[meteorite-list] NEW Ocate, NM Iron Classification

Tue May 26 20:20:35 EDT 2009

Hello Rob,

Thank you for your email. Good question. Between the science done, finder's 
statement and visually inspected by many people who have seen a lot of 
Canyon Diablo, there is not a chance of a pairing.

Best regards,
Greg

====================
Greg Hupe
The Hupe Collection
NaturesVault (eBay)
gmhupe at htn.net
www.LunarRock.com
IMCA 3163
====================
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----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Matson, Robert D." <ROBERT.D.MATSON at saic.com>
To: "Greg Hupe" <gmhupe at htn.net>; <meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com>
Sent: Tuesday, May 26, 2009 7:49 PM
Subject: RE: NEW Ocate, NM Iron Classification

> Hi Greg,
>
> How sure is UAb that Ocate isn't paired to Canyon Diablo?  Here's a
> comparison of trace elements (units are mg/g for Ni & Co, micrograms/gram
> for all others):
>
> Elem.   Ocate, NM       Canyon Diablo    Diff.  Sigma
> ----- --------------   ---------------   -----  -----
> Ni   69.9 +/- 0.5     69.2 +/- 1.7      0.7     < 1
> Co   0.466 +/- 0.004  0.468 +/- 0.015   0.002  << 1
> Ga   71.9 +/- 0.3     83.8 +/- 3.4      11.9    3.2
> Ge   271 +/- 6        322 +/- 19        51      2.0
> Ir   2.25 +/- 0.04    2.17 +/- 0.07     0.08    < 1
> Au   1.60 +/- 0.03    1.57 +/- 0.11     0.03   << 1
> As   15.2 +/- 0.3     12.7 +/- 0.7      2.5     2.5
> Cu   119 +/- 11       148 +/- 6         29      1.7
> W    0.87 +/- 0.08    0.99 +/- .129     0.12    < 1
> Re   0.22 +/- 0.02    0.228 +/- 0.027   0.008  << 1
>
> The most significant differences are gallium (more than 3-sigma different)
> and germanium (2-sigma).  (The 2.5-sigma difference on arsenic may not be
> as significant since the 1-sigma measurement error is greater than 5%;
> similarly, copper's measurement uncertainty is greater than 9%.)
>
> --Rob
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: meteorite-list-bounces at meteoritecentral.com 
> [mailto:meteorite-list-bounces at meteoritecentral.com] On Behalf Of Greg 
> Hupe
> Sent: Tuesday, May 26, 2009 3:18 PM
> To: meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com
> Subject: [meteorite-list] NEW Ocate, NM Iron Classification & Specimens - 
> AD
>
> Dear List Members,
>
> I would like to announce a newly-approved iron meteorite found in New 
> Mexico in 1986 and has just been approved. It is a IAB-MG (Main Group), 
> coarse ochtahedrite and is named "Ocate" after the nearest town to where 
> it was found. It will be in the online database soon and will be published 
> in MB96 (Sept, issue MaPS). It wasn't until 2008 that they finder 
> approached me with the single 6.4kg stone that the classification process 
> began. I went to the find site last fall with the person who found it to 
> take GPS coordinates, photograph the area and to hunt for more if there 
> were any to be found. We didn't have much time to hunt at that time so we 
> did not find any others.
>
> Here are a couple of links to give you an idea of how nice Ocate is (see 
> all available specimens below classification below). This was cut and 
> prepared by one of the best meteorite craftsman in the business!
>
> Polished and etched face of a 314g complete slice:
> http://www.lunarrock.com/ocate/specimens/dsc00002.jpg
> Ocate, New Mexico sign:
> http://www.lunarrock.com/ocate/OcateSign.jpg
> The find site of the 6.4kg Ocate iron:
> http://www.lunarrock.com/ocate/findsite.jpg
>
> Getting to the find site is treacherous and a 4-wheel drive vehicle with 
> high clearance is required! It took us about three hours after leaving the 
> paved road to get to the site up the mountain on a road that was more like 
> a crater-ridden trail with large boulders in most places and swampy mud in 
> others. To successfully hunt the site would require camping for a week, 
> there is no way to drive up and down the mountain each day and get enough 
> hunting hours in to make it worthwhile. There are also lots of elk hunters 
> during hunting season so anyone who wants to give it a go, be careful!
>
> Submitted and approved classification for "Ocate":
> Ocate
> 36° 17.72' N, 105° 2.90' W
>
> Mora County, New Mexico
>
> Find: 1986
>
> Iron (IAB-MG), coarse octahedrite
>
>
>
> History:  This single 6.4kg mass was found by a local New Mexico hunter in 
> 1986.  Knowing it was different from the surrounding rocks and had an odd 
> appearance (the face of a bear), the hunter took it home and set it aside 
> with an odd assortment of 'collectibles' while hunting and mountaineering 
> over decades in the New Mexico area.  The owner contacted G. Hupe in May
> 2008 for verification of the find, which was confirmed by study of the 
> type sample at the University of Alberta.
>
> Physical characteristics:  A single stone weighing 6402 grams with 
> virtually no apparent fusion crust, yet also lacking progressed 
> terrestrial alteration, which contributes towards its dark brown metallic 
> appearance with well defined regmaglypts.
>
> Petrography: (C. Herd, N. Bruemmer, UAb) A 5 x 7 cm polished and etched 
> slab reveals Widmanstätten pattern with an average bandwidth of 1.4 ± 0.2 
> mm, few areas of plessite, and numerous inclusions.  A 1 cm ellipsoidal 
> graphite nodule and several smaller inclusions of graphite, troilite and 
> schreibersite are associated with polygonal kamacite on one portion of the 
> slab. Smaller, mm-scale elongate inclusions of troilite are oriented 
> parallel to kamacite lamellae where the Widmanstätten is better developed.
> Terrestrial oxides decorate fractures within a few mm of the exterior 
> surface.
>
> Geochemistry: Bulk Composition: INAA data (J. Duke, UAb): Ni = 6.99 ± 0.05 
> wt%, Co = 0.466 ± 0.004 wt%, Ga = 71.9 ± 0.3 μg/g, Ge = 271 ± 6 μg/g, Ir =
> 2.25 ± 0.04 μg/g, Au = 1.60 ± 0.03 μg/g, As = 15.2 ± 0.3 μg/g, Cu = 119 ± 
> 11 μg/g, W = 0.87 ± 0.08 μg/g, Re = 0.22 ± 0.02 μg/g (uncertainties 1s, 
> 68% confidence level).
>
> Classification: Iron meteorite, IAB main group, coarse octahedrite, 
> minimal shock, minimal weathering.
> 