2.33" R3 Chondrite Meteorite (26.66 g) Slice - Mont Tourniat 002

About Mont Tourniat 002 Meteorite

Mont Tourniat 002 (MtT 002) is a Rumuruti chondrite (R3) found in Tiris Zemmour, Mauritania in November 2022. 10 pieces of this meteorite were found by Salamu Lahsen with a total mass of 1012 grams, the main mass of which weighed 331 grams. The type specimen has a dark-brown weathered exterior with dark-colored visible chondrules on the surface. Cut specimens show the interior has an orangish-brown matrix with dispersed dark-colored small diameter chondrules.

Salamu Lahsen still holds the main masses.

Meteoritical Bulletin: Entry for the Mont tourniate 002 Meteorite

About R-Group Chondrites

R-group chondrites (also called Rumuruti chondrites) are named for the witnessed fall in Rumuruti, Kenya in 1934. They have unique compositions unlike any other chondrite: they contain virtually no nickel or iron, and their compositions indicate they could be brecciated regolith--looser deposits that sit over solid rocks, such as gravel, sand, and dust--from their parent bodies. These are seen in R chondrites' densely packed chondrules and fine-grained matrices. They also contain rare sulfides that scientists consider building blocks of the solar system, first created when the solar system itself was created. These types of chondrites could have formed from the protoplanetary disk, the early rings of dust and gas around the newly born Sun. These chondrites are both incredibly rare for collectors and very valuable for study of the solar system.