Lunar Meteorite: Northwest Africa 12216

from The Meteoritical Bulletin, No. 108

Northwest Africa 12216 (NWA 12216)

Algeria
Purchased: 2018 May
Mass: 1868 g (1 piece)

Lunar Meteorite (feldspathic breccia)

History: Found near Wad Alma, Algeria and purchased by Darryl Pitt in May 2018 from a Mauritanian dealer.

 Physical characteristics: A small (34.4 g) unusually hard, dark-gray stone, mostly very fine grained and vesicular with sparse white clasts.

Petrography: (A. Irving and S. Kuehner, UWS) Small mineral clasts of anorthite, low-Ca pyroxene, subcalcic augite and olivine are set in a very fine-grained, vesicular matrix containing ilmenite, Ti-poor chromite, kamacite and troilite.

Geochemistry: Olivine (Fa_19.9-37.1, FeO/MnO = 80-119, N = 3), low-Ca pyroxene (Fs_26.9Wo_4.9, FeO/MnO = 53), pigeonite (Fs_23.8Wo_7.1, FeO/MnO = 50), subcalcic augite (Fs_62.6Wo_28.7, FeO/MnO = 75; Fs_13.3Wo_39.1, FeO/MnO = 36), plagioclase (An_96.9-97.4Wo_0.2-0.1, N = 2).

Classification: Lunar (feldspathic regolithic breccia).

Specimens: 9.2 g including one polished endcut at UWB; remainder with DPitt.

Randy Says…

I have not studied Northwest Africa 12216. It may be another stone of the NWA 8046 clan.

More Information

Meteoritical Bulletin Database

NWA 12216