[meteorite-list] Kem-Kem, the original "GENERIC" name for NWAs, Northwest African meteorites

Brian Cox searchingforfun at sbcglobal.net
Fri Aug 14 04:18:03 EDT 2009


Jeff,

Thanks again for your time and for bringing more light to the subject of the 
origination of the names, NWA and Kem Kem. You mentioned about where the Kem 
Kems went to and I forgot to mention that I have a piece of Kem Kem that I 
purchased back when Planet Brey meteorites got specimens of Kem Kem and I 
have it on ebay and if you want to have a look at it with the Original COA 
that says Kem Kem and the information on the card, here is the link: 
http://cgi.ebay.com/KEM-KEM-Meteorite-19-7g-IMCA-COA-Unclass-Probably-H5_W0QQitemZ270440268847QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH

I added in the description that since it's technically Unclassified and 
probably an H5.

Thanks again for your help and your wonderful and thorough explanation.

Brian Cox
IMCA # 6387

Searchingforfun is my ebay User ID






  [meteorite-list] Kem-Kem was never the generic for NWA
> Jeff Grossman jgrossman at usgs.gov
> Fri Aug 14 00:50:48 EDT 2009
>
>  a.. Previous message: [meteorite-list] Kem-Kem was never the generic for 
> NWA
>  b.. Next message: [meteorite-list] Fw: Kem Kem, the original generic name 
> before NWAs, Northwest African meteorites
>  c.. Messages sorted by: [ date ] [ thread ] [ subject ] [ author ]
>
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> The Kem Kem meteorites from Casper were a trigger for the NomCom
> approving the NWA designation, which was my coinage in January
> 2000. But to really understand the history, you need to go back a
> few years earlier, to El Hammami (aka Hamada du Draa), which was the
> first case for which the NomCom became aware that meteorites were
> being transported and sold in this region. With this history, plus a
> series of inquiries from other dealers about the Kem Kem meteorites,
> compounded by our inability to learn many details about those
> meteorites from Casper, we needed to take action of some kind. We
> decided on a generic term, Northwest Africa, that could be applied as
> a "tracking" label to all stones, even ones that had not been
> classified, so that individual meteorites would not be divided and
> sold under multiple names. We also had no ability to investigate
> multiple vague or anonymous claims about meteorite provenance in the
> region. Thus it was decided that all of these meteorites would be
> named NWA, even those that had been classified. I'm not sure what
> ever happened to the Kem Kems that triggered the whole thing. Since
> I don't think Casper ever numbered them, there were no synonyms to
> publish, assuming they eventually became NWAs.
>
> jeff

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Brian Cox" <searchingforfun at sbcglobal.net>
To: <meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com>
Sent: Friday, August 14, 2009 1:55 AM
Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] Kem-Kem, the original "GENERIC" name for NWAs, 
Northwest African meteorites


> Hi Jeff,
>
> Thank you very much for your explanation of Kem Kem and the NomCom 
> approving the NWA designation because of all the confusion and the 
> situation of all the meteorites coming out of the region.
>
> Thank you for mentioning that you and NomCom decided on "A Generic Term" 
> Northwest Africa, that could be applied as a "Tracking" label to all 
> stones.
>
> I really appreciate your explanation.
>
> All the best!
>
> Brian
> IMCA # 6387

 [meteorite-list] Kem-Kem was never the generic for NWA
> Jeff Grossman jgrossman at usgs.gov
> Fri Aug 14 00:50:48 EDT 2009
>
>  a.. Previous message: [meteorite-list] Kem-Kem was never the generic for 
> NWA
>  b.. Next message: [meteorite-list] Fw: Kem Kem, the original generic name 
> before NWAs, Northwest African meteorites
>  c.. Messages sorted by: [ date ] [ thread ] [ subject ] [ author ]
>
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> The Kem Kem meteorites from Casper were a trigger for the NomCom
> approving the NWA designation, which was my coinage in January
> 2000. But to really understand the history, you need to go back a
> few years earlier, to El Hammami (aka Hamada du Draa), which was the
> first case for which the NomCom became aware that meteorites were
> being transported and sold in this region. With this history, plus a
> series of inquiries from other dealers about the Kem Kem meteorites,
> compounded by our inability to learn many details about those
> meteorites from Casper, we needed to take action of some kind. We
> decided on a generic term, Northwest Africa, that could be applied as
> a "tracking" label to all stones, even ones that had not been
> classified, so that individual meteorites would not be divided and
> sold under multiple names. We also had no ability to investigate
> multiple vague or anonymous claims about meteorite provenance in the
> region. Thus it was decided that all of these meteorites would be
> named NWA, even those that had been classified. I'm not sure what
> ever happened to the Kem Kems that triggered the whole thing. Since
> I don't think Casper ever numbered them, there were no synonyms to
> publish, assuming they eventually became NWAs.
>
> jeff

> 




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