[meteorite-list] The Scoop on "Kem Kem"

From: dean bessey <deanbessey_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Sat, 15 Aug 2009 15:48:52 -0700 (PDT)
Message-ID: <659369.71999.qm_at_web56103.mail.re3.yahoo.com>

I just got back from australia and am sorting through thousands and thousands of emails so my apologies if this has already been answered.
There is no recogonized meteorite term as "Kem Kem".
The term "Kem Kem" dates from the days just before the official creation of the term "NWA" roughly 9 or 10 years ago.
Hundreds of kilos of meteorites were being sold at random in Morocco and everybody (Including the met society) was trying to best figure out how to catalog and deal with the situation of mixed meteorites from many different falls thrown in together and sold in bulk (Not that big a deal nowadays but A novel new thing 10 years ago).
Meteorite dealer Michael casper - now I believe (at least semi) retired, got his hands on a large quantity (If I remember correctly 300 kilos but my memory might be a little off after 10 years) and he sold them in bulk using the name "KEM KEM" and saying that they were found in the Kem Kem desert. They were very cheap for meteorites - I believe 30 or 40 cents a gram which was I think the first time that any meteorite was ever publicly advertised under $1 a gram. At the time everybody probably believed the Moroccans story that they were found in the Kem Kem desert but of course nowadays we all take location data with a grain of salt at best.
I was among Caspers buyers and on seeing them it was obvious that it was a very mixed group of meteorites and from a very wide variety of falls.
Soon afterwards the name "NWA" was officially put in place and anything classified from Caspers "Kem Kem" hoard (Including NWA001) was given a NWA name.
If you see anything labelled Kem Kem it will almost surely be from caspers one time 300 Kilo hoard that just pre dated NWA. Nobody else has ever used that name as the introduction of NWA shortly afterwards cancelled peoples need to try and make up names to describe their meteorites.
Almost certainly the location data of caspers 300 kilo hoard is just as iffy as location data that you get nowadays so wither they were actually found in Kem kem or not is really a moot point as nobody really cares about such details nowadays. But your Kem Kem stones can be traced to a particular buy from the early days and has that little extra bit of history to them. They were a particularly nice group of meteorites also and better than any 300 kilo mixed hoard that you are likely to find offered in morocco nowadays.
Sincerely
DEAN







      
Received on Sat 15 Aug 2009 06:48:52 PM PDT