The Ouadangou L5 Meteorite from Burkina Faso was a tough one, finally ending today after receiving it's offical name after a decade of trying to get it published. I went to Burkina Faso to buy Bilanga, and Gao in 1999 and set up a network there of people who would search out meteorites and inform me when anything fell. I have bought over 150 kilograms of Gao meteorites since then, every few months a few kilos come in by DHL. I got a call in Nov 2003 that a meteorite had fallen around 50-60 kilometers from Bilanga and I had them send me a sample. I bought it, clearly a gorgeous new chondrite fall. I went back to Burkina Faso and bought more pieces, and sadly all had either broken on impact or been smashed by the locals. The largest piece was 2.2 kilograms, 100% crusted individual, which has been hit with a rock and broke into three pieces which fit back together perfectly. It still has grass embedded in the crust from impact. That is a very dry area and none of the pieces ever saw a drop of water on them. I bought over 4 kilograms and Marcin Cimala also got some samples as my meteorite contacts also sent some out to him:) So much for loyalty in Africa. The villages that the stones fell in are little more than locations with two or three families and beautiful little huts surrounded by fences to protect the family and livestock from lions. The stones fell in Batiawo and Lampiayre but the nearest place on a map is Ouadangou. Burkina Faso was one of my most interesting places to visit, as it was so far off the grid at that time, it was like being in another century. I have a few hundred grams of fragments, which I can offer for sale, all as fresh as the moment they fell, many with crust. Private email if you want a piece of this fall. Michael Farmer ______________________________________________
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