Northwest Africa 14360 (NWA 14360)

North Niger, Niger

Purchased: 2019

Classification: Ordinary chondrite (L5)

History: One single stone was purchased in 2019 from a dealer in Niger by Tomasz Jakubowski.

Physical characteristics: A single stone with fusion crust

Petrography: (Lukasz Karwowski, USil) Chondrules of different types with dominance of barred olivine chondrules, with diameter to 1.5 mm. Px and Ol are 78.1 vol%. of the metorite mass. Pl is up 11.8 vol%. Metallic phases are 3.0 vol%. Troilite is up to 5.9 vol%. Spinel (Cr-spinel) is up to 0.9 vol%. Average content of the secendary Fe-rich minerals (e.g. hydroxides) is 0.4 vol%.

Geochemistry: (L. Karwowski, Institute of Earth Sciences at Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Silesia in Katowice). Olivine Fa_24.67 (range Fa24.19-Fa_24.93, N=20). Orthopyroxene Fs_20.98Wo_1.4 (range Fs_20.56-21.7, Wo_1.0-1.7, N=16). Feldspar composition: Ab_80.2Or_5.0An_14.8. Mean content of Al₂O₃, MgO and TiO₂ in chromium spinel is 6.70 wt%, 2.05 wt% and 2.05 wt%, respectively. Metal phases are kamacite and tetratenite. The kamacite has a Ni content in the range 5.83 - 6.81 wt%, while the Co content is in the range 0.39 to 0.56 wt%. Ttetrataenite is has Ni content from 49.68 to 50.46 wt%, and Co up to 0.05 wt%. High-Ca monoclinic pyroxene, similar to diopside, is very rare. Accesory minerals: chlorapatite and merrylite.

Classification: Ordinary chondrite (L5).

Specimens: The main mass, a 9190 g specimen, is in Krzysztof Socha private collection. Small fragments with the total mass 71 g are stored at USil (catalogue no: WNoZ/Mt/110). 39 g was used for thin-section preparation and spectroscopic investigation (Mössbauer spectroscopy).