I found a large, magnetic rock. Anyone have any ideas as to what it is?

Question

This is very heavy, like a metal. It's about the size of a brick. It has a shiny finish on it that's a light green color. It affects the compass and is pretty magnetic. Any ideas?

Answer 1

Might be a meteorite.  You'd need somebody who knows about them to provide an unambiguous answer.

Answer 2

Sounds like hematite which is an iron mineral.  Hematite, lodestone and a few others that contain iron can have magnetic properties.

Answer 3

A flint? Or it could be a meteorite. Maybe you should consult your Environmental county on this..

Answer 4

isn't that what superman was hiding from

Answer 5

Any rock can be magnetic.  Magnetic properties come from the mineral magnetite which can be found in any sedementery rock around the world.  Depending on the composition of the rock itself and the amount of magnetite found in its makeup, it can effect compasses.  Geologically speaking, where are you?  Find out the basic rock types from your region and look at their physical properties.  Perhaps slate or granite?  If it is a rock and not a metal, that would tell you.

Answer 6

woah i read eleanor rigby and the girl found a rock like that and it was a piece of a nuclear fuel cell but who knows.

Answer 7

Magnetite was my first thought, but it is black.  Of the magnetic minerals I found, Siderite is the only one that is light green, but the picture didn't look like you described.  It may be chalcosiderite, described below.

Siderite is named for the Greek word for iron, sideros. The word siderite is used in a number of rarer minerals and except in the fact that they all contain iron, they are otherwise unrelated to siderite. They include: Alumopharmacosiderite, arseniosiderite, barium-alumopharmacosiderite, barium-pharmacosiderite, chalcosiderite, erythrosiderite, pharmacosiderite, phosphosiderite and sodiumpharmacosiderite. A variety of siderite forming sphericules is known as sphaerosiderite.

Chalcosiderite is a rare copper phosphate mineral. It is another rare mineral from the classic localities' of Cornwall, England. Its typical bright, dark green color is attractive and diagnostic.

Chalcosiderite is in a solid solution series with the mineral turquoise. A solid solution series occurs when more than one element can occupy the same space in a mineral's structure and freely substitute for each other. Chalcosiderite and turquoise have the same structure, just slightly different chemistries. Turquoise's formula is CuAl6(PO4)4(OH)8 - 4H2O and is the aluminum rich end member of the series. Chalcosiderite is the iron rich end member and it is the coloring effects of the iron that produces the darker color for chalcosiderite as opposed to turquoise's lighter blue-green.