Itaka        53°52.65’N, 118°41.45’N

Chitinskaya oblast’, Russia

Find: 2015 Jul

Classification: Iron meteorite (IIIAB)

History: The meteorite was found by Mr. Grikov on the banks of the Itaka river between the mouths of the Sukhaya Itaka river and the Aleksey river, near the the town of Itaka. The meteorite was possibly excavated during gold mining.

Physical characteristics: The 900 g meteorite has an ellipsoidal shape. The oxidized surface shows a relict Widmanstätten structure.

Petrography: (C. Lorenz, S. Teplyakova, Vernad) the meteorite consists of kamacite, taenite, plessitic aggregate, minor FeNi phosphides (schreibersite and rhabdites) and accessory troilite. The average kamacite bandwidth is 4.5 mm.

Geochemistry: (N. N. Kononkova, Vernad) kamacite: Ni = 5.47, Co = 0.5; taenite: Ni = 30.6 - 50.5 (all in wt%); (ICP-AS, I. A. Gromyak, ICP-MS, E. S. Toropchenova, Vernad, bulk sample) Ni 9.16 wt %, Co 0.53, Au 1.15, Ga 26.2, Ir 2.29, Cr 9.82, W 0.47, As 8.18 (all in ppm).

Classification: Iron (IIIAB), coarsest octahedrite (Ogg), moderately weathered.

Specimens: The type specimen of 108 g and one polished section are on deposit at the Vernad. Mr. Sergey V. Grikov holds a main mass of the meteorite.