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Christiana
Basic information Name: Christiana
     This is an OFFICIAL meteorite name.
Abbreviation: There is no official abbreviation for this meteorite.
Observed fall: No
Year found: 2004
Country: South Africa
Mass:help 127.9 kg
Classification
  history:
Meteoritical Bulletin:  MB 105  (2016)  Iron, IVA
Recommended:  Iron, IVA    [explanation]

This is 1 of 83 approved meteorites (plus 1 unapproved name) classified as Iron, IVA.   [show all]
Search for other: Iron meteorites, IVA irons, and Metal-rich meteorites
Comments: Approved 17 Dec 2016
Writeuphelp
Writeup from MB 105:

Christiana        27°54’S, 25°9’E

North West, South Africa

Find: 2004

Classification: Iron meteorite (IVA)

History: Found by a farm laborer out hunting in farm fields around 2004. It was then acquired by a gem and mineral dealer in Capetown, and subsequently sold at the Tucson Rock and Mineral Show circa 2005.

Physical characteristics: The main mass weighs approximately 128 kg and is irregular in shape with a glossy brown to red-brown exterior. Numerous regmaglypts are present, including some that are spherical and several cm across.

Petrography: Optical investigation reveals a well-developed Widmanstatten pattern consistent with a finest octahedrite. Troilite and schreibersite inclusions are common.

Geochemistry: ICP-MS data, using sample of North Chile (Filomena) as standard (C. Herd and G. Chen UAb): Ni = 8.2, Co = 0.39 (both wt%); Ir = 2.6, Ga = 2.5, W = 0.65, Re = 0.29, Cu = 170, Ru = 4.2, Pd = 2.8, Pt = 6.1 (all μg/g).

Classification: (C. Herd, UAb): IVA iron, finest octahedrite.

Specimens: Type specimen of 139.8 g at UAb. Main mass at JTESM.


Writeup from MB 108:
Christiana: correction.

In 2018 it was discovered that the type specimen provided for the purposes of classification was instead a slice of the Gibeon meteorite. A sample of the correct meteorite was provided and analyzed at UAb, giving the following results:

Petrography: SEM investigation of a ~1.5 x 8 cm x 0.7 cm polished and etched sample reveals a plessitic pattern (kamacite bandwidth = 33±6 μm, n=32). No inclusions were observed.
Geochemistry: ICP-MS data, using sample of North Chile (Filomena) as standard (C. Herd and G. Chen, UAb): Ni = 8.1, Co = 0.40 (both wt%); Ir = 2.6, Ga = 2.15, As = 4.3, W = 0.85, Re = 0.28, Cu = 149, Ru = 5.2, Pd = 3.3, Pt = 7.4, Au = 1.4 (all μg/g).
Classification: (C. Herd, UAb): IVA iron, plessitic. Specimens: Type specimen of 61.5 g at UAb. Main mass at JTESM.
Data from:
  MB105
  Table 0
  Line 0:
State/Prov/County:North West
Origin or pseudonym:farm field
Date:2004
Latitude:27°54'S
Longitude:25°9'E
Mass (g):127900
Pieces:1
Class:Iron, IVA
Shock stage:low
Weathering grade:low
Classifier:C. Herd, UAb
Type spec mass (g):139.8
Type spec location:UAb
Main mass:JTESM
Finder:anonymous
Comments:Submitted by C. Herd
Institutions
   and collections
UAb: 1-26 Earth Sciences Building, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, T6G 2E3, Canada, Canada; Website (institutional address; updated 17 Oct 2011)
JTESM: Joshua Tree Earth And Space Museum PO BOX 101, Lakeville, IN 46536, United States (institutional address; updated 17 Dec 2016)
Catalogs:
References: Published in Meteoritical Bulletin, no. 105, MAPS 52, 2411, September 2017. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/maps.12944/full
Published in Meteoritical Bulletin, no. 108 (2020) Meteorit. Planet. Sci. 55, 1146-1150
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Geography:

South Africa
Coordinates:
     Recommended::   (27° 54'S, 25° 9'E)

Statistics:
     This is 1 of 3 approved meteorites from North West, South Africa (plus 1 unapproved name) (plus 2 impact craters)
     This is 1 of 49 approved meteorites from South Africa (plus 2 unapproved names) (plus 4 impact craters)
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