Northwest Africa 032

Morocco , near Algerian border

Found 1999 October

Lunar meteorite (olivine-pyroxene basalt)

A stone of ~ 300 g was found in the desert (see Table 9). Classification and mineralogy (T. Fagan, UHaw; T. Bunch and J. Wittke, NAU): olivine, pyroxene, and chromite phenocrysts occur in a groundmass of elongate, zoned pyroxene (En_1–25Wo_15–25) and feldspar ( ~ An₈₅) crystals radiating from common nucleation sites; opaque phases include elongate, skeletal ilmenite, troilite, and trace metal; olivine phenocrysts ( ~ 12 vol%) up to 300 μm are zoned from Fo₆₅ (cores) to Fo₆₀ (rims) and commonly have chromite inclusions; pyroxene phenocrysts ( ~ 5 vol%) are complexly zoned, with En_{4 0–50} Wo_20–40 and En_15–25Wo_10–20 domains; both olivine and pyroxene phenocrysts surrounded by Fe-rich quenched margins (olivines, ~ Fo₃₀; pyroxenes, En_5–25Wo_15–30); glass with ~ 45.7 wt% SiO₂ occurs in semicontinuous shock veins up to 50 μm wide; some terrestrial weathering products are present in fractures, but primary assemblage is essentially unaltered.  Oxygen-isotopic compositions (R. Clayton, UChi): δ¹⁸O = +5.63‰, δ¹⁷O = +2.92‰.  Bulk composition (in wt%, E. Jarosewich, SI):  SiO₂ = 44.7; TiO₂ = 3.08; Al₂O₃ = 8.74; FeO = 23.0; MnO = 0.33; MgO = 8.45; CaO = 10.9; Na₂O = 0.37; K₂O = 0.11; H₂O = 0.06.  Specimens:  type specimen, about 5–6 g, contact T. Bunch, NAU; 1.1 g plus thin section, UHaw; main mass, 260 g, Radomsky.