[meteorite-list] LOVINA REVISITED
Hi, For those who have followed the saga of Lovina: Found in Bali, Indonesia, Lovina was classified as an ungrouped iron in early 2008; at the end of the same year I acquired the entire mass. Lovina's hallmark feature are ziggurat (pyramidal) structures which measure up to two centimeters. It seems these structures formed while Lovina was in solution in the tropical shallows from which it was recovered. I had been offering specimens for sale when the Smithsonian expressed interest in acquiring the main mass in late 2009—and I first stopped selling specimens when Tim McCoy doubted Lovina's meteoricity. Sales recommenced when new evidence from an esteemed colleague of Tim's resulted in the determination Lovina was indeed a meteorite. Months later sales were again discontinued—through this day—when additional news from multiple sources (Wasson, Nishiizuma) rolled in which contradicted the positive findings. Lovina bears uncanny similarities to the composition of an iron meteorite. If this wasn't a meteorite, what was it? I had heard several theories, and I had gone to lengths to have the same verified. Some scientists felt it was slag—a notion dismissed by most. Others would only speak to me off-record, as they felt their hypothesis might be ridiculed by colleagues. One thing I've learned is that if there is doubt about the meteoricity of an object, it is not easy to find a meteoriticist to do more work on it. Well, early last year I was so grateful to meet Qingzhu Yin of University California at Davis and Yangting Lin of the Key Laboratory of the Earth's Deep Interior in Beijing. Yangting's affiliation in particular was of great interest to me given a couple of the seemingly rogue hypotheses to which I previously alluded. A dinner in Beijing with Qingzhu and Yangting—at which Lovina dominated the conversation—resulted in Qingzhu's profound interest in Lovina; an interest which culminated in an LPSC abstract entitled New Insights Into the Origin of Lovina, a Mystery Metal, which can be seen here: http://www.hou.usra.edu/meetings/lpsc2014/pdf/1434.pdf Verdict: while it was determined not to be a meteorite by Qingzhu and his co-authors, Lovina is nonetheless an important find that is extraordinarily rare. The section of the mass with ziggurats has been preserved intact; it is certain a museum is in its future. All best / Darryl __ Visit the Archives at http://www.meteorite-list-archives.com Meteorite-list mailing list Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
[meteorite-list] LOVINA REVISITED
Well, I had an interesting day today This morning I met with Roy Clarke, Linda Welzenbach, Cari Corrigan, Glen MacPherson, and Tim McCoy at the Smithsonian. During our get- together Tim made several observations as to why Lovina could very well not be what it has been made out to be---which is to say, a meteorite---and why more work must be done. In Tim's words 1) The sulfides are not simply troilite and appear optically to be multiple phases, including one that looks like the Ni-rich sulfide pentlandite. 2) Although the presence of the octahedrons has been attributed to weathering, the structure of the remainder of the meteorite shows fine stringers of sulfide, not large areas that would easily weather out leaving such octahedron. 3) On one polished slice, the sulfides clearly wrap around one of the indentations, rather than the cross-cutting relationship one might expect from a significantly weathered iron meteorite. 4) The composition given - high Ni coupled with moderately high Ga and Ge - is difficult to reconcile with a meteorite composition. Iron meteorites acquire high Ni concentrations through 1 of 3 mechanisms. Oxidation simply changes iron to FeO, leaving Ni behind. This can produce high-Ni irons with modest Ga and Ge. Nebular condensation can also produce high-Ni iron which then melts to form cores in which high-Ni iron meteorites form. This process, however, occurs at high temperature where the volatile elements Ga and Ge are depleted. Finally, you can produce high Ni through fractional crystallization. Ni prefers the solid phase when a core crystallizes, so early irons are low in Ni and later crystallizing ones are high in Ni. However, Ga and Ge behave opposite of Ni, so low Ni irons are high in Ga and Ge and high Ni irons are low and Ga and Ge. The published Ga and Ge values are at least a factor of 15 higher than reported for similar iron meteorites. 5) The holes exposed in the center of the specimen are not the shape one would expect of weathering, but seem circular. Circular vugs are commonly produced in slags when gases try to escape. There was more...including the fact that Indonesia is a nickel-rich locality as well as Tim's conclusion that Lovina was most likely a highly weathered example of a smelted Ni-rich sulfide. Sales have been suspended and monies are in the process of being returned. Further testing will be done to confirm Lovina's place of origin and the results will be posted to the list by mid-January. I think I'll go see the new Clooney film Up In The Air. Ohhh---and might anyone want an inexpensive 13 kg specimen of Willamette for Christmas?! And how was your day? ;-) __ http://www.meteoritecentral.com Meteorite-list mailing list Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
Re: [meteorite-list] LOVINA REVISITED
