Ash Posted May 6, 2013 Share Posted May 6, 2013 Hello, Found lots of this in a river in a city, some buried in 8" of clay/mud on the banks of a river, with more throughout the stream. Is it man made or natural is the question! The city is built on top of an old volcanic ridge. It's a very pronounced green in the right (direct) light. I'll get a picture tommorow, I forgot until the afternoon today. Seems to be very glass like in charachter. Cheers, Ash. "Faith is to believe what you do not see; the reward of this faith is to see what you believe" - Saint Augustine"Those who can not see past their own nose deserve our pity more than anything else." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snolly50 Posted May 6, 2013 Share Posted May 6, 2013 Consider obsidian, given the volcanic involvement you report. Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, also are remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so. - Douglas Adams, Last Chance to See Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Batty Posted May 6, 2013 Share Posted May 6, 2013 The middle pic looks like snowflake obsidian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichW9090 Posted May 6, 2013 Share Posted May 6, 2013 (edited) Looks like a low grade obsidian or perhaps particularly glassy ignimbrite. I don't see any indications that it has been intentionally chipped. Edited May 7, 2013 by RichW9090 The plural of "anecdote" is not "evidence". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Bob Posted May 6, 2013 Share Posted May 6, 2013 It's a good idea to keep it on hand just in case you see any white walkers. 1 "It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends upon his not understanding it." Upton Sinclair Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ash Posted May 6, 2013 Author Share Posted May 6, 2013 Thanks guys, there is a massive hunk of it down there that would take several people to remove. A friend thought it may be obsidian also. Here's a pic of another piece. "Faith is to believe what you do not see; the reward of this faith is to see what you believe" - Saint Augustine"Those who can not see past their own nose deserve our pity more than anything else." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Down under fossil hunter Posted May 7, 2013 Share Posted May 7, 2013 It's a good idea to keep it on hand just in case you see any white walkers. Perhaps a Dire Wolf may also be of use Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creto Posted May 7, 2013 Share Posted May 7, 2013 That looks to me like slag glass- a byproduct of metal smelting. It often is somewhat porous and has inclusions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ash Posted May 7, 2013 Author Share Posted May 7, 2013 I'll look that up, thanks - there is alot of industry beside the river - I'll find out if there was any smithing/smelting/recycling facilities along the river at any point or work out where the trail ends and follow it up from there. Thanks for the inputs everyone. "Faith is to believe what you do not see; the reward of this faith is to see what you believe" - Saint Augustine"Those who can not see past their own nose deserve our pity more than anything else." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blastoid Posted July 19, 2013 Share Posted July 19, 2013 NOT obsidian. Slag. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pinkpantherbeekeeper Posted July 19, 2013 Share Posted July 19, 2013 A town nearby had a large steel production and had a slag heap that is probably 70 feet tall. What you have is not slag... at least not like im used to seeing. The slag here is light weight given its size (air bubbles), porous, usually multi colored in dark hues, and very abrasivelike lava rock you find for landscaping. Colors i have seen typically run a grey/black to a dark tan. Looks very similar to color hues you find in glazed terra cotta field tile. There is ocasionally some gloss but not much. I used to go to a day care that had slag as fill for the drive way. The steel plant would give it away obviously since they had no use. Im sure some got dumped in a nearby stream. Another question is there any glass production near by? Sometimes glass that isnt mixed right looks like that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ash Posted July 23, 2013 Author Share Posted July 23, 2013 Woah, responses! I don't know about Glass production in the area. I'll try and get back to some pics "in situ" as there's a lot laying around in the river. Its in a city about an hours drive from here, but as said, it's from an area with a fair bit of factories, or at least used to have the factories. Heck, slag glass is still pretty cool, at least to me! This is fairly heavy also, PPBK (Pink panther bee keeper). Thanks again for taking the time to help with answers. I'll look into glass production areas, though I don't think they'd dump (intentionally) waste product into the river as this country has some pretty tough penalties for that. Cheers, Ash "Faith is to believe what you do not see; the reward of this faith is to see what you believe" - Saint Augustine"Those who can not see past their own nose deserve our pity more than anything else." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bdevey Posted July 25, 2013 Share Posted July 25, 2013 Looks Obsidian to me,.... I think I remember something about Obsidian, with a green look to it , coming from Qld. It can be real easy to mistake slag for Obsidian or the other way around. If you take a torch to many rocks, super heat them [but don't heat them to fast, or they will blow apart] and let them air cool , they will look like Obsidian. That's because of the rapid cooling, there is no time for any crystal structure to form, there for you have a black glassy rock. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wrangellian Posted August 3, 2013 Share Posted August 3, 2013 I say slag - we had an old smelter in my hometown 100 yrs ago and the slag here looks almost exactly the same - mostly dark glassy with varying textures and some inclusions and bubbles. Like mine, yours may have been dumped before there were laws that would prevent it (though it is just melted rock), if there has been industry there that long? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bdevey Posted August 10, 2013 Share Posted August 10, 2013 Looks Obsidian to me,.... I think I remember something about Obsidian, with a green look to it , coming from Qld. It can be real easy to mistake slag for Obsidian or the other way around. If you take a torch to many rocks, super heat them [but don't heat them to fast, or they will blow apart] and let them air cool , they will look like Obsidian. That's because of the rapid cooling, there is no time for any crystal structure to form, there for you have a black glassy rock. I have taken a second look and changed my mind, I think your second post [ post 6] confused me, anyways that's my excuse . ...slag it is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ash Posted August 13, 2013 Author Share Posted August 13, 2013 I can live with Slag, up until this thread I had no idea such a thing existed! Now the quest to find the origins. Off I go! =D Cheers guys and gals. "Faith is to believe what you do not see; the reward of this faith is to see what you believe" - Saint Augustine"Those who can not see past their own nose deserve our pity more than anything else." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blastoid Posted August 14, 2013 Share Posted August 14, 2013 Question comes up, I'd say about monthly over on mindat.org. -I found this shiny rock in my backyard, is it a diamond, or obsidian, and am I rich?- It's surprising where glass and slag will turn up, you'll find them in the most desolate places. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Herb Posted August 14, 2013 Share Posted August 14, 2013 I vote for slag also. If you want to try your hand a knapping some arrowheads that would work great to experiment on. "Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence"_ Carl Sagen No trees were killed in this posting......however, many innocent electrons were diverted from where they originally intended to go. " I think, therefore I collect fossils." _ Me "When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth."__S. Holmes "can't we all just get along?" Jack Nicholson from Mars Attacks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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