Iron Meteorites

IRON METEORITES

Iron meteorites represent only 6% of meteorites.  They originate in the core of smashed-up parent bodies.  As the parent cools, metals sink towards the centre of the body. Subsequent impacts of great violence can break the asteroid into pieces, liberating the metal-rich cores.  Iron meteorites are always found with nickel. This is rare on earth, and is one test to help determine if material is meteoritic.

Here are some of my iron (and stoney-iron) meteorites.

CAMPO DEL CIELO Found 1576 Chaco, Argentina TKW 50MT Sample: 235g

IAB-MG, coarse octahedrite

Argentina 1576

TOLUCA Found (before) 1776 Mexico State, Mexico TKW 3MT Sample: 3.1g

IAB coarse octahedrite

Mexico 1776

CAPE YORK Found 1818 West Greenland TKW 58.2MT Sample: 13g

IIIA medium octahedrite

Greenland 1818

GIBEON Found 1836 Great Namaland, Namibia TKW 26MT Sample: 12.9g

IVA fine octahedrite

Namibia 1836

BRENHAM Found 1882 Kansas, USA TKW 4.3MT Sample: 18.6g

Main group pallasite with anomalous metal (PAL-MG-AN)

USA 1882

MUONIONALUSTA Found 1906 Norrbotten, Sweden TKW 230kg Sample: 16.1g

IVA  fine octahedrite

Sweden 1906

MUNDRABILLA Found 1911 W Australia, Australia TKW 24MT Sample: 23g

IAB ungrouped medium octahedrite

Australia 1911

CHINGA Found 1913 Turvinskaya, Russia TKW 209.4kg Sample: 24g

Ungrouped iron, ataxite

Russia 1913

YSLETA Found (before) 1914 Texas, USA TKW 140.7kg Sample: 7.6g

Ungrouped iron

USA 1914

MORASKO Found 1914 Poznan, Poland TKW 290kg Sample: 45.8g

IAB coarse octahedtite

Poland 1914

HENBURY Found 1931 Northern Territory, Australia TKW 2MT Sample: 32g

IIIA medium octahedrite

Australia 1931

SIKHOTE-ALIN Fell 12th February, 1947 @ 1038 hrs Maritime Territory, Russia TKW 23MT Sample: ~230g

IIB coarsest octahedrite

Russia 1947

DIMITROVGRAD Found 1949 Serbia TKW 100kg Sample: 0.54g

IIIAB medium octahedrite

Serbia 1949

TAMBO QUEMADO Found (before) 1950 Ayacucho, Peru TKW 141kg Sample: 10.87g

IIIAB medium octahedrite

Peru 1950

FREDERICKSBERG (Richland) Found 1951 (probably) Texas, USA TKW 50.6kg Sample: 6.1g

IIAB hexahedrite

USA 1951

NANTAN Found 1958 Guangxi, China TKW 9.5MT Sample: 39.1g

IAB medium octahedrite

China 1958

SANTIAGO PAPSQUIERO Found (about) 1958 Durango, Mexico TKW 119.5kg Sample: 6.4g

Iron ungrouped

Mexico 1958

SEYMCHAN Found 1967 Magadan region, Russia TKW 323kg Sample: 30g

Ungrouped coarse octahedrite

Russia 1967

ZACATECAS (1969) Found (before) 1969 Mexico TKW 6660g Sample: 50.8g

IIIAB medium octahedrite

Mexico 1969

MONT DIEU Found July 1994 Champagne-Ardenne, France TKW 360kg Sample: 23.5g

Ungrouped fine octahedrite

France 1994

DRONINO Found 2000 Ryazan District, Russia TKW 40kg Sample: 98.6g

I-ung ataxite

Russia 2000

GUANACO Found 2000 Antofagasta, Chile TKW 13.1kg Sample: 0.8g

IIG

Chile 2000

TAZA (NWA 859) Found 2001 Sahara Desert TKW 75.3kg Sample: ~23g

Ungrouped

NWA 2001

VERKHNYI SALTOV Found April 2001 Kharkov District, Ukraine TKW 9530g Sample: 7.3g

IIIAB medium octahedrite

Ukraine 2001

SANTA FÉ (provisional) Found 2003 Minas Gerais, Brazil TKW 198kg Sample: 3.3g

Classification pending

Brazil 2003

PATAGONIA (provisional) Found 2006 Patagonia, Argentina TKW 26.5kg Sample: ~12g

Classification pending

Argentina 2006

ZARAGOZA (provisional) Found 2007? Zaragoza, Spain TKW 162kg Sample: 8.1g

IVA anomalous

Spain 2007?