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This specimen weighs 17.72 grams. It measures 30 mm x 18 mm x 15 mm.I offer a shipping discount for customers who combine their payments for multiple purchases into one payment!
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and I will buy back the item for your full purchase price.Hi there, I am selling this amazing NWA 859 (Taza) Iron Meteorite mineral specimen! This meteorite was discovered in 2001 in northwest Africa. It is classified as iron, ungrouped. This still has its natural desert patina so it should be very stable and rust resistant. Meteorites are one of the RAREST materials on earth, more rare than diamonds! Don't let this one pass you by. If you have any questions, do not hesitate to ask me. Thanks so much for visiting my store and have a great day!
If you purchase from me you should know that the authenticity of this meteorite is guaranteed!
I am a member of the IMCA or the International Meteorite Collector's Association. This is an organization that is a check and balance of those who collect, trade and sell meteorites. You can only join this organization by having the utmost integrity. You must to have two references from existing members to get in and a good reputation. Members of this organization maintain a high standard by monitoring each others' activities for accuracy and honesty. It is every IMCA member's responsibility and pleasure to offer help and assistance to fellow members in order to ensure specimens are genuine. It is not wise to purchase meteorites on or other sources from those who are not IMCA members. This is a very tight-knit community made up of meteorite hunters, dealers, collectors, and scientists who look out for each other to make sure that the meteorites offered to the public are authentic and genuine. I encourage you to visit the IMCA website and get more information on what being a member means, and how your purchases from its members are guaranteed.
IMCA Member #7446
Below is some information about iron meteorites:Iron meteoriteFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaJump to navigationJump to searchIron meteorite— Type —TamentitMeteorite.JPGTamentit Iron Meteorite, found in 1864 in the Sahara,[1] weight about 500 kg. On display at Vulcania park in France.Compositional type IronParent body >50Composition Fe, Ni & Co (>95%), Ni (5–25%)TKW ~500 short tons (450 t)Seymchan.jpgWidmanstätten pattern as seen on an etched and polished slice of the Seymchan meteorite. Scale unknown.Iron meteorites, also known as siderites, or ferrous meteorites, are a type of meteorite that consist overwhelmingly of an iron–nickel alloy known as meteoric iron that usually consists of two mineral phases: kamacite and taenite. Most iron meteorites originate from cores of planetesimals,[2] with the exception of the IIE iron meteorite group[3]
The iron found in iron meteorites was one of the earliest sources of usable iron available to humans, due to the malleability and ductility of the meteoric iron,[4] before the development of smelting that signaled the beginning of the Iron Age.Contents1 Occurrence2 Origin3 Composition4 Use5 Classification5.1 Structural classification5.2 Chemical classification5.2.1 Magmatic and nonmagmatic (primitive) irons5.2.2 Stony–iron meteorites6 Gallery7 See also8 References9 External linksOccurrenceAlthough they are fairly rare compared to the stony meteorites, comprising only about 5.7% of witnessed falls, iron meteorites have historically been heavily over-represented in meteorite collections.[5] This is due to several factors:
They are easily recognized as unusual even by laymen, as opposed to stony meteorites. Modern-day searches for meteorites in deserts and Antarctica yield a much more representative sample of meteorites overall.They are much more resistant to weathering.They are much more likely to survive atmospheric entry, and are more resistant to the resulting ablation. Hence, they are more likely to be found as large pieces.They can be found even when buried by use of surface metal detecting equipment, due to their metallic composition.Because they are also denser than stony meteorites, iron meteorites also account for almost 90% of the mass of all known meteorites, about 500 tons.[6] All the largest known meteorites are of this type, including the largest—the Hoba meteorite.
OriginIron meteorites have been linked to M-type asteroids because both have similar spectral characteristics in the visible and near-infrared. Iron meteorites are thought to be the fragments of the cores of larger ancient asteroids that have been shattered by impacts.[7] The heat released from the radioactive decay of the short-lived nuclides 26Al and 60Fe is considered as a plausible cause for the melting and differentiation of their parent bodies in the early Solar System.[8][9] Melting produced from the heat of impacts is another cause of melting and differentiation.[10] The IIE iron meteorites may be a notable exception, in that they probably originate from the crust of S-type asteroid 6 Hebe.
Chemical and isotope analysis indicates that at least about 50 distinct parent bodies were involved. This implies that there were once at least this many large, differentiated, asteroids in the asteroid belt – many more than today.
CompositionThe overwhelming bulk of these meteorites consists of the FeNi-alloys kamacite and taenite. Minor minerals, when occurring, often form rounded nodules of troilite or graphite, surrounded by schreibersite and cohenite. Schreibersite and troilite also occur as plate shaped inclusions, which show up on cut surfaces as cm-long and mm-thick lamellae. The troilite plates are called Reichenbach lamellae.[11]
The chemical composition is dominated by the elements Fe, Ni and Co, which make up more than 95%. Ni is always present; the concentration is nearly always higher than 5% and may be as high as about 25%.[12] A significant percentage of nickel can be used in the field to distinguish meteoritic irons from man-made iron products, which usually contain lower amounts of Ni, but it is not enough to prove meteoritic origin.
UseFor usage of the metal of iron meteorites, see Meteoric iron.Iron meteorites were historically used for their meteoric iron, which was forged into cultural objects, tools or weapons. With the advent of smelting and the beginning of the Iron Age the importance of iron meteorites as a resource decreased, at least in those cultures that developed those techniques. In Ancient Egypt and other civilizations before the Iron Age, iron was as valuable as gold, since both came from meteorites, for example Tutankhamun's meteoric iron dagger.[13] The Inuit used the Cape York meteorite for a much longer time. Iron meteorites themselves were sometimes used unaltered as collectibles or even religious symbols (e.g. Clackamas worshiping the Willamette meteorite).[14] Today iron meteorites are prized collectibles for academic institutions and individuals. Some are also tourist attractions as in the case of the Hoba meteorite.
