Northwest Africa 14493 (NWA 14493)

Morocco

Purchased: 2015

Classification: Iron meteorite (IAB complex)

History: Purchased from Mirko Graul in 2015, who had previously purchased it from a Moroccan merchant.

Physical characteristics: The 97.3 g mass is rounded and elongate. One side is smoother and possibly wind abraded, whereas the other contains small regmaglypts and has a dark brown surface.

Petrography: (C. Herd, UAb) Petrographic investigation of a 2.5 cm × 5 cm polished and etched surface reveals numerous, thin (sub-mm) metallic veins cutting across the short axis of the specimen, suggestive of shearing. Neumann lines are present in kamacite. A Widmanstatten pattern is faintly preserved, with bandwidth approximately 1.5 to 2 mm. Sub-mm schreibersite inclusions are present throughout.

Geochemistry: ICP-MS data, using sample of North Chile (Filomena) as standard (C. Herd, P. Hill, and S. DuFrane UAb): Ni = 9.0, Co = 0.447 (both wt%); Ir = 1.9, Ga = 81, Ge = 360, As = 12.8, W = 0.6, Sb = 0.28, Ru = 6.4, Re = 0.18, Os = 1.5, Pt = 6.3, Cu = 135 (all μg/g).

Classification: (C. Herd, UAb): IAB iron, highly shocked coarse octahedrite. Most likely belongs to the Main Group, by comparison with Wasson and Kallemeyn (2002).

Specimens: Type specimen consisting of a 45.0 g representative specimen at UAb. Main mass with John Shea.