[meteorite-list] NPA 03-10-1931: 70 Ton Meteorite Found (?)

From: bernd.pauli_at_paulinet.de <bernd.pauli_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Sun Sep 12 16:35:12 2004
Message-ID: <DIIE.000000280000288C_at_paulinet.de>

> Mr. W.H. Nott, a Johannesburg land surveyor, states that he has
> discovered one of the largest meteorites ever found in Africa. The
> meteorite is a solid mass of nickel-iron nearly 14ft. long and about
> 4ft. in diameter.

Hello Mark, Anne, and List,

This is the famous, ungrouped, anomalous Mbosi iron with silicate inclusions.
According to E.J. Olsen et al., 1996, the Mbosi iron meteorite "contains mm-
size silicate inclusions. Mbosi is an ungrouped iron meteorite with a Ge/Ga
ratio >10, which is an anomalous property shared with the five-member IIF
iron group, the Eagle Station pallasites and four other ungrouped irons.
Neither the IIF group nor the four other ungrouped irons are known to have
silicate inclusions."

Another interesting conclusion by these authors is that the precursor material
for silicates in Mbosi, Bocaiuva and the Eagle Station pallasites may come from
the C3 chondrites.

Reference:

E.J. OLSEN et al. (1996) Mbosi - An anomalous iron with
unique silicate inclusions (Meteoritics 31-5, 1996, 633-639).

Acknowledgments:

Special thanks to Mark for his continuing efforts to share such "raisins" with
the List. See also BUCHWALD V.F. (1975) Handbook of Iron Meteorites, Vol. 2,
pp. 814-816 for black and white photos of this beautiful 16-ton mass.

Cheers,

Bernd
Received on Sun 12 Sep 2004 04:35:08 PM PDT