On August 20, 2024 I discovered an eluvial placer deposit in the Central Colorado volcanic field using a DR.ÖTEK metal detector. After the largest specimens were found, I purchased a Minelab Equinox 900 metal detector to take it up a notch. Over 160 native metal nuggets were found.
It was clear from the start that these nuggets were different from gold, silver and platinum physically and chemically. They were less dense than gold, silver and platinum and most of them reacted violently with hydrochloric acid. Some were heavily corroded and plagued with inorganic salts, carbonaceous material and mineral deposits. X-ray fluoroscopy found these nuggets to be genuine native aluminum, brass, iron and zinc, including three nuggets of previously unknown copper alloys. Some nuggets are a mixture of aluminum and zinc. For example, Aluminum Nugget ID 28 is approximately 44% aluminum and 41% zinc. 29 elements have been found in the 91 native metal nuggets analyzed by XRF, excluding light elements: Al, Zn, W, Si, Cu, Fe, Cr, Hf, P, Mn, Sb, K, Pb, Ni, Ca, Sn, Ti, Cd, S, Cl, Bi, Zr, Pd, V, Ta, Mg, Rh, As, Mo.
The only evidence I could find about the previous existence of native aluminum was a spec found in Azerbaijan. I found over 100 native aluminum nuggets, including an aluminum nugget weighing 818.2 grams - an unofficial world record.
I found very little evidence about the previous existence of native brass, iron and zinc yet this rare mineral collection has all of them. I found over 20 native zinc nuggets, including a zinc nugget weighing 60.2 grams - an unofficial world record.
August 14, 2026 Update: The aluminum, brass, copper alloy and zinc deposit is approximately 20 feet in known diameter. A smaller deposit approximately 4 feet in diameter and located about 100 feet away from the first deposit contained 4 specimens. These 4 specimens were analyzed by XRF and were found to be native lead. The largest pieces of volcanic glass were found with the lead deposit.
For documentation, I am including this image gallery that shows most of these native metal nuggets, some at various stages of cleaning. The first two images show the nuggets I found on the first day of the discovery, straight from the ground. What an incredible find!
