Northwest Africa 14340 (NWA 14340)

Algeria

Purchased: June 2017

Classification: Lunar (feldspathic breccia)

History: Purchased by R. Hilts in 2017 from Gary Fujihara, via the Internet, on behalf of MacEwan University. Fujihara had purchased the meteorite from nomads who reportedly found the meteorite in Algeria, in the same general area as NWA 11273.

Physical characteristics: A single 8.26-g stone with minor orange staining on the outer surface and no visible fusion crust. A broken surface reveals submillimeter to millimeter-size light grey to white clasts embedded in a dark matrix.

Petrography: (T. Mijajlovic, UAb and E. Walton, MU) The meteorite is a clast-rich, matrix-supported breccia. Petrographic and electron microscope examination of a thin section reveals mineral and lithic clasts, with major minerals plagioclase, olivine and pyroxene. Minor minerals include silica, ilmenite, troilite, and FeNi metal. Clasts are set in a fine-grained matrix that is partially shock melted, flow-textured and vesiculated. Lithic clasts, in descending order of abundance, include norite, olivine-gabbro, basalt and devitrified glass. Some clasts contain vesiculated anorthite or partially melted anorthite/pyroxene. Terrestrial weathering products include fracture- and vug-filling calcite and barite.

Geochemistry: Olivine (Fa_17.4-35.4, FeO/MnO = 88.2 ± 5, N = 21), low-Ca pyroxene (En_55.7-78.2Wo_2.5-11.2, FeO/MnO = 52.3±4, N = 26), augite exsolution lamellae (En_15.6-16.2Wo_40.3-40.9, FeO/MnO = 46.5±4, N = 8), and anorthite (An92.0-An_98.1). Oxygen isotope values linearized to a slope of 0.528 (K. Ziegler, UNM): δ¹⁷O = 3.003±0.061, δ¹⁸O = 5.792±0.134, Δ¹⁷O = -0.054±0.010 (N=3).

Classification: Lunar, feldspathic regolith breccia, based on the presence of FeNi metal grains and a partially glassy spherule.

Specimens: 2.0 g type specimen held at UAb. Main mass and one polished thin section at MU.