Wittekrantz meteorite, Beaufort West, Beaufort West Local Municipality, Central Karoo District Municipality, Western Cape, South Africai

Regional Level Types
Wittekrantz meteorite	Meteorite Fall Location
Beaufort West	Town
Beaufort West Local Municipality	Municipality
Central Karoo District Municipality	District
Western Cape	Province
South Africa	Country

Ordinary chondrite, black (L5)
Fell, 9 December, 1880; 2.2 kg

Witnesses reported an unusual noise similar to gunfire as a dense trail of smoke travelled quickly towards the east and two warm stones were recovered immediately afterwards. Eventually, much of the mass reached the South African Museum. Inspections revealed an olivine-dominated matrix accompanied by irregular chondrules (consisting mostly of fibrous pyroxene) along with small scattered patches of Fe-Ni metal, lesser amounts of troilite, and interstitial glass. Total iron (20.65 wt%) and olivine composition (Fa23) are indicative of the L chondrite geochemical group. Ramdohr (1973) reported several opaques including 3 sulfides. Prior's 1914 mineralogical inventory also included ilmenite, magnetite, and apatite. However, while quite likely, the article appears to be based on chemical abundances rather than direct mineralogical confirmation. The meteorite has been strongly shocked which may have mineralogically altered some of these phases?

The L (relatively low in total iron) chondrites represent ~45% of the classified ordinary chondrite falls. A major outgassing event at 300 Ma appears to have effected several L chondrites including Wittekrantz. A reported 5.5 Ma cosmic ray exposure (CRE) age of appears to be part of a small peak in the age distribution of L chondrites suggesting that Wittekrantz may also have been part of a group of L chondrites ejected during a much more recent collision from a single asteroid.

The main mass has been held at the South African Museum in Cape Town since ~1900.

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References