[meteorite-list] Gebel Kamil question

From: R N Hartman <rhartman04_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Tue, 31 Aug 2010 00:08:58 -0700
Message-ID: <039873ACCC914C0A81173DA88CE1329F_at_DBZC5NB1>

Good morning all:

In reference to all the posts and interests regarding Gebel Kamio, it is my
understanding that only 20 kilo of Gebel Kamil was approved for
removal from the crater for scientific purposes by the research team that
explored the crater, and that a quantity was later removed by an
unauthorized person who illegally removed meteorites without the Egyptian
government's permission, and that no export documents were ever approved for
any others by the government. If this is true, then I would like to think
no reputable dealer who was aware of this would ethically want to buy and
sell this material, (I should like to believe so!). Are these facts indeed
true or has
something changed that I have not heard about?? I see Gebel Kamil
saturating Ebay and I'm wondering whether the Egyptian government is now
permitting collecting or whether additional material is now being allowed
out, and what about export papers? Having spent some time in Egypt I know
that because of the countries rich abundance of historical artifacts of all
kinds including things that can sometimes be found just by kicking the sand,
the government has a blanket policy regarding anything that one may want to
remove from the country, and the policy is NO, whether specifics are stated
or not. Maybe some dealer has traded some of his exotic meteorites or a
camel or two for a bucket full of GK. I don't know. May we have a
discussion here? I think some clarification and update would be
of interest. Someone know something??

Thank You,
Ron Hartman
Received on Tue 31 Aug 2010 03:08:58 AM PDT