[meteorite-list] Steve Arnold Discovers Brenham Main Mass

[moni Waiblinger-Seabridge]

Hi Geoff, Steve and list members,


THIS IS SO AWESOME!
I AM SPEECHLESS!

See what happens when you go out and search!

Steve, I am amazed and how did you know it was way down there?  ;-)
Story please!!!!!

With best regards,
Moni



>From: "Notkin" <geoking at notkin.net>
>To: "Meteorite List" <meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com>
>Subject: [meteorite-list] Steve Arnold Discovers Brenham Main Mass
>Date: Thu, 10 Nov 2005 10:40:07 -0700
>
>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.
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