Bechar 008 (HED) Howardite - 32.5 g

Bechar 008 30.25293 N, 3.53005 W

Bechar, Algeria

Purchased: 2022 Jul

Classification: HED achondrite (Howardite)

History: Reportedly a group of meteorite hunters found several fragments of this material in Algeria, in an area called Alagla (near Abadla) in July 2022. Several months later Mohamed Ali Loud bought a total of 1700 g from a meteorite dealer in Mauritania.

Petrography (K. Metzler, IfP) Polymict achondritic breccia, consisting of mineral fragments and lithic clasts up to ~5 mm in size. These components are embedded in a fine-grained clastic matrix of related debris. Lithic clasts are dominated by eucritic gabbros and granulites, both of which show exsolved pyroxene. Mineral fragments include various eucritic pyroxenes (with and without augite exsolution lamellae), diogenitic pyroxene, feldspar, a silica polymorph, chromite, ilmenite, and Fe-Ni metal. About 10-20 vol% diogenitic components.

Geochemistry: Mineral compositions and geochemistry: Gabbro clast: Low-Ca pyroxene (host): Fs60.6±0.5 Wo3.1±0.2 (Fs59.9-61.2 Wo2.8-3.3); mean Fe/Mn (at.): 30.3; n=6. Ca-rich pyroxene (exsolution lamellae) Fs28.8±1.4 Wo40.9±1.5 (Fs27.4-30.5 Wo38.8-42.6); mean Fe/Mn (at.): 31.5; n=6. Plagioclase: An86.8±1.8 Or0.3±0.3 (An85.4-89.4 Or0.0-0.8); n=6. Diogenitic pyroxene: Fs22.5±0.5 Wo2.0±0.3 (Fs21.5-23.2 Wo1.5-2.4); mean Fe/Mn (at.): 32.6; n=7. Plagioclase fragments from clastic matrix: An89.6±3.6 Or0.5±0.4 (An82.5-95.7 Or0.1-1.1); n=11.

Classification: Howardite, based on mineral chemistry, variety of eucritic lithologies, and occurrence of >10 vol% of diogenitic components.

I am a member of the Meteoritical Society (#7743) and have collecting meteorites for more than 15 years.