Orlov Dol        42.113271°N, 26.163802°E

Burgas, Bulgaria

Find: 2018

Classification: Iron meteorite (IID)

History: In the summer of 2018, Ivan Ivanov, Nedko Rusev, and Zhivko Andonov were walking an old country road near the village of Orlov Dol, when they noticed an unusual stone in the middle of the road. There had been heavy rain the previous day, which washed away the road. They removed the stone from the ground and found it to be metallic. They took it with them and left it in an old barn, not knowing what it could be. The stone stayed there for almost a year. On 2019 June 6, they attended a BGNMHA (Bulgarian Gold Nugget and Meteorite Hunting Association) meeting, and brought a small piece for analysis. XRF analysis indicated a high Ni content (13 wt%) and there was a visible Widmanstätten pattern on the surface. Subsequently, a sample was sent by George Penneff to Jerome Gattacceca (CEREGE) for further analysis and classification.

Physical characteristics: A single mass covered with rust.

Petrography: Etching of a polished section reveals a medium octahedrite texture with average kamacite bandwidth 0.83±0.21 mm. Martensitic areas and Neumann bands are present.

Geochemistry: (J.T. Wasson, UCLA): INAA data, Ni = 98.7, Co = 6.66 (both mg/g), Cu = 282, Ga = 70.5, As = 4.3, W= 2.97, Re = 1.977, Ir = 18.9, Pt = 20.9, Au = 0.602 (all μg/g).

Classification: Iron, IID

Specimens: Type specimen at CEREGE. Main mass with Ivan Ivanov.