[meteorite-list] LOVINA REVISITED

[Darryl Pitt]

Thanks for your kind words, Svend, but you're giving me far more  
credit than I deserve.  I did not shepherd Lovina through the  
certification process.  My acquisition simply would not have occurred  
had Lovina not been previously certified as a meteorite.

Please see the relevant article in Lunar and Planetary Science:  http://www.lpi.usra.edu/meetings/lpsc2008/pdf/2412.pdf




On Dec 9, 2009, at 7:08 AM, info at niger-meteorite-recon.de wrote:

> Thank you for the new evaluation Darryl.
>
> Although this is a regrettable development one must not forget that  
> you took
> the initial risk of acquiring such exotic material, which alone is a
> remarkable achievement. I very much hope that this experience does not
> discourage you to venture similar acquisitions in the future. If it  
> wasn't for
> people like you, most meteorites of similar caliber would never see  
> the light of
> public. Set backs are a natural part of this business and there are  
> very few
> dealers who would not subscribe to that.
>
> Svend
>
>
>
>
>
> Darryl Pitt <darryl at dof3.com> hat am 9. Dezember 2009 um 09:15  
> geschrieben:
>
>>
>> Well, I had an interesting day today....
>>
>> This morning I met with Roy Clarke, Linda Welzenbach, Cari Corrigan,
>> Glen MacPherson, and Tim McCoy at the Smithsonian.   During our get-
>> together Tim made several observations as to why Lovina could very
>> well not be what it has been made out to be---which is to say, a
>> meteorite---and why more work must be done.
>>
>> In Tim's words....
>>
>> 1)   The sulfides are not simply troilite and appear optically to be
>> multiple phases, including one that looks like the Ni-rich sulfide
>> pentlandite.
>>
>> 2)  Although the presence of the octahedrons has been attributed to
>> weathering, the structure of the remainder of the meteorite shows  
>> fine
>> stringers of sulfide, not large areas that would easily weather out
>> leaving such octahedron.
>>
>> 3)  On one polished slice, the sulfides clearly wrap around one of  
>> the
>> indentations, rather than the cross-cutting relationship one might
>> expect from a significantly weathered iron meteorite.
>>
>> 4)  The composition given - high Ni coupled with moderately high Ga
>> and Ge - is difficult to reconcile with a meteorite composition.
>> Iron meteorites acquire high Ni concentrations through 1 of 3
>> mechanisms.  Oxidation simply changes iron to FeO, leaving Ni behind.
>> This can produce high-Ni irons with modest Ga and Ge. Nebular
>> condensation can also produce high-Ni iron which then melts to form
>> cores in which high-Ni iron meteorites form.  This process, however,
>> occurs at high temperature where the volatile elements Ga and Ge are
>> depleted.  Finally, you can produce high Ni through fractional
>> crystallization.  Ni prefers the solid phase when a core  
>> crystallizes,
>> so early irons are low in Ni and later crystallizing ones are high in
>> Ni.  However, Ga and Ge behave opposite of Ni, so low Ni irons are
>> high in Ga and Ge and high Ni irons are low and Ga and Ge.   The
>> published Ga and Ge values are at least a factor of 15 higher than
>> reported for similar iron meteorites.
>>
>> 5)  The holes exposed in the center of the specimen are not the shape
>> one would expect of weathering, but seem circular.  Circular vugs are
>> commonly produced in slags when gases try to escape.
>>
>> There was more...including the fact that Indonesia is a nickel-rich
>> locality as well as Tim's conclusion that Lovina was most likely a
>> highly weathered example of a smelted Ni-rich sulfide.
>>
>> Sales have been suspended and monies are in the process of being
>> returned.  Further testing will be done to confirm Lovina's place of
>> origin and the results will be posted to the list by mid-January.
>>
>> I think I'll go see the new Clooney film "Up In The Air."   Ohhh--- 
>> and
>> might anyone want an inexpensive 13 kg specimen of Willamette for
>> Christmas?!
>>
>>
>> And how was your day?   ;-)
>>
>>
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