[meteorite-list] Steve Arnold Discovers Brenham Main Mass

[Notkin]

Dear Friends and Listees:

Steve is in the field and has asked me to post the following press 
release on his behalf.

Steve did not quote any prices to the media, so the $12 million figure 
is just one of those colorful media exaggerations. However, the 
pallasite is extraordinary and is definitely oriented (something you 
cannot really see in these photos) -- it's one big nose cone. 
Additional photos will be forthcoming.

The find, at 1,400 pounds, beats the next largest Brenham found by 
Stockwell in 1949 (1,000 lbs) and therefore becomes the main mass. I'm 
sure you'll all want to join me in congratulating our friend Steve on 
this find of a lifetime.

I know you all want to see the photos, taken by Steve's partner Phil 
Mani, so here they are:

http://www.aerolite.org/brenham.htm


Well done Steve!!

Geoff


***********************


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 9, 2005


WORLD RECORD METEORITE UNEARTHED BY HUNTER IN KANSAS

A 1,400-pound stony-iron pallasite meteorite found in Kiowa County is 
the largest of its type ever recovered in the United States, and the 
third largest in history
	
Steve Arnold, 39, a professional meteorite hunter from Arkansas has 
found and excavated a meteorite weighing almost three quarters of a ton 
from a farmer’s field near Haviland, Kansas. The discovery was made in 
late October using sophisticated metal detecting equipment. It is one 
of the most valuable meteorite finds ever made in the United States and 
is of historic and scientific importance.

Meteorites — rocks that have fallen to Earth from outer space — are of 
considerable value to both scientists and private collectors. Meteorite 
collecting is a growing hobby, with thousands of enthusiasts worldwide 
willing to pay high prices for these rare sky rocks.

Brenham meteorites, named after the Kiowa Country township in Kansas, 
were first found in the area during the 1890s, when frontier farmers 
sold a number of them to universities and mineral dealers. Brenham 
specimens are today on display in the American Museum of Natural 
History in New York, the Field Museum in Chicago, and other prominent 
institutions. They are of a rare type, known as pallasites, which 
account for only 1% of all known meteorites. Pallasites consist of a 
nickel-iron matrix full of colorful olivine crystals (the semi-precious 
gemstone peridot) and are very beautiful when cut and polished. Well 
prepared pallasite specimens often sell for between twenty and forty 
dollars per gram.

Mr. Arnold’s discovery is the largest pallasite ever found in America, 
and the largest oriented pallasite meteorite ever found anywhere in the 
world. An oriented meteorite is one which has traveled through Earth’s 
atmosphere without spinning and formed a conical or bullet shape as its 
surface melted. Oriented pallasites are extremely rare and highly 
prized by museums and private collectors.

Steve Arnold was born in Kansas, and has been thinking about Brenham 
meteorites for more than a decade. “I traveled all over the world 
hunting for meteorites, but came home to make my most important 
discovery. I was just sure there were more of them out there waiting to 
be found,” he said. Mr. Arnold and his partner Phil Mani — a geologist 
and oil and gas attorney from San Antonio, Texas — made arrangements 
with local landowners, which allowed them to search for the 
deeply-buried meteorites. The 1,400-pound specimen was recovered at 
considerable depth, and a back hoe was needed to lift it.

Dr. Art Ehlmann, Curator of the Oscar E. Monnig Meteorite Gallery at 
Texas Christian University in Fort Worth visited the site last week, 
and described Mr. Arnold’s discovery as “the most significant American 
meteorite find in decades.”

###

Video footage of the meteorite excavation is available.