[meteorite-list] The NWA Gold Rush is Over!

[M come Meteorite Meteorites]

well....and the prices return over after the ruin of
the moroccan meteorites

Matteo

--- Adam Hupe <raremeteorites at comcast.net> wrote:
> Dear List,
> 
> I promised to get back to the List on the subject of
> the recent shortage of
> NWA meteorites.  My last post was broken apart,
> taken out of context and
> then published to the blogger site.  I will take the
> same risk and make a
> few more comments on the subject.
> 
> We have seen the supply of meteorites from Morocco
> continue to sharply
> decline the last two years.  We feel a lot of
> material was being hoarded and
> let out slowly accounting for the pairing issues. 
> Recently the stockpiles
> in Morocco have been depleted accounting for the
> great amount of rare
> material brought to market last year.  We call this
> the "Grand Finale" .  We
> had been after a fantastic stone for two years and
> it finally resurfaced on
> the latest trip out there demonstrating that some
> nice material was being
> held back.  We feel very fortunate to have finally
> acquired it.
> 
> Two List members and myself were officially invited
> by the Algerians to
> acquire material directly from Algeria a few years
> back.  One of the group
> flew out there and discovered that most of the
> material looked exactly like
> the meteorites being sold in Morocco.  The Algerian
> government has been
> aware of the value of meteorites for some time and
> was even looking for
> funding to build a new museum with meteorites being
> the central focus.  We
> were asked to finance this museum with no guarantee
> of returns so we stepped
> away from the offer.  Recognizing the value of these
> meteorites and
> realizing the majority of what was being sold in
> Morocco actually came
> through Algeria, the Algerian government decided to
> create new laws
> protecting this treasure.
> 
> They are now enforcing these laws and a few arrests
> have been made.  Even
> the so-called nomads are not immune to arrest which
> was demonstrated
> recently. Word of the arrests has now traveled like
> wildfire through the
> nomadic communities responsible for bringing these
> stones into Morocco.
> They will no longer take the risk of bringing these
> meteorites over the
> border and into the markets so they will stay on the
> ground.  Nobody wants
> to get caught with a meteorite on their person in
> Algeria.  The supply was
> dwindling before the recent arrests so this just
> served to hasten the
> process.
> 
> There are no more stockpiles that we are aware of
> left in Morocco. It is not
> even worth the expense of flying over there anymore
> as the supply is now
> down to a trickle.  Where there used to hundreds of
> kilograms to pick over,
> now there is less than ten kilograms. I am sure
> meteorites will still come
> from Morocco but only at a mere fraction of what
> once flowed, the gold rush
> is over.
> 
> I believe more meteorites will come from North
> America than Morocco within a
> very short time period.
> 
> Kind Regards,
> 
> ------------------------------------
> Adam Hupe
> The Hupe Collection
> Team LunarRock
> IMCA 2185
> raremeteorites at comcast.net
> 
> 
> 
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> 

M come Meteorite - Matteo Chinellato
Via Triestina 126/A - 30030 - TESSERA, VENEZIA, ITALY
Email: mcomemeteorite2004 at yahoo.it
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International Meteorite Collectors Association #2140
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