SIZE 22 X10 X 5  MM

The Gibeon Meteorite was first reported by Capt. J.E.  Alexander in 1838.  He heard of masses of native iron up to two feet square on the east side of the Great Fish River.  While he did not see the masses himself, he was able to obtain samples for analysis.  Undoubtedly, the natives in the area were previously aware of these occurrences, since they were found on the surface AND THEY MADE TOOLS FROM THIS METEORITE.

In the years following, Europeans established large cattle ranches in the area and recovered many more large meteorites.  A 232 kg mass was recovered in 1857.  Many masses between 100 and 500 kg were recovered in the years shortly after 1900.  As late as the publication of the Handbook of Iron Meteorites in 1975,  scientists were reporting the that Gibeon consisted primarily of large masses and lacked the smaller pieces like those found at Canyon Diablo,  Odessa, and Sikhote-Alin.  Buchwald speculated that greater knowledge might reveal smaller specimens or that smaller fragments may have been collected by natives and made into tools.  It seems that lack of knowedge may have been the answer.  In the past year or two increasing numbers of small Gibeon Meteorites have been exported.  It may be that with modern metal detection equipment meteorite hunters will locate a substantial number of smaller specimens.

Composition and Mineralogy

The chemical composition of the Gibeon is:

90% iron 8% nickel 0.4% cobalt 0.04% phosphorus.