Update: 2004 April 04
M-Recovery Lab status report - Franconia (H5 S3 W2), Mohave County, Arizona -
Classification by UCLA completed
** Update ** - Approved by Nomenclature Committee
Now in Current MB#88 - This stone, and presently - only this stone - is the officially recognized Franconia (H5) meteorite...

Posted 04/04/04 | by Robert Verish

The new "Franconia" find - | - this is a link to a ".mpg" file depicting this new find.

The "Franconia" stone meteorite was found by Mr. John F. Wolfe on 2002 October 30, while searching for meteorites near his campsite. Because the heavily-mineralized cobbles and gravel were causing problems for his metal-detector, Mr. Wolfe had to resort to searching for meteorites "in visual mode". While keeping the sun at his back, he would visually scan the area immediately before him. Yet it wasn't until he took a break on a saddle between two washes, that he spied an "out of place" rock.

The new "Franconia" find - | - represents a new chondritic stone (H5) meteorite find for Arizona.

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This part-slice has been polished - | - This tends to darken the goundmass.

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This is another part-slice - | - This piece is well-suited to collectors, but is available, as well, to researchers for study.

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My thin-section for this find - | - Various opaque minerals in reflected light.

This find is a metallic copper bearing meteorite...

Close-up of metal grains - | - Same view but magnified to show copper metal grain

Metallic copper segregated along grain boundaries between sulfide and Ni-Fe metal grains is evidence for a moderate shock event.

The new "Franconia" find - | - represents a new chondritic stone (H5) meteorite find for Arizona.