Patos de Minas iron meteorite, octahedrite, photos, images, pictures

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Patos de Minas (octahedrite)
Iron, IAB-complex
Minas Gerais district, Brazil
Find: 2002 (main mass)

367gm halfslice of the iron formerly distributed under the name "Santa Fé" cut by diamond wire. The smooth surface displays two different types of lamellae: A medium octahedric structure with a high content of kamazite and a coarser disturbed structure with bordered grains. The third fine grained structure typical for most of the Patos de Minas material is absent in this slice.

Most cut surfaces show numerous troilite and also schreibersite inclusions. Often the different lithologies are separated by elongated schreibersite worms

630gm slice of the Patos de Minas meteorite. "One single meteoritic mass of 198kg was found by Senór Paulo Garcia while ploughing in 2005 near Santa Fé Hacienda, Minas Gerais, Brazil. The regmaglypted, shield shaped mass was excavated one year after its discovery and a cut section was removed for analysis and classification. Intensive search in the find area with metal detectors in 2005, 2006 and 2007 did not lead to the recovery of further masses." (note that the Meteoritical Bulletin lists 2002 as the year of the find)

Detail of the Patos de Minas iron meteorite showing distinctly bordered grains and Neumann lines on the kamacite grains. Note that the orientation of the Neumann lines differs from grain to grain. The highly unusual meteorite shows schreibersite and troilite inclusions in a chaotic disturbed lattice.

260gm slice with brilliant etch. The Patos de Minas pattern when etched resembles the cyclopean masonry of the inca in Peru.

Find location of the main mass on the land of the Santa Fé Hazienda in Minas Gerais. The meteorite was discovered after the plough struck a metallic mass in a depth of 30 cm. Although the surrounding area was searched up to a distance of 6km with metal detectors no further masses were found.

Detail of a 100gm Patos de Minas ("Santa Fé") slice. NMR scalecube has 1 cm each side.

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