Meteorite Collection in Middle East?

[just.a.man]

Hi,

My friend, who is based in the Middle East, has asked me to share some photos with you.

He reckons he' stumbled on a small collection of meteorites in some random desert.

He carried out the usual magneticity checks at home, and has sent tiny fragments to a lab in Dubai.

Based on the pics, any ideas on the probabilty of these being extra-terrestrial?

Thanks in advance!

 

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[galenrog]

Based on the images shown, I see no visible characteristics of meteorites.

Time for more coffee.

 

[chub]

Im no expert but I agree with galenrog. I have read that in some deserts there are piles of meteorites stacked as marker posts .....story goes that caravans of travellers on camels travel through the desert, find a 'rock' and deposit it at the next marker post.... true or not I dont know but it has an air of plausibility about it.

Chub

 

[Terry Soloman]

There is a huge black market for meteorites in the Middle East - North Africa - Spain. He should have no problem getting opinions where he is.

 

[smokeythecat]

They are not even close to being meteorites, however, they are quite nice mineral specimens. I'm not sure exactly what but some of the crystal faces are shown in the pics. Perhaps oxides of iron.

 

[Oddjob]

There is a huge black market for meteorites in the Middle East

Exactly, and I think that is more what this post is. His "friend" likely wanting to sell these to an easy mark, but this mark was smart enough to ask around.

Seen this too many times, conversation always starts with "My Friend", the all to known term that means they are so full of it that they want you to bend over so they can pump some of it your way.

 

[Charl]

Those are not meteorites. But there is a perfectly legal market for meteorites originating in Northwest Africa. In fact, there has been a meteorite "rush" in that area for more then 2 decades now. It's not a black market at all. The meteorites are found on desert pavement in Algeria and Morocco, by Bedouin, and brought to market in Erfoud, Morocco, where they are bought by middlemen and sold to Westeners. There are also Westeners in that area hunting on their own.

In order to realize the most value, the Western collectors have the meteorites classified by labs recognized by the Meteoritical Society. Since a percentage must be donated to the lab, science benefits as well by acquiring new meteorites this way. Many new lunar and Martian meteorites have reached both science and collectors this way. Since the exact location is seldom known, or revealed, the Meteoritical Society assigns the name Northwest Africa(NWA), followed by a number. Just wanted to clarify that this is all legal, it is not a black market. However, these specimens are clearly not meteorites...

Many originate in Oman as well, but Oman now forbids the exportation of meteorites...

 

[A2coins]

Ill put on a fresh pot

 

[A2coins]

Welcome to tnet

 

[Charl]

Here is an excellent article describing the symbiotic and mutually supportive relationship between hunters of meteorites, collectors, and meteorite scientists. Unlike the attitude of the pros toward collectors in other areas, Native American artifacts come to mind, where most archaeologists discourage collecting, here in meteorite hunting, science benefits from the existence of a private market:

Playing the Meteorite Market | DiscoverMagazine.com

And here is a history of the Northwest Africa meteorite "gold rush". The author claims it's over. Well, it is past it's peak, but in fact many new meteorites from that area continue to come to market every year.

About NWA Meteorites