ClassificationTwo classifications are in use: the classic structural classification and the newer chemical classification.[15]
Structural classificationThe older structural classification is based on the presence or absence of the Widmanstätten pattern, which can be assessed from the appearance of polished cross-sections that have been etched with acid. This is connected with the relative abundance of nickel to iron. The categories are:
Hexahedrites (H): low nickel, no Widmanstätten pattern, may present Neumann lines;Octahedrites (O): average to high nickel, Widmanstätten patterns, most common class. They can be further divided up on the basis of the width of the kamacite lamellae from coarsest to finest.[16]Coarsest (Ogg): lamellae width > 3.3 mmCoarse (Og): lamellae width 1.3–3.3 mmMedium (Om): lamellae width 0.5–1.3 mmFine (Of): lamellae width 0.2–0.5 mmFinest (Off): lamellae width < 0.2 mmPlessitic (Opl): a transitional structure between octahedrites and ataxites[17]Ataxites (D): very high nickel, no Widmanstätten pattern, rare.Chemical classificationA newer chemical classification scheme based on the proportions of the trace elements Ga, Ge and Ir separates the iron meteorites into classes corresponding to distinct asteroid parent bodies.[18] This classification is based on diagrams that plot nickel content against different trace elements (e.g. Ga, Ge and Ir). The different iron meteorite groups appear as data point clusters.[2][19]
There were originally four of these groups designated by the Roman numerals I, II, III, IV. When more chemical data became available these were split, e.g. Group IV was split into IVA and IVB meteorites. Even later some groups got joined again when intermediate meteorites were discovered, e.g. IIIA and IIIB were combined into the IIIAB meteorites.[20]
In 2006 iron meteorites were classified into 13 groups (one for uncategorized irons):[2]
IABIA: Medium and coarse octahedrites, 6.4-8.7% Ni, 55-100 ppm Ga, 190-520 ppm Ge, 0.6–5.5 ppm Ir, Ge-Ni correlation negative.IB: Ataxites and medium octahedrites, 8.7–25% Ni, 11–55 ppm Ga, 25–190 ppm Ge, 0.3-2 ppm Ir, Ge-Ni correlation negative.IC: 6.1–6.8% Ni. The Ni concentrations are positively correlated with As (4–9 μg/g), Au (0.6–1.0 μg/g) and P (0.17–0.40%) and negatively correlated with Ga (54–42 μg/g), Ir (9–0.07 μg/g) and W (2.4–0.8 μg/g).IIABIIA: Hexahedrites, 5.3–5.7% Ni, 57–62 ppm Ga, 170–185 ppm Ge, 2-60ppm Ir.IIB: Coarsest octahedrites, 5.7–6.4% Ni, 446-59 pm Ga, 107–183 ppm Ge, 0.01–0.5 ppm Ir, Ge-Ni correlation negative.IIC: Plessitic octahedrites, 9.3–11.5% Ni, 37–39 ppm Ga, 88–114 ppm Ge, 4–11 ppm Ir, Ge-Ni correlation positiveIID: Fine to medium octahedrites, 9.8–11.3%Ni, 70–83 ppm Ga, 82–98 ppm Ge, 3.5–18 ppm Ir, Ge-Ni correlation positiveIIE: octahedrites of various coarseness, 7.5–9.7% Ni, 21–28 ppm Ga, 60–75 ppm Ge, 1–8 ppm Ir, Ge-Ni correlation absentIIIAB: Medium octahedrites, 7.1–10.5% Ni, 16–23 ppm Ga, 27–47 ppm Ge, 0.01-19 ppm IrIIICD: Ataxites to fine octahedrites, 10–23% Ni, 1.5–27 ppm Ga, 1.4–70 ppm Ge, 0.02–0.55 ppm IrIIIE: Coarse octahedrites, 8.2–9.0% Ni, 17–19 ppm Ga, 3–37 ppm Ge, 0.05-6 ppm Ir, Ge-Ni correlation absentIIIF: Medium to coarse octahedrites, 6.8–7.8% Ni,6.3–7.2 ppm Ga, 0.7–1.1 ppm Ge, 1.3–7.9 ppm Ir, Ge-Ni correlation absentIVA: Fine octahedrites, 7.4–9.4% Ni, 1.6–2.4 ppm Ga, 0.09–0.14 ppm Ge, 0.4-4 ppm Ir, Ge-Ni correlation positiveIVB: Ataxites, 16–26% Ni, 0.17–0.27 ppm Ga, 0,03–0,07 ppm Ge, 13–38 ppm Ir, Ge-Ni correlation positiveUngrouped meteorites. This is actually quite a large collection (about 15% of the total) of over 100 meteorites that do not fit into any of the larger classes above, and come from about 50 distinct parent bodies.Additional groups and grouplets are discussed in the scientific literature:
IIG: Hexahedrites with coarse schreibersite. Meteoric iron has low nickel concentration.[21]Magmatic and nonmagmatic (primitive) ironsThe iron meteorites were previously divided into two classes: magmatic irons and non magmatic or primitive irons. Now this definition is deprecated.
Iron class GroupsNonmagmatic or primitive iron meteorites IAB, IIEMagmatic iron meteorites IC, IIAB, IIC, IID, IIF, IIG, IIIAB, IIIE, IIIF, IVA, IVBStony–iron meteoritesThere are also specific categories for mixed-composition meteorites, in which iron and 'stony' materials are combined.
II) Stony–iron meteoritesPallasitesMain group pallasitesEagle station pallasite groupletPyroxene Pallasite groupletMesosiderite group
