[meteorite-list] Battle Mountain Field Report *AD*

[Larry Atkins]

Hello List,


I returned home from Battle Mountain this morning after a rather 
adventurous 10 days in the field. What a blast! Rattle snakes 
everywhere, a mountain lion around camp, steep and treacherous terrain, 
search and rescue, good friends and the allure of fresh space debris. I 
was fortunate enough to find two stones, the first of which I found on 
my anniversary, a 29g,100% crusted beauty which will be kept in my 
collection. It is designated BaM 006. The second stone, BaM 011 was a 
slightly chipped, 32g beautifully oriented specimen with flow lines, 
some roll over and froth on the trailing end. It also displays yellow 
crystals showing through the crust, (heat altered chondrules?)


I had the pleasure to meet and hunt with the local guy Marty that 
donated the type specimen for the official curation. While we were 
hunting some days ago he found BaM 018, a 24.5g  individual that has a 
chip on one side and is about 90-95% jet black crusted. An interesting 
point is that we had missed a turn in the mountains and ended up a bit 
off course but after consulting my maps I realized we were on the outer 
fringe of Marc's estimated strewnfield. Marty thought maybe I'd been in 
the sun too long and really didn't want to hunt there, thinking we were 
out of the strewnfield. I told him jokingly, (but maybe half serious) 
that perhaps we missed out turn for a reason and not to question the 
Meteorite Gods, and just hunt for an hour. About 30 minutes later to 
his surprise he found his second Battle Mountain meteorite.


He has asked me to help him find a good home for it and I said I would 
so here's your exceedingly rare chance to add Earth's newest arrival to 
your collection. I'll be taking serious offers off list for a day or 
two. I have an in-situ picture available upon request.


Thanks to all parties involved. I'm really enjoying the concerted 
effort and freedom of information that's flowing freely, increasing the 
odds of future recoveries.


Good luck to bidders.



Sincerely,

Larry Atkins