[meteorite-list] Amgala versus Zag

From: Adam Hupe <adamhupe_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu Apr 22 10:32:49 2004
Message-ID: <038a01c409f7$de14e560$62f61018_at_attbi.com>

Hi John,

It will be interesting to see the lab results. I wish we would have had
more time to prepare for the release of this new material but mounting costs
and competition forced us to put it on the market prematurely in order to
protect our considerable investment. As was the case for Park Forest and a
few other falls dealers sometimes do not wait for classifications before
making material available.

All the best

Adam



----- Original Message -----
From: <j.divelbiss_at_att.net>
To: "Adam Hupe" <adamhupe_at_comcast.net>
Cc: <meteorite-list_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Sent: Sunday, March 14, 2004 10:59 AM
Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] Amgala versus Zag


> Adam,
>
> Thanx for the update and supporting information for the cost basis. As I
said, this fall sure
> looks a lot like Zag to me in many ways. I did some more visual
comparisons and of course my
> untrained eye cannot see these differences when looking at just one one
stone's(less than 20
> grams) cut face. I am not implying they are the same meteorite...just that
they look similar.
>
> As for polymict versus regolith breccia...can these two terms be
interchangeable? A polymict
> breccia is made up of clasts/fragments of different materials probably
caused by a impact
> mixing, while a regolith breccia implies a breccia formed at the surface
with a mixture of
> different materials caused by impacts. A regolith breccia might be
considered a special type of
> polymict breccia.
>
> As for type 3 chondrules...well I see a few chondrules that look almost
perfect to me...but
> only a couple. What do I know anyway???
>
> It should be interesting to see how this material is classified out...in
comparison to Zag.
>
> John
>
> > Hello All,
> >
> > At first glance Amgala is somewhat similar looking to Zag although there
are
> > noticeable differences between the two. I do not believe Amgala is
going to
> > classify as a regolith breccia but rather a polymict breccia. Unlike
Zag,
> > no type 3 areas have been identified. Two laboratories are currently
> > studying Amgala and neither one has observed water bearing minerals but
some
> > interesting clasts have been found which we will report on later.
Another
> > party suggested halite because ~10% of the most recently collected
broken
> > stones show some oxidation on the exposed surfaces. This oxidation is
very
> > minor and could be removed easily with an air abrasion tool but we chose
not
> > to in order to preserve these stones in as found condition.
> >
> > As far as the price dropping into the $5.00 to $7.00 a gram range it is
very
> > doubtful because there is less than 12 kilograms TKW and a good portion
has
> > already been sold to collectors for between $7.50 a gram for fragments
and
> > $12.00 a gram for fully crusted specimens. The seventh and final trip
to
> > the area by the Moroccan half of Team LunarRock only produced five
stones
> > making it less than cost effective to return to the region. All
indications
> > are that this is a very small fall with precious little more material
coming
> > out. After all, nomads avoid this area and soldiers have been
methodically
> > searching it for months now. Only the soldiers know which areas are
safe
> > and which are not and they are done searching because of the lack of new
> > finds associated with this fall.
> >
> > We rang up a tremendous amount of expenses pursuing this fall including
> > communication, transportation, specimen purchases, sample material,
> > supplies, shipping and lab fee costs. 26% of the recovered stones we
paid
> > the high field price for turned out to be a black chondrite not related
to
> > this fall. This increased our acquisition costs by nearly the same
> > percentage. Pursuing Amgala was an expensive undertaking. Was it worth
it?
> > Yes, this is some very handsome material with the nicest jet-black
velvety
> > crust I have seen not to mention the contrast provided by the polymict
> > breccia texture.
> >
> > We will update as lab results come in which promise to be interesting.
> >
> > All the best,
> >
> > Adam
> >
> >
> >
> > ______________________________________________
> > Meteorite-list mailing list
> > Meteorite-list_at_meteoritecentral.com
> > http://www.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
Received on Sun 14 Mar 2004 02:09:16 PM PST