Melbourne man's mystery rock turns out to be rare meteorite
David Hole stored a rock in his home for several years, which turned out to be significantly valuable. He found it near Melbourne, Australia, believing it to be gold. However, his discovery turned out to be much more valuable.
David Hole kept a rock in his home for a long time, which he discovered near Melbourne, Australia. He was convinced that there was gold inside. However, to his surprise, the find was much more valuable.
According to the focus.de service, the event took place in 2015. At that time, Hole was exploring the terrain in Maryborough Regional Park. His metal detector signaled the presence of a heavy, reddish rock submerged in clay.
Hole took the lump to his home, believing he had found a nugget. His assumptions were well-founded because Maryborough is located in the Goldfields region, which gained fame in the 19th century for the discovery of large deposits of precious metals.
Hole tried various methods to access the precious metal. He used a rock saw, an angle grinder, a drill, and even acid. However, none of these methods could damage the hard surface.
He found a valuable rock
After several years, Hole decided to hand over the lump to the local museum for specialists to examine. It turned out that it wasn't a nugget, but a rare 4.6 billion-year-old meteorite. Research showed that it most likely fell to Earth about a thousand years ago.
The rock, now known as the Maryborough meteorite, weighed 37 pounds. Geologists at the museum explained that its large mass was due to the presence of dense forms of iron and nickel, which differ from those found in earthly rocks.
One of the museum staff used a diamond saw to cut a fragment of the meteorite. Inside, they discovered small solidified droplets. These were remnants of silicate minerals that crystallized from the gas that formed the Solar System.
The stone Hole discovered turned out to be an H5 chondrite meteorite, which orbited the Sun about 4.6 billion years ago. Due to the action of gravity, these meteorites gradually clumped together, leading to the formation of Earth and other rocky planets.
