[meteorite-list] Gold and Iridium content of meteorites(especiallyirons)

From: Michael Gilmer <meteoritemike_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Mon, 3 Oct 2011 21:45:33 -0400
Message-ID: <CAKBPJW_7pu11rZCx+6qzwFymG0PbW_cyrJu+=7LcqVtJ_U28ZA_at_mail.gmail.com>

Hi Gang,

I was just curious about exactly how much gold is bound up inside a
meteorite with a higher than average content, like the one in this
example.

Personally, I share the same sentiment as most of you - it would be
heresy to destroy a meteorite to extract something that is available
here on Earth, even if it wasn't cost-prohibitive.

At 41 years old, I have made it this far in life with terrible math
skills, so this old dog isn't going to take any refresher courses. I
was hoping one of the more skilled (and intelligent) members would act
as a human calculator and cipher this question for me. :)

So in this particular case, the 32kg iron meteorite contains ~1.5 troy
ounces of gold, with a current market value of ~$2550.

What sparked my curiosity was the apparently high gold content that
was measured in milligrams and not the usual micrograms one expects to
see.

One last question, perhaps rhetorical in a sense, has anyone ever seen
gold in a meteorite? I mean, has there ever been a visible "bleb" or
gold inclusion in a meteorite? Or is all of the gold bound up on a
molecular level and invisible to the naked eye and 10x loupe?

I guess there won't be a gold rush to the asteroid belt....

Best regards,

MikeG

-- 
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On 10/3/11, Sterling K. Webb <sterling_k_webb at sbcglobal.net> wrote:
> 1.49 mg per gram is one part in 671.
> 1/671 of 32 kg is 47.7 grams of gold.
> There are 31 grams per troy ounce; gold
> is priced in troy ounces; there are 1.537
> troy ounces oif gold in that 32 kg, or
> $2551.94 at today's (10/03/11) price.
>
> Cost you more than that to extract it...
>
>
> Sterling K. Webb
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Stuart McDaniel" <actionshooting at carolina.rr.com>
> To: "Michael Gilmer" <meteoritemike at gmail.com>;
> <meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com>
> Sent: Monday, October 03, 2011 7:57 PM
> Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] Gold and Iridium content of
> meteorites(especiallyirons)
>
>
>> Oops, I was wrong.....It would be
>>
>> 32,000gr / 1.49mg = 21475 mg
>>
>> 21,475/1000 = 21.475 gr
>>
>> Right, anyone??
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> Stuart McDaniel
>> Lawndale, NC
>> Secr.,
>> Cleve. Co. Astronomical Society
>> IMCA #9052
>> Member - KCA, KBCA, CDUSA
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Michael Gilmer
>> Sent: Monday, October 03, 2011 8:33 PM
>> To: meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com
>> Subject: [meteorite-list] Gold and Iridium content of meteorites
>> (especiallyirons)
>>
>> Hi List,
>>
>> In perusing through the latest additions to the Met Bulletin today, I
>> was reading the compositional data for NWA 6932 (iron, ungrouped).  I
>> noticed that the gold (Au) content was listed at 1.49mg/g.  Is this
>> sort of data as straight-forward as it appears, or is there more to it
>> that this layman is missing?  In other words, how much gold is in this
>> meteorite?  The TKW of this meteorite is 32kg.  So, with 1000g in a
>> kilo, and 1000mg in a gram, how much gold is in this celestial hunk of
>> iron?  (my math is horrible)
>>
>> Second question, what is highest known gold content in a meteorite and
>> what meteorite is it?
>>
>> Third question, some meteorites also have high iridium content.  What
>> is the highest known iridium content in a meteorite?
>>
>> I am not suggesting in any way that meteorites should be refined or
>> melted down to extract their precious metals content, but given the
>> high value of metals such as gold and iridium, has any profiteer tried
>> such an endeavour?  Or would the process be too complex and expensive?
>>
>> Best regards,
>>
>> MikeG
>>
>> ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>> Galactic Stone & Ironworks - Meteorites & Amber (Michael Gilmer)
>>
>> Website - http://www.galactic-stone.com
>> Facebook - http://tinyurl.com/42h79my
>> News Feed - http://www.galactic-stone.com/rss/126516
>> Twitter - http://twitter.com/galacticstone
>> EOM -
>> http://www.encyclopedia-of-meteorites.com/collection.aspx?id=1564
>> ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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Received on Mon 03 Oct 2011 09:45:33 PM PDT