Gove, Relict Iron
This mostly oxidized iron meteorite was found in a Cenozoic bauxite deposit during mining at the Nabalco Bauxite Mine in 1966. It was distributed by a mineral dealer at the time, and I was lucky to stumble across this specimen in an older mineral collection being sold at a local mineral show.
From the Meteoritical Bulletin:
About a year and a half after I found this specimen, Alex Bevan et al., published a paper on the find: The Gove relict iron meteorite from Arnhem Land, Northern Territory, Australia. The iron has a very roughly estimated terrestrial age of 2.5 – 23 Ma, making it one of the oldest meteorite finds known. The paper’s an interesting one worth reading.
Of note for this specimen:
…Which would make this 120 gram end-cut the only known specimen of the 1966 find. That’s pretty cool. It’s mostly oxide with just a few fresh metal grains visible in the cut surface. Characteristic concentrically-layered bauxite nodules are cemented to one side of the stone.
A closer look at this specimen with UCLA EPSS’ SEM revealed a few areas of the Thomson structure were structurally preserved as oxides, and the relict metal grains in the cut face are indeed nickel-rich metal. A few small graphite inclusions were observed.
Quick metal analysis:
Thomson structures:
Bauxite nodules:
