Huckitta

Pallasite, MG (main-group), anomalous metal composition
high-Δ17O subgroup (see details on the Imilac page)
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Found 1924
22° 22′ S., 135° 46′ E. The first transported specimen of 1,084 g was found at Alice Springs, Northern Territory, Australia. In July 1937, the main mass of 1,411 kg was found where it had been lying for thousands of years, surrounded by 900 kg of iron shale. Most of the material had been residing at depth and has been terrestrially weathered to the point that the nickel-iron matrix is transformed into hematite and magnetite. The olivine crystals are intact and of high iron content.

Huckitta is one of a small number of main-group pallasites with anomalous elemental abundances. It has very high Ge and Ga contents, and elevated Pt, W, and Ir (Wasson and Choi, 2003). It also has a lower Au content than most other main group members. Formation scenarios and classification schemes for the main-group pallasites can be found on the Imilac page.

The photo above shows a 15.3 g oxidized partial slice (right) and a much rarer 5.5 g unoxidized end section (left) that has escaped transformation into hematite likely due to its location nearer to the surface. The excellent photo below is a large etched, unoxidized slice exhibiting the typical distribution of silicate and metal in Huckitta, shown courtesy of Sergey Vasiliev.

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Photo courtesy of Sergey Vasiliev—SV-meteorites.com


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