Hello Darryl, gosh, so you've to arrange yourself with the fact that perhaps you only have a part of the spaceship which tried to escape from the sinking Atlantis instead of a meteorite. In any case: it still looks fantastic. Best regards, Matthias - Original Message - From: Darryl Pitt dar...@dof3.com To: Adam List meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com Sent: Wednesday, December 09, 2009 9:15 AM Subject: [meteorite-list] LOVINA REVISITED Well, I had an interesting day today This morning I met with Roy Clarke, Linda Welzenbach, Cari Corrigan, Glen MacPherson, and Tim McCoy at the Smithsonian. During our get- together Tim made several observations as to why Lovina could very well not be what it has been made out to be---which is to say, a meteorite---and why more work must be done. In Tim's words 1) The sulfides are not simply troilite and appear optically to be multiple phases, including one that looks like the Ni-rich sulfide pentlandite. 2) Although the presence of the octahedrons has been attributed to weathering, the structure of the remainder of the meteorite shows fine stringers of sulfide, not large areas that would easily weather out leaving such octahedron. 3) On one polished slice, the sulfides clearly wrap around one of the indentations, rather than the cross-cutting relationship one might expect from a significantly weathered iron meteorite. 4) The composition given - high Ni coupled with moderately high Ga and Ge - is difficult to reconcile with a meteorite composition.Iron meteorites acquire high Ni concentrations through 1 of 3 mechanisms. Oxidation simply changes iron to FeO, leaving Ni behind. This can produce high-Ni irons with modest Ga and Ge. Nebular condensation can also produce high-Ni iron which then melts to form cores in which high-Ni iron meteorites form. This process, however, occurs at high temperature where the volatile elements Ga and Ge are depleted. Finally, you can produce high Ni through fractional crystallization. Ni prefers the solid phase when a core crystallizes, so early irons are low in Ni and later crystallizing ones are high in Ni. However, Ga and Ge behave opposite of Ni, so low Ni irons are high in Ga and Ge and high Ni irons are low and Ga and Ge. The published Ga and Ge values are at least a factor of 15 higher than reported for similar iron meteorites. 5) The holes exposed in the center of the specimen are not the shape one would expect of weathering, but seem circular. Circular vugs are commonly produced in slags when gases try to escape. There was more...including the fact that Indonesia is a nickel-rich locality as well as Tim's conclusion that Lovina was most likely a highly weathered example of a smelted Ni-rich sulfide. Sales have been suspended and monies are in the process of being returned. Further testing will be done to confirm Lovina's place of origin and the results will be posted to the list by mid-January. I think I'll go see the new Clooney film Up In The Air. Ohhh---and might anyone want an inexpensive 13 kg specimen of Willamette for Christmas?! And how was your day? ;-) __ http://www.meteoritecentral.com Meteorite-list mailing list Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list __ http://www.meteoritecentral.com Meteorite-list mailing list Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
Re: [meteorite-list] LOVINA REVISITED
Thank you for the new evaluation Darryl. Although this is a regrettable development one must not forget that you took the initial risk of acquiring such exotic material, which alone is a remarkable achievement. I very much hope that this experience does not discourage you to venture similar acquisitions in the future. If it wasn't for people like you, most meteorites of similar caliber would never see the light of public. Set backs are a natural part of this business and there are very few dealers who would not subscribe to that. Svend Darryl Pitt dar...@dof3.com hat am 9. Dezember 2009 um 09:15 geschrieben: Well, I had an interesting day today This morning I met with Roy Clarke, Linda Welzenbach, Cari Corrigan, Glen MacPherson, and Tim McCoy at the Smithsonian. During our get- together Tim made several observations as to why Lovina could very well not be what it has been made out to be---which is to say, a meteorite---and why more work must be done. In Tim's words 1) The sulfides are not simply troilite and appear optically to be multiple phases, including one that looks like the Ni-rich sulfide pentlandite. 2) Although the presence of the octahedrons has been attributed to weathering, the structure of the remainder of the meteorite shows fine stringers of sulfide, not large areas that would easily weather out leaving such octahedron. 3) On one polished slice, the sulfides clearly wrap around one of the indentations, rather than the cross-cutting relationship one might expect from a significantly weathered iron meteorite. 4) The composition given - high Ni coupled with moderately high Ga and Ge - is difficult to reconcile with a meteorite composition. Iron meteorites acquire high Ni concentrations through 1 of 3 mechanisms. Oxidation simply changes iron to FeO, leaving Ni behind. This can produce high-Ni irons with modest Ga and Ge. Nebular condensation can also produce high-Ni iron which then melts to form cores in which high-Ni iron meteorites form. This process, however, occurs at high temperature where the volatile elements Ga and Ge are depleted. Finally, you can produce high Ni through fractional crystallization. Ni prefers the solid phase when a core crystallizes, so early irons are low in Ni and later crystallizing ones are high in Ni. However, Ga and Ge behave opposite of Ni, so low Ni irons are high in Ga and Ge and high Ni irons are low and Ga and Ge. The published Ga and Ge values are at least a factor of 15 higher than reported for similar iron meteorites. 