[meteorite-list] Lawrencite-like oozing from an H6 Impact Melt Breccia

From: capricorn89 <capricorn89_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu Apr 22 10:04:51 2004
Message-ID: <001601c2015a$5d3c1be0$df36b2d1_at_earthlink.net>

Hi Mal,

Yes, believe it or not stones can and do have the "Lawrencite" disease. The
same greenish-ooze! There is considerable iron in stones too, and it does
happen. I have an El Hammami that is terrible in this regard, and some
Saharan H chondrites as well. I'd treat it the same way as you have, in
anhydrous alcohol (not even 99%).
Blot the ooze at once, don't let it get started, and change the alcohol
often until it stops. It will give up eventfully.

Ron Hartman

----- Original Message -----
From: Mal Bishop <magbish3_at_bellsouth.net>
To: <meteorite-list_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Sent: Tuesday, May 21, 2002 5:10 PM
Subject: [meteorite-list] Lawrencite-like oozing from an H6 Impact Melt
Breccia


> Hi List,
>
> First of all, "Hi", to everyone on the list new and old, and I don't mean
> age wise! :-)
>
> I'll get to my question in a minute, but I wanted to make an observation
first.
>
> I've been on and off of the list for 3 or 4 years, but lately (last year
or
> so) mostly
> a lurker. Back in the earlier days there were some on this list more
> interested
> in stirring up the "mix" so-to-speak than carry on any meaningful
dialogue,
> transfer of knowledge, or just plain enrich the passion of others on the
> list that really
> wanted to "talk" meteorites! After a few unpleasant run-ins and realizing
> that it
> appeared the list was really nothing much more than an on-line market for
> dealers
> and collectors wishing to trade/sell meteorites, and most of the remaining
> threads
> involved the aforementioned malarkey, I just kind of slipped into the
> background and hung
> around waiting for that relatively rare and interesting tidbit of info
> actually concerning
> meteorites! There were a handful of regular contributors, and experts
that
> came
> through back then just as they still do today, and I think most of you
know
> the individuals
> I'm referring to!
>
> The reason for the above statement is to my great pleasure and enjoyment,
> this list has changed for the better and is getting better all of the
time.
> I think there were many members, in fact I know there were some members
for
> they emailed me privately with the same concerns, whom would not join in
> out of
> fear of being ridiculed and harassed. Well, it seems as if it is all
water
> under the bridge now!
>
> Now to my question... I recently purchased a beautifully prepared part
> slice of Dhofar 010
> which is an H6 impact melt breccia. It shows a very dark black melt (the
> matrix material)
> surrounding the lighter brown unmelted clasts sparkling with tiny bits of
> metal. I've had it now for almost a month.
> The past week, week and a half, I noticed that it has dark, brown,
greenish
> looking droplets of moisture
> oozing out on the back unpolished side and a couple of droplets on the
> front highly polished side. Right away I thought Lawrencite
> and Nantans not to mention a couple of other irons and Pallasites, but
this
> is an ordinary chondrite (H6)
> and I just haven't heard of this problem with chondrites. If they
> [chondrites] can have the "disease" as well
> as irons then I'm just ignorant of it! Even under just a 10x magnifier,
it
> looks like the "cancer" of irons as,
> I think, Richard Norton put it. I have or had many different types of
> chondrites, and many of course, are or were
> ordinary ones from LL's to H's an 3's to 6's, but I never saw this before
> -- I haven't read or heard anyone else speak of this either!
> When I wipe the moisture off, it will have returned again within the next
> day or two.
>
> Another interesting fact is that the oozing appears to be coming from the
> melt (matrix) surrounding the
> clasts (breccia) on the back side and not from any of the clasts
themselves
> that I can tell. Of course, I could
> be very wrong for I'm by no means an expert -- just learning all the time.
> The polished front side seems to really have only one area and it is a
tiny
> clast, but this clast has a couple
> of small holes or pores -- therefore, I suspect it's just bleed through
> from the back side where the melt happens
> to line up from behind that particular clast!
>
> Believe it or not, in the past with a couple of Nantans that after cutting
> started oozing very badly, I'd soak
> them for days, weeks, and even months in anhydrous isopropanol (isopropyl
> alcohol). When the solution
> began looking brown or somewhat less than perfectly clear (to my
subjective
> eye) I would exchange it
> for pure alcohol again. I would do this probably 2,3, or 4 times
depending
> on the tenacity of the iron involved --
> maybe more. This stuff I use is 99.995% water free and it WILL dry out
> whatever you have in mind -- including your fingers! ;-)
> But the point is, after whatever period of time it took and the particular
> Nantan piece involved, I eventually
> got the blasted thing to stop oozing. One I'm soaking right now has been
> in solution for nearly one year.
> I take it out occasionally and just let it sit for several days to see if
> it begins oozing again, so far, so good!
> My next step will be to let it sit in the display case for several weeks
> and keep an eye on it. If all goes well
> I may or may not clearcoat it.
>
> I said all of that just to point out nothing, I guess really, with my
> question at hand other than if nothing else the alcohol
> bath should do the same trick if it is Lawrencite or something
> related. Like I said though, I'm far from any expert with
> preparing, conditioning, and maintaining irons or any meteorite (or rock)
> for that matter, but I try a little, learn a little,
> read a little, and learn a little more!
>
> SORRY for the lengthy email, but I'm just curious, concerned, and ready to
> learn more from this distinguished
> and informed list of members!
>
> Anybody have any answers, similar occurrences, or whatever?
>
> Regards,
> Mal
>
>
>
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Received on Wed 22 May 2002 02:31:53 AM PDT