need help identifying this metal

my grandfather owned large scrap yard before he passed away there was a box of this metal in picture below i have no idea what it is .i tried few tests to try to figure it out .
1] burning it does melt with pocket torch and can flatten it
2] its hard and kind of heavy each little piece
3] not magnetic tested
4] cutting with wire cutters to test if was lead not as soft as lead
im really confused i have look at alot of metal in my time im stumped so any help will be greatly appreciated.thank you
http://oi47.tinypic.com/23tnuqh.jpg
http://oi47.tinypic.com/20hqzvr.jpg
http://oi48.tinypic.com/8zr8y1.jpg

My first inclination was lead because your said it was malleable and had a low melting point. However you also said that it was hard and it looks kind of shiny, so that went out the window. My second guess would be zinc in a raw form. I suggest taking it to your local yard and asking them to test it with a Niton gun. Most larger yards have one.

Could it be silver from old electrical equipment?

Old silver bullet fragments from match shooting?

it looks like 5 different types of metal but i really cant say it is .it strange it seems to be in raw form stuff is hard as rock on outside but it brittle on the sharper areas . i have one scrap yard i use will ask him tommrow was trying to get idea he know my grandfather for 30 years only guy i trust but was trying to figure this out .I have no way of telling it really strange im stumped ....

see the scrap yard was 100 acres of 60-80 ft piles of scrap he did very well ,it almost looks like was run through grinder and non magnetic objects are dropped off the belt .but this is what was puzzling me he had 100 acres of metal why he saved this is what im trying to figure it there some reason he did .there is no way of knowing as there was more metal than i have ever seen and also he passed away last December. I have searched up and down the net i cant see anything i know is exact.he was in business in 1946 till now as my uncle has taken over so i figure it could be anything .most scrap yards around me i wont think they have a Niton gun so trying here first thank you all so far

may have got it lead, silver ore very similar cloest thing have found http://i1001.photobucket.com/albums/...ilver_Lead.jpg

Rub it across various types of surface (paper, cloth, unpainted sheet metal, concrete). Does it leave marks? Or flake off? Change color or brilliance? I was guessing lead until this last picture which looks like coal.

Chris...if you send me a sample along with a self addressed envelope with postage already affixed I will shoot it with our Niton and give you the exact chemical makeup and then send it back to you. PM me if you want to go this route.

I was thinking cast alum. but that wouldn't be really worth saving either.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by BohemianLush

Chris...if you send me a sample along with a self addressed envelope with postage already affixed I will shoot it with our Niton and give you the exact chemical makeup and then send it back to you. PM me if you want to go this route.

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Proof this forum kicks butt.

I think what you have is " high speed babbitt" it was the crystal looking aspect that jogged my memory.
There are many Babbitt alloys in addition to Babbitt's original. Some common compositions are:

90% tin, 10% copper
89% tin, 7% antimony, 4% copper
80% lead, 15% antimony, 5% tin
76% copper, 24% lead
75% lead, 10% tin
67% copper, 28% tin, 5% lead
I copied that from wikipedia

Moonrock???

It might be debris from the Roswell Crash...

If you have it tested with a gun at your local yard, don't bring it all! Just bring a piece!

If your grandfather kept it stowed away I'm sure there was a good reason for it, might be very valuable. I've have it shot by at least 2 different yards just to be sure.

I was thinking babbitt too, but it almost looks like slag of sorts? If he had old machines he would need babbitt it for replacing worn bearings. Old sawmills use babbitt bearings for the big arbor shaft. I have even helped pour new bearings using ladels and stuff. Please tell us what you find out!

thank you everyone .he used to do anything from newspaper to anything,he did have tons of everything ,BohemianLush is gona test for me it maybe nothing but who knows ,it intrigues me it was in trailer part box , it does look like crystals looks like quartz but in metal, he traveled the world too who knows 96 years of life is why im curious i have 50 lbs of brass items ,but this has stumped me ....... but i will let you all know what i find out .....

Looks like some type of lead ore to me. Possibly Galena or a Cerussite based ore from the looks of it. Payed way too much attention in geology class.

Silver will melt at a much higher temp.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by chrisc

my grandfather owned large scrap yard before he passed away there was a box of this metal in picture below i have no idea what it is .i tried few tests to try to figure it out .
1] burning it does melt with pocket torch and can flatten it
2] its hard and kind of heavy each little piece
3] not magnetic tested
4] cutting with wire cutters to test if was lead not as soft as lead
im really confused i have look at alot of metal in my time im stumped so any help will be greatly appreciated.thank you
http://oi47.tinypic.com/23tnuqh.jpg

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After I thought about it a bit after posting about the tantalum caps. etc, I looked at the site again and it might be tantalum that has been refined.
http://periodictable.com/Samples/073.24/s7s.JPG

http://periodictable.com/Samples/073.8/s7s.JPG
This one is called Coltan ore;
http://periodictable.com/Samples/Coltan/s7s.JPG

http://www.smileyvault.com/albums/us...mb_baffled.gif

Tantalum has a very high melt point of over 3000 degrees C. He said it became malleable with a pocket torch.

Here is some Galena ore or lead sulfide.

http://mo.water.usgs.gov/projects/mi...ges/Galena.jpg

I got the sample in the mail today and survey says....

ZINC!

Sometimes I am too smart for my own good.
That being said, my yard is paying about $.33 lb. for zinc today. My thought is that his Grandfather probably came across it and couldn't identify it, so he put it up until he knew what it was.

turns out its zinc thank you to BohemianLush for testing it for me ...

Very cool of ya to test that for him and let the rest of us know!

Yet another reason why you folks are a cut above all the other forums out there.

Sirscrapalot - Rather impressed.

Looks like some sort of slag to me too. Maybe something left over from an ingot maker?