Thanks to Michael, Doug, Mike, Carl, LeeAnn, Richard, Rob, Murray and Zelimir for their quick and kind replies to my request for help.
#2 has been unanimously identified as IMILAC on the base of the external aspect which, according to the many pictures found on the web, is quite recognizable. #1 is still undetermined. I would not rely on the name (Atacama) too literally as #2 was erroneously named "Peru". Probably it only refers to the Atacama desert region. The earliest information I have on this stones is that they were obtained on february 04, 1866, from De Limur, a politician from Bretagne and a member of the Societe Francaise de Mineralogie. In the MetBull database I could find 5 irons that fell or were found before this date in the Atacama region. Imilac 1822, Pallasite, PMG Barranca Blanca 1855, Iron, IIE-an Joel's Iron 1858, Iron, IIIAB Vaca Muerta 1861, Mesosiderite-A1 Copiapo 1863, IAB-MG Imilac can be excluded because of the 10% Ni it contains (analysis from Wasson, reported by M Gabelica). I suppose others can be eliminated on the basis of the composition (Ni 6.62, Cr 0.54) and the petrological type, can someone help? If chemically compatible, Copiapo would be a good candidate because there is a small piece of this meteorite in the collection of the University here. However, I didn't get a chance to take a look at it yet for comparison. Discovering who this "Turner" (who has done the analysis) is may help. Doug suggested it could be Dr Grenville Turner, a research professor at the University of Manchester, born in 1936. Also, is there a way to identify the stones directly with the composition, I mean does it exist a database allowing this kind of search? Renaud ______________________________________________ Visit the Archives at http://www.meteoritecentral.com/mailing-list-archives.html Meteorite-list mailing list Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
