[meteorite-list] Meteorite prospection forbidden in Algeria

From: Martin Altmann <Altmann_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Mon Mar 21 13:24:56 2005
Message-ID: <000301c52705$694b7600$284e9a54_at_9y6y40j>

"And the foreign laboratories of research in geology, astronomy and
geophysics, inter alia, are particularly fond of delicacies for these small
objects which are worth gold because of their scientific value. And they are
ready
to put the full price to obtain them"

can pleasyplease tell me a few of such laboratories? I have meteorites for
sale for less than 10k$ and I promise to make fifty-fifty with those who
give me the hint.....

Buckleboo.
Martin

PS: For list members 99% off! Only 100$/g for classified unequilibrated
OCs!!

----- Original Message -----
From: "Peter Marmet" <p.marmet_at_dplanet.ch>
To: "list" <meteorite-list_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Sent: Saturday, March 12, 2005 1:47 PM
Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] Meteorite prospection forbidden in Algeria


> Hi list,
>
> Pel? Pierre-Marie wrote:
>
> > I read today an article (see following link, in french
> > : http://www.liberte-algerie.com/edit.php?id=35914).
> > Algeria police has been trained to recognize
> > meteorites and are forbidding meteorite hunting on
> > their territory. Prospecting will lead to arrest and
> > jail.
> >
> > I'm afraid this kind of things will be applied to
> > other northern Africa countries sooner or later...
>
> Very interesting, Pierre-Marie!
>
> Here's a Babel Fish Translation of the French text:
>
> Vis-a-vis with the plundering of the Algerian meteoritic inheritance in
the south
> This very lucrative trade, which amounts to thousands of dollars, would be
> controlled by a network of Moroccan traffickers who run out the invaluable
stones
> in Europe. They are thousands or rather million dollars which Algeria
loses,
> almost without the knowledge, in the repetitive plundering of the
meteorites -
> these invaluable stones which fall from the sky - hidden in the desert
vastnesses
> of the Sahara. Foreign "tourists", special correspondents, various
nationalities
> have delivered themselves, for a few years already, to the flight of this
> inheritance of very great scientific value, but especially... commercial.
The
> national Gendarmerie finally discovered the pot with "brambles" and
decided to set
> up a device to bar the road with the plunderers which exploit with
impunity the
> natural richnesses of the country. A promotion of twenty-five gendarmes
has been
> just formed by the researchers of Universit? of Bab-Ezzouar in the
techniques of
> recognition of the meteorites, specifies an official statement of the
command of
> this institution made public yesterday. These elements equipped with
average the
> techniques suitable should be able to recognize the invaluable stone with
its
> characteristics in the areas under their control which are Tamanrasset,
B?char and
> Ouargla. This phenomenon is obviously far from being a fact various since
only one
> gram of a meteorite costs between 10 000 and 20 000 dollars, according to
precise
> details' of the gendarmerie. Better still, the gram of a meteorite of the
type
> "chassignite" culminates with... 70 000 US dollars. It is thus permissible
to
> imagine the amazing sums garnered by these plundering tourists on the back
of the
> Algerians. And the foreign laboratories of research in geology, astronomy
and
> geophysics, inter alia, are particularly fond of delicacies for these
small
> objects which are worth gold because of their scientific value. And they
are ready
> to put the full price to obtain them... Algerian desert. This very
lucrative
> trade, as the official statement of the gendarmerie underlines it, thus
became the
> sport of predilection of the tourists who take the Southern destination In
fact,
> the gendarmerie refers to the arrest, last 20 November, of the group of
German
> "tourists" with 23 H with the National park of Tassili in possession of
the
> archaeological parts, but also of meteorites. The latter were left there
cheaply
> since after three months of imprisonment, they were released. A quite
informed
> source contacted yesterday by precise Libert?, however, that it is a
network
> organized Moroccan traffickers who is behind the diversion of this
resource.
> Indeed, a co-operative called Tafilalit Derfoud, based with the kingdom,
sends its
> "tourists" or work directly with autochtones to which it gives from the
ridiculous
> sums with the help of the famous stones. Once the delivered goods, the box
the
> stamp of the Moroccan "label" - to include/understand the Moroccan
desert - not to
> wake up the suspicions and n the other hand dispatches it at the various
Western
> laboratories of sounding and stumbling currencies. Our sources add that
this
> network of plunderers operates, in particular in the perimeters of Amgoud
and
> Tinbiter in the Algerian, famous South for its wealth of meteorites which
accounts
> for 27% of the African meteoritic craters. The national Gendarmerie notes
that
> these stones are particularly appraisals by the researchers "to
include/understand
> the operation of the solar system, but also to detect the presence of the
water
> molecules on the planet Mars". As from recent studies they concluded as
the
> discovery of these meteorites in the basement is an almost infallible
index of the
> presence of hydrocarbons. There is thus a double need to protect this
natural
> inheritance "threatened by covetousness of the foreign collectors and the
research
> laboratories" to paraphrase the official statement of the gendarmerie.
>
> I hope you can get the idea!
>
> Peter Marmet
>
>
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Received on Sat 12 Mar 2005 08:10:35 AM PST