[meteorite-list] A Piece Of The Heavens

From: Susan Starke <sastarke_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu Apr 22 09:43:31 2004
Message-ID: <NEBBIBHFJPGGIHOGNIKNOENFCCAA.sastarke_at_telkomsa.net>

Dean, don't feel alone, the South African government is working on a form of
"meteorite police" at our airports & border posts...

Extracts from a previous post to the list:
South African Heritage Resources Association (Sahra) archaeologist Mary
Leslie of Cape Town, said: ' In terms of the Heritage Resources Act, no one
may collect, own, or trade in any form of geological or archaeological
object so therefore the 85kg meteorite has no actual monetary value because
it cannot be sold.'
She conceded, however, that there was a gap for meteorites to find their way
out of the country and onto international markets where fragments were
traded freely and lucratively.
'We are tightening up our security at customs points, and a Sahra official
will soon be appointed to make sure that people are not taking the
fragments, or their registered collections, out of the country,' she said.

Dean Bessey wrote:
But farmer. you miss the importance of this meteorite. If the meteorite fell
200 miles to the south in New York it would just be another crummy ole iron.
Not something worth $1 a gram. HOWEVER. Hagersville is special. It is
national cultural property. Canada was molded and shaped to the society that
it is today because of this meteorite.
Received on Sat 14 Jul 2001 01:52:50 AM PDT