Agator el Feroua 001 (AeF 001)        23.876496, -3.522082

Gao, Mali

Find: 2022

Classification: Lunar meteorite (basalt)

History: This meteorite was found partially buried in sand on April 14, 2022, approximately 140 km north-northeast of Taoudenni in Ain Taweelah by Sahrawi meteorite hunters who were on a trip in search for meteorites.

Physical characteristics: Single stone, covered in fusion crust, elongate sculptural shape, flight-oriented. Freshly broken surface reveals a fine-grained mix of light gray and light brown grains, dark shock melt pockets, and shiny maskelynite. Unbrecciated.

Petrography: (A. Ross and C. Agee, UNM) Backscatter electron images, SEM images, and reflected light microscopy show igneous-zoned olivines and pyroxenes. Maskelynite makes up approximately 30% of the modal mineralogy, acicular ilmenite grains were ubiquitous in the microprobe mount; Ti-magnetite, troilite, low-Ni Fe-metal, and silica were also observed. Quench melt pockets are present throughout.

Geochemistry: (A. Ross and C. Agee, UNM) Olivine Fa_52.6±16.8, Fe/Mn=100±7, n=6; clinopyroxene Fs_52.4±22.8Wo_19.9±8.2, Fe/Mn=67±11, n=12; maskelynite An_88.4±0.4Ab_11.3±0.4, n=4. Quench melt SiO₂=42.2±1.9, TiO₂=7.4±1.8, Cr₂O₃=0.11±0.04, Al₂O₃=8.9±1.9, MgO=3.6±0.8, FeO=26.0±3.4, MnO=0.32±0.09, CaO=10.2±0.8, Na₂O=0.34±0.16, K₂O=0.13±0.05 (all wt%, 20 μm defocused beam), n=4. Clinopyroxene shows Fe-enrichment trends that are continuous from Mg-augite and Mg-pigeonite to subcalcic-ferroaugite/ferropigeonite.

Classification: Unbrecciated intermediate-Ti lunar mare basalt. Intermediate-Ti (Giguere et al., 2000) is based on the TiO₂ content of the quench shock melt (TiO₂=7.4±1.8 wt%, proxy for bulk composition) and is one of the highest TiO₂ contents ever reported in a lunar meteorite.

Specimens: 25 g including a probe mount on deposit at UNM, Bachir Salek holds the main mass.