[meteorite-list] Metal-Rich Diogenite?

From: Adam Hupe <adamhupe_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu Apr 22 10:16:28 2004
Message-ID: <052101c357bc$4090b780$b4dbe60c_at_attbi.com>

Dear List Members,

We have received numerous emails regarding the status of the metal-rich
diogenite (NWA 1827). We generally do not comment on other vendors material
but will make an exception in this case since this material is not being
represented properly. This is a touchy subject but instead of responding to
each and every email we thought we would address it in a public forum.

Simply said, there is no such thing as a metal-rich diogenite, it is a
mesosiderite. The provisional identification was made when a type sample was
submitted that did not cross the petrologic boundaries. This data was never
intended to be released to the general public. This is one of the dangers
in dealing with in-house data, it is subject to change. The same thing has
happened numerous times in the past. Here are few examples:

Putorama sold as a Mesosiderite was then classified as terrestrial iron
NWA 1109 sold as a Howardite was then classified as a eucrite
Shirkosky sold as a Pallasite was then classified as a psuedometeorite
NWA 1827 sold as a metal-rich diogenite was then classified as a
Mesosiderite

To help clarify the situation with all of these new mesosiderites we have
submitted three samples to two different laboratories. Yes, there are
several new mesosiderites out there, most of which accurate TKWs are not
being reported by dealers. Some purchasers who did not wait for the
subclassifactions will be pleasantly surprised for a change. We will fill
you in on this later as it becomes more formal. A hint none with this
subclassification have been found outside of Antarctica.

We hope this helps,

Adam and Greg Hupe
IMCA 2185
Received on Thu 31 Jul 2003 07:34:13 PM PDT