Northwest Africa 15821 (NWA 15821)

(Northwest Africa)

Purchased: 2022 Feb

Classification: Iron meteorite (ungrouped)

Petrography: (Jérôme Gattacceca, Maeva Darnault, Florian Dumas, CEREGE) Recrystallized iron meteorite with no visible Widmanstätten patterns. Kamacite grains have typical size 1.2 mm, and lobate contours. Neumann bands are present. Contains dark and net plessite. Schreibersite and troilite to 200 µm.

Geochemistry: Composition: Ni 8.20 wt% (XRF analyses). Trace elements Co 5.47 mg/g, Ga 61.0 µg/g, As 12.0 µg/g, Ir 1.57 µg/g, Au 1.18 µg/g, Cu 225.3 µg/g, Cr 64.5 µg/g. Ge was not measured.

Classification: Iron meteorite (ungrouped). Ungrouped based on the chemical composition that does not fit any known group.

Specimens: Type specimen at CEREGE, main mass with Kuntz.