they were.

22nd Nov 2018 17:11 UTCMark Heintzelman 🌟 Expert

I would suggest doing at least one actual test before concluding this is chert and not slag (which is what it looks like to me personally). The harness of both would be too similar, however a rare earth (neodymium) magnet will stick to typical iron furnace glass slag, but not Scoriæ from glass production nor chert (typical ferrous fridge magnet is too weak for this test).

22nd Nov 2018 17:21 UTCTina Williams

Ok. Thank you. I’m having trouble putting it together in my head that it could be slag as I found it on the side of a mountain we’re very few people have ever been. I really had no knowledge of slag until it was mentioned here. I was doing some reading on it am I wrong in the thought that it’s a byproduct from furnaces and such? Sorry for my ignorance on the subject.

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