Meteorites from Morocco

Hi,
I am going to the Mindat conference in Morocco. We will probably be offered meteorites by some of the local mineral dealers. I would like to buy some meteorites, but I do not know too much about them.

Is there a lot of fake meteorites offered for sale in Morocco?

Is there any ways a mineral collector can identify fakes from the real ones with the help of 10x hand lens?

OT. Ljostad
Elverum
Norway

OT,
If you have seen many types of meteorites, in a museum or dealer stock or collection, then you can tell them apart easily. Look for the "Desert Varnish" on the surface (if not totally broken) and the lens will help you see the small flakes of metal in the stone. Look on websites and ebay for examples. Also this will give you a good idea of pricing. Have a good trip,
Gary

Well, you better come down here for a weekend OT, then you can study my collection. I've got a few NWA's, and "hands on" studies is the best way to learn. Could be combined with some collecting of course.

Peter

It was a lot of fake meteorites on Mindat Conference in Morocco. For example, here is a chemical analysis of one sample bought in Moroсco as meteorite.

MgO 4.5, Al2O3 7.7, SiO2 19.0, P2O5 2.6, K2O 0.8, CaO 2.1, TiO2 3.7, FeO 59.1 (weight.%)

It is a conglomerate with hematite segregations



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/26/2013 04:00PM by Dmitry Tonkacheev.