NWA 2705 (Ureilite) - 3.2g Endcut with Interstitial Metal
Northwest Africa 2705
(NWA 2705) was discovered during 2005 in the Sahara Desert. A
tiny 30g crusted and oriented shield-shaped meteorite
is all that was found. It has since been classified as a rare
Ureilite with a Shock Rating of S2 and is virtually unweathered
with a Weathering Level of just W0. NWA 2705 displays
beautiful green/yellow/orange olivine crystals which are
actually separated by black interstitial
carbon (Diamonds). There is also a large amount of fine grained
graphite inclusions in olivine and pyroxenes. The average values (vol. %) for silicate
analyses are - Olivine: 95%, Pigeonite: 3%, and Orthopyroxene:
2%. Within this particular endcut, it is also evident that there
is a small amount of metallic iron veinlets, webbing around the olivine
crystals like a tiny road-map. Some of the metal has fallen out
which probably occurred during slicing and polishing. The last
image indicates the metal in a magnified view as white specks
and lines trailing through the dark matrix. Virtually all
Ureilites have metal veinlets but they are quite low in Nickel
and are easily oxidised from weathering. For this reason, only
fresh Ureilites will still have these metal veinlets
present.
Only 5 pieces were
available to collectors after the type-specimen and
cut/polishing loses were taken into account. They were a 3.8g
and 3.2g Endcut along with complete slices weighing 2.9g, 2.7g
& 2.4g. This specimen is the 3.2g Endcut (2 of 5) and is part
of the Meteorites Australia Collection (MA.05.0099).
NWA 2705 (Ureilite) - 3.2g Endcut
(Front View)
NWA 2705 (Ureilite) - 3.2g Endcut
(Back View)
NWA 2705 (Ureilite) - 3.2g Endcut
(Front/Side View)
NWA 2705 (Ureilite) - 3.2g Endcut
(Magnified Front/Side View)
NWA 2705 (Ureilite) - 3.2g Endcut
(Magnified - Metal Veins)
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