Penouille

Comte Gaspe-Est, Province du Quebec, Canada

Found summer 1984, recognized 1994

Iron (Medium octahedrite, LAB)

An iron of 72.52 g was found by a then eight-year-old boy, Christian Couture, on a sand beach on the south side of the Penouille peninsula (Baie de Gaspe), ~1 km south of the village Penouille. In 1994, he brought it to the Planétarium de Montréal, where it was identified as a meteorite. The iron has an oxidized, but smooth exterior with an ellipsoidal shape of 4.8 x 3 x 2 cm. A polished surface revealed an octahedrite structure with a kamacite bandwidth of 0.88 mm. Near the original surface, the heat-affected zone is still preserved. Analysis: 9.4% Ni; 365 ppm Ge; 63 ppm Ga; 3.66 ppm Ir; 1.98 ppm Au; 5850 ppm Co. Type specimen, classification and information: Stephen A. Kissin, Lakehead University, Department of Geology, Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada P7B 5E1. The main mass is at the Planétarium de Montréal, Montréal, Canada.