[meteorite-list] looking for classification advice for fresh find

[Rob Lenssen]

Dear List,

Thank you for all your on- and off-List reactions.
In general your advice is, to have it classified, including terrestrial 
dating, and to try to find as much as possible information on the find of 
this stone.
I also have some references now, from the isotope terrestrial age 
determination.

Thanks!
Rob

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Rob Lenssen" <rlenssen at planet.nl>
To: <Meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com>
Sent: Tuesday, August 18, 2009 8:43 PM
Subject: looking for classification advice for fresh find


> Dear List,
>
> I received a new meteorite directly from a Moroccan dealer last week, that 
> looks remarkably fresh.
>
> The dealer told me the 314g stone was broken in (three) fragments by the 
> nomad who found it. Also the name of the town of find was provided.
>
> My first thought was that it would be one of recent years falls.
> The dealer insists it's not.
> As I thought the price to be OK, I decided to buy.
>
> I "studied" the pieces, and compared them to my Bassikounou:
> The material looks whiter than Bassikounou (that again looks whiter (less 
> grey) than Chergach to me).
> It has a lot of free iron (more than visible in the photographs) and few 
> visible larger chondrules.
> Based on the free iron, I would not expect it to be LL like Bensour.
> Tested with a magnet, it is attracted strongly, but slightly less than 
> Bassikounou an H-type chondrite.
> And last, the crust has almost no dust (fine sand) contamination, like 
> Bassikounou typically has.
>
> My question is how to deal with this stone, with respect to 
> classification.
> Does this stone deserve more than the standard NWA classification?
> Should for instance terrestrial age be determined?
> I would appreciate some guidance from List members who are 
> (professionally) involved in meteorite research.
>
> http://home.planet.nl/~rlenssen/314g/314g-NWA.html
>
> Kind regards,
> Rob Lenssen