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The Dar al Gani 975 Meteorite

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                   THE METEORITICAL BULLETIN
              E-mail Announcement 87-1, January 28, 2003
              
            Sara Russell, Editor (sara.russell@nhm.ac.uk)
            Jutta Zipfel, Assoc. Ed. for Northwest Africa 
                     (zipfel@mpch-mainz.mpg.de)
          Luigi Folco, Assoc. Ed. for Africa (folco@unisi.it)
         Monica Grady, Assoc. Ed. for Oman (M.Grady@nhm.ac.uk)
       Rhian Jones, Assoc. Ed. for the Americas (rjones@unm.edu)
      Tim McCoy, Assoc. Ed. for Antarctica (mccoy.tim@nmnh.si.edu)
      Jeffrey N. Grossman, Assoc. Ed. for Web (jgrossman@usgs.gov)


Dar al Gani 975                27019.63' N, 16013.00' E
  Libya
  Found 1999 August 21
  Martian meteorite (basaltic shergottite) 
A 27.55 g stone was found on 1999 August 21 in the sand desert of Dar 
al Gani. Classification and mineralogy (A. Greshake, MNB, and M. 
Kurz, Kurz): a basaltic shergottite with porphyritic texture; large 
chemically zoned olivine phenocrysts are set into a fine-grained 
groundmass consisting mostly of pyroxene and maskelynite; minor 
phases include chromite, Ti-rich chromite, sulfides, phosphates, and 
small Fe-rich olivines; olivine phenocrysts often contain melt 
inclusions, small chromites and exsolution lamellae; pyroxenes are 
mostly chemically zoned pigeonites, some contain orthopyroxene cores; 
olivine phenocrysts, Fa24.3-38.3; pigeonite, Fs21.1-29Wo5.9-13.8; 
orthopyroxene, Fs17.4-21.8Wo1.8-3.4; augite, Fs18.5Wo34; matrix 
olivine, Fa35.9-39.8; maskelynite, An66.5-71.4; shock stage, S4; 
contains melt veins and melt pockets; low degree of weathering. 
Possibly paired with DaG 467, 489, 670, 735 and 876. Specimens: main 
mass with anonymous finder; type specimen, 8.5 g, plus one polished 
thin section MNB.



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