[meteorite-list] Catalog of the recovered Bassikounou masses released

[Alexander Seidel]

An astonishing, excellent piece of work!
Thanks a bunch, Svend and Matthias,
for a job very well done,

Alex
Berlin/Germany


-------- Original-Nachricht --------
Datum: Tue, 03 Jul 2007 14:36:02 +0200
Von: info at niger-meteorite-recon.de
An: Meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com
Betreff: [meteorite-list] Catalog of the recovered Bassikounou masses	released

> We are pleased to announce that the Descriptive Catalog on the Recovered
> Masses of the Bassikounou Meteorite Fall is now available as a
> non-commercial download.
> 
> The catalog lists 108 single masses of a combined weight of 62.186kg
> (including the 6.120kg main mass) individually and another 31.665kg in lots.
> More than 80 individual masses are pictured. The final TKW of the Bassikounou
> meteorite fall is 93.851kg.
> 
> In the latest phase of this undertaking we have often been approached by
> collectors explaining that regarding to their observations the TKW should be
> much higher. To prove their point they showed us images of single
> Bassikounou meteorites or complete lots they were offered recently. In 99% of these
> cases we had cataloged the particular masses before either individually or
> under a certain lot.
> 
> In this context it might be interesting for some of you, that many
> meteorites change hands already before they get distributed. Moroccan sellers
> equip their colleagues with commission material to visit Europe, or they simply
> exchange certain batches of material between one another. This is the
> reason why one and the same meteorite can be offered to you from different
> sellers from the same NWA country successively. 
> 
> During our research we were able to follow an exemplary Bassikounou mass
> on its journey from the local finder, to a distributor in Morroco, to a
> meteorite fair in France, to a European mineral dealer and finally to a
> collector in Canada. During the stations of the journey this particular meteorite
> was offered no less than 12 times under different circumstances and with
> different photos. 
> 
> This in mind it is no wonder that people think there is much more material
> circulating than actually is. Our experience lead us to the conclusion
> that many recent meteorite falls that produced showers are largely
> overestimated in their total weight.
> 
> We hope that our investigation may aid the understanding and recovery of
> future meteorite falls in isolated areas. And we are positive, that our
> undertaking helps to sensitize finders as well as distributors in Mauritania
> and Morocco to preserve the information that is connected to the meteorites
> they trade. 
> 
> You can access the complete catalog by clicking at the cover image on the
> bottom of page 5 of the Bassikounou report:
> 
> http://www.niger-meteorite-recon.de/en/Bassikounou_Meteorite_5.htm
> 
> Or simply by copying the direct link into your browser:
> 
> http://www.niger-meteorite-recon.de/img_inventar/Buhl_Baermann_Catalog.pdf
> 
> Please allow the large document some time to load.
> 
> 
> Thanks again to all contributors.
> 
> 
> Svend Buhl & Matthias Baermann
> 
> 
> 
> -- 
> www.niger-meteorite-recon.de
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