Huckitta meteorite, Huckitta Station, Central Desert Region, Northern Territory, Australiai

Regional Level Types
Huckitta meteorite	Meteorite Fall Location
Huckitta Station	- not defined -
Central Desert Region	Region
Northern Territory	Territory
Australia	Country

Pallasite meteorite.

In 1924, a 1084 gr mass was found by Herbert Basedow, north of Alice Springs on the Burt Plain.

In 1937, a party led by Adelaide University geology professor, Cecil Thomas Madigan arrived at Huckitta Station, after exploring the Simpson Desert. They were shown a small rock by station worker Mick Laughton, which had been chipped off a large boulder. The small rock was quickly confirmed to be part of a meteorite. Together with station owner W. Madrill, the party diverted to the site of the meteorite, which was a large boulder sitting on flat ground near Turkey Creek, 4 miles north of the Dulcie Range. It proved to be part of the same meteorite as that found in 1924, despite the great distance separating the two masses.

The boulder was well known to the station, as they had often camped next to it while mustering cattle. It was also known to the local aboriginal tribe, who recognised it as something foreign, to be feared and avoided.

With great difficulty the 1411.5 kg boulder was removed to the South Australian Museum. It caused a great deal of interest in local newspapers at the time. Under the boulder was much iron shale weathered off the meteorite. After Madigan left, ten ore bags weighing 2040 lb of shale was collected by station workers, and also sent to the museum. Madigan at the time believed not all the material had been collected.

This proved to be true when material appeared for sale on the black market in Alice Springs in 1986 (the sale of meteorites being illegal in the Northern Territory). Dirk Megirian from the Northern Territory Museum was contacted, and another expedition to the site was arranged, finding much shale material remained, collecting a further 1000 kg.

The shallow crater described by Madigan proved to only be the movement of sand by wind action. Grady (2000) states much of the troilite described by Madigan, proved later to be schreibersite.

In keeping with pallasites there is much olivine in the meteorite, when polished, stand out as brown to green, clear, but ramified with cracks filled with iron oxides. In the matrix is rounded kamacite grains, and angular interstitial plessite, surrounded by a bright narrow taenite border. Intermixed with, and adjacent to the olivine is troilite, and yellow brassy schreibersite. Lawrencite was identified as minute drops of green liquid appearing within a few hours after polishing. The liquid would then turn brown. It is found in fissures separating the kamacite grains and rim of the olivine. The meteorite ranges from reddish patches to dark brown and black, composed of magnetite, hematite, and limonite.

The iron shale contains soft smooth white thin bands of taenite enclosing areas which once held plessite. Brassy coloured hard brittle schreibersite is in contact with the olivine. No troilite was found in the iron shale. In major cracks was small quantities of green minutely mammilliated material,
or yellow-green filmy encrustations, thought to be the poorly defined species zaratite. All the iron shale had been oxidised and contained no metallic iron.

Parts of the meteorite are found in many museums worldwide, and private collections. It is commonly for sale, and has even been made into jewellery. Specimens showing metal, and proving to be from the main mass are more expensive, than the iron shale.

Other Regions, Features and Areas containing this locality

References