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Queen's Mercy meteorite, Qacha's Nek District, Lesothoi
| Regional Level Types | |
|---|---|
| Queen's Mercy meteorite | Meteorite Fall Location |
| Qacha's Nek District | District |
| Lesotho | Country |
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Latitude & Longitude (WGS84):
30° 7' 0'' South , 28° 41' 59'' East
Latitude & Longitude (decimal):
Meteorite Class:
Meteoritical Society Class:
Köppen climate type:
Nearest Settlements:
| Place | Population | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Qacha’s Nek | 25,573 (2017) | 1.0km |
Ordinary chondrite,veined (H6)
Fell, 30 April 1925, 20 hrs; 7 kg
After detonations and a bright light at least 3 stones fell NW of Matatiele. The largest ~ 45 x 18 x 14 cm was broken up by local people. Two smaller stones of 950 g and 315 g were recovered and partially analyzed. Chondrules are fragmental and ill-defined. Olivine (Fa18) and low Ca-orthopyroxene (bronzite) are characteristic of the H-chondrite geochemical group. Mineralogically the meteorite consists primarily of dominant olivine and orthopyroxene along with minor amounts of Fe-Ni metal (kamacite and taenite), troilite, and feldspar. Accessory chromite and copper are also reported. Veins and plessite are indicative of preterrestrial shocks.
A Pb,Th:He age of 3.66 Ga and a cosmic-ray exposure (CRE) age of 7.6 Ma are reported.
The H (relatively high in total iron) chondrites are the second largest group of ordinary chondrite falls (nearly 40% of well-classified falls). Queen's Mercy is one of 94 meteorite falls classified exactly as an H6 chondrite (in May 2017).
Two ~2 kg masses were obtained by the British National Museum (London) and the Field Museum of Natural History (Chicago). The main mass of the 950 g stone was obtained by the Natal Museum (Pietermaritzburg).
Nota bene: The preferred coordinates listed at the Meteoritical Bulletin Database appear to place the fall just inside Lesotho.
Select Mineral List Type
Standard Detailed Gallery Strunz Chemical ElementsMineral List
5 valid minerals.
Meteorite/Rock Types Recorded
Note: data is currently VERY limited. Please bear with us while we work towards adding this information!
Select Rock List Type
Alphabetical List Tree DiagramDetailed Mineral List:
| ⓘ Chromite Formula: Fe2+Cr3+2O4 |
| ⓘ 'Fayalite-Forsterite Series' Description: Olivine Composition (Fa18) characteristic of H-group chondrites (Fa~17-20 mol%). |
| ⓘ 'Feldspar Group' Description: Prior's 'Feldspar' is most likely to be albitic plagioclase. |
| ⓘ 'Glass' |
| ⓘ Native Copper Formula: Cu |
| ⓘ Native Iron Formula: Fe |
| ⓘ Native Iron var. Kamacite Formula: (Fe,Ni) |
| ⓘ 'Orthopyroxene Subgroup' |
| ⓘ 'Plessite' |
| ⓘ Taenite Formula: (Fe,Ni) |
| ⓘ Troilite Formula: FeS |
Gallery:
List of minerals arranged by Strunz 10th Edition classification
| Group 1 - Elements | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| ⓘ | Native Copper | 1.AA.05 | Cu |
| ⓘ | Native Iron | 1.AE.05 | Fe |
| ⓘ | var. Kamacite | 1.AE.05 | (Fe,Ni) |
| ⓘ | Taenite | 1.AE.10 | (Fe,Ni) |
| Group 2 - Sulphides and Sulfosalts | |||
| ⓘ | Troilite | 2.CC.10 | FeS |
| Group 4 - Oxides and Hydroxides | |||
| ⓘ | Chromite | 4.BB.05 | Fe2+Cr3+2O4 |
| Unclassified | |||
| ⓘ | 'Feldspar Group' | - | |
| ⓘ | 'Fayalite-Forsterite Series' | - | |
| ⓘ | 'Plessite' | - | |
| ⓘ | 'Orthopyroxene Subgroup' | - | |
| ⓘ | 'Glass' | - | |
List of minerals for each chemical element
| O | Oxygen | |
|---|---|---|
| O | ⓘ Chromite | Fe2+Cr23+O4 |
| O | ⓘ Fayalite-Forsterite Series | |
| Mg | Magnesium | |
| Mg | ⓘ Fayalite-Forsterite Series | |
| Si | Silicon | |
| Si | ⓘ Fayalite-Forsterite Series | |
| S | Sulfur | |
| S | ⓘ Troilite | FeS |
| Cr | Chromium | |
| Cr | ⓘ Chromite | Fe2+Cr23+O4 |
| Fe | Iron | |
| Fe | ⓘ Chromite | Fe2+Cr23+O4 |
| Fe | ⓘ Native Iron | Fe |
| Fe | ⓘ Native Iron var. Kamacite | (Fe,Ni) |
| Fe | ⓘ Taenite | (Fe,Ni) |
| Fe | ⓘ Troilite | FeS |
| Fe | ⓘ Fayalite-Forsterite Series | |
| Ni | Nickel | |
| Ni | ⓘ Native Iron var. Kamacite | (Fe,Ni) |
| Ni | ⓘ Taenite | (Fe,Ni) |
| Cu | Copper | |
| Cu | ⓘ Native Copper | Cu |
Other Regions, Features and Areas containing this locality
AfricaContinent
African Plate
- Karoo basinBasin
- Namaqua-Natal BeltOrogenic Belt
Somali PlateTectonic Plate
This page contains all mineral locality references listed on mindat.org. This does not claim to be a complete list. If you know of more minerals from this site, please register so you can add to our database. This locality information is for reference purposes only. You should never attempt to
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for access and that you are aware of all safety precautions necessary.
References
www.meteorite-times.com (n.d.) http://www.meteorite-times.com/Back_Links/2008/november/Accretion_Desk.htm
Mason, Brian (1963) Olivine composition in chondrites. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 27 (10) 1011-1023 doi:10.1016/0016-7037(63)90062-0
