Fwd: [meteorite-list] Item #553686416

From: Nick Gessler <gessler_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu Apr 22 09:41:07 2004
Message-ID: <5.0.2.1.0.20010206203417.01c80ca0_at_pop.bol.ucla.edu>

Hi All,

I just returned from Hong Kong prowling the shops for meteorites. One
dealer said he had a lead on some from the Mainland. He said he was making
a trip there and would bring them back if I would return two days
later. And so I returned and was offered four of these each about fist
sized. The dealer was quite sincere, but when I windowed a specimen on a
diamond stone, on the spot and told him that it looked like ancient slag to
me, he was concerned. These did have flecks of metal in them, or so it
appeared. I gave him a piece of a chondrite for comparison and told him
what to look for. Maybe he'll come across something real.

Later, that same dealer apparently took the specimens to the University of
Hong Kong, because the geologist there sent me a sample. Same stuff. It
looked like slag and smelled like it when cut (those who have cut slag will
know what I mean). For confirmation, I showed it to Alan Rubin at UCLA who
pronounced it as a meteor-wrong.

I'm sure we'll see more like these, since they're being peddled out of China.

Cheers,
Nick
Received on Wed 07 Feb 2001 12:21:57 AM PST