5) The holes exposed in the center of the specimen are not the shape one would expect of weathering, but seem circular. Circular vugs are commonly produced in slags when gases try to escape. There was more...including the fact that Indonesia is a nickel-rich locality as well as Tim's conclusion that Lovina was most likely a highly weathered example of a smelted Ni-rich sulfide. Sales have been suspended and monies are in the process of being returned. Further testing will be done to confirm Lovina's place of origin and the results will be posted to the list by mid-January. I think I'll go see the new Clooney film Up In The Air. Ohhh---and might anyone want an inexpensive 13 kg specimen of Willamette for Christmas?! And how was your day? ;-) __ http://www.meteoritecentral.com Meteorite-list mailing list Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list __ http://www.meteoritecentral.com Meteorite-list mailing list Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
Re: [meteorite-list] LOVINA REVISITED
Thanks for your kind words, Svend, but you're giving me far more credit than I deserve. I did not shepherd Lovina through the certification process. My acquisition simply would not have occurred had Lovina not been previously certified as a meteorite. Please see the relevant article in Lunar and Planetary Science: http://www.lpi.usra.edu/meetings/lpsc2008/pdf/2412.pdf On Dec 9, 2009, at 7:08 AM, i...@niger-meteorite-recon.de wrote: Thank you for the new evaluation Darryl. Although this is a regrettable development one must not forget that you took the initial risk of acquiring such exotic material, which alone is a remarkable achievement. I very much hope that this experience does not discourage you to venture similar acquisitions in the future. If it wasn't for people like you, most meteorites of similar caliber would never see the light of public. Set backs are a natural part of this business and there are very few dealers who would not subscribe to that. Svend Darryl Pitt dar...@dof3.com hat am 9. Dezember 2009 um 09:15 geschrieben: Well, I had an interesting day today This morning I met with Roy Clarke, Linda Welzenbach, Cari Corrigan, Glen MacPherson, and Tim McCoy at the Smithsonian. During our get- together Tim made several observations as to why Lovina could very well not be what it has been made out to be---which is to say, a meteorite---and why more work must be done. In Tim's words 1) The sulfides are not simply troilite and appear optically to be multiple phases, including one that looks like the Ni-rich sulfide pentlandite. 2) Although the presence of the octahedrons has been attributed to weathering, the structure of the remainder of the meteorite shows fine stringers of sulfide, not large areas that would easily weather out leaving such octahedron. 3) On one polished slice, the sulfides clearly wrap around one of the indentations, rather than the cross-cutting relationship one might expect from a significantly weathered iron meteorite. 4) The composition given - high Ni coupled with moderately high Ga and Ge - is difficult to reconcile with a meteorite composition. Iron meteorites acquire high Ni concentrations through 1 of 3 mechanisms. Oxidation simply changes iron to FeO, leaving Ni behind. This can produce high-Ni irons with modest Ga and Ge. Nebular condensation can also produce high-Ni iron which then melts to form cores in which high-Ni iron meteorites form. This process, however, occurs at high temperature where the volatile elements Ga and Ge are depleted. Finally, you can produce high Ni through fractional crystallization. Ni prefers the solid phase when a core crystallizes, so early irons are low in Ni and later crystallizing ones are high in Ni. However, Ga and Ge behave opposite of Ni, so low Ni irons are high in Ga and Ge and high Ni irons are low and Ga and Ge. The published Ga and Ge values are at least a factor of 15 higher than reported for similar iron meteorites. 5) The holes exposed in the center of the specimen are not the shape one would expect of weathering, but seem circular. Circular vugs are commonly produced in slags when gases try to escape. There was more...including the fact that Indonesia is a nickel-rich locality as well as Tim's conclusion that Lovina was most likely a highly weathered example of a smelted Ni-rich sulfide. Sales have been suspended and monies are in the process of being returned. Further testing will be done to confirm Lovina's place of origin and the results will be posted to the list by mid-January. I think I'll go see the new Clooney film Up In The Air. Ohhh--- and might anyone want an inexpensive 13 kg specimen of Willamette for Christmas?! And how was your day? ;-) __ http://www.meteoritecentral.com Meteorite-list mailing list Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list __ http://www.meteoritecentral.com Meteorite-list mailing list Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list __ http://www.meteoritecentral.com Meteorite-list mailing list Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
