[Information kindly provided by Trevor Gould]

I think I found a meteorite

A freshly fallen meteorite is generally more valuable to science than one you found that has been there for thousands of years and been exposed to the elements.

South African law requires you to apply in advance to search for meteorites in a specific area and for a specific time. However, if you are witness to a fall, it is possibly permissible to recover the fresh fall and hand it in for analysis.

1. Do not touch it with your hands! If it really is a meteorite, a chemical analysis will be required and the acids on your fingertips will skew the results. We need to get fresh, untouched specimens!
2. Record it. Use your GPS and record the precise location of the find.
3. Photograph it before you touch it! Please take a photograph or digital image of the meteorite-maybe in situ. This is also useful.
4. Try to collect it using a clean plastic bag over your hands - in order to avoid contaminating it.
5. Place it in a clean plastic bag and try to seal the bag. Meteorites, especially some chondrites, are extremely sensitive to the alien atmosphere of Earth. They also are very sensitive to water and therefore humidity.
6. Try to obtain a signature from the owner of the land to remove the specimen. Find out the name of the farm or land as meteorites are named after the location and NOT after you!
7. Contact your local university Geosciences Department and arrange to hand it over for analysis. Let them contact SAHRA [The South African Heritage Resources Agency]. Come to a suitable arrangement with them. For example, if it is not a meteorite, you can take it away. The University will need to cut off bits and pieces for various analyses as well as cut a thin section for microscope study. Give them the details you collected above.
8. If it does prove to be a meteorite, ask them to include your name on the research paper that gets written, and also ask them to inform you of the name given to the new find by the Nomenclature Committee of the Meteoritical Society who record and name all the meteorites found on Earth. The Meteoritical Society will also mention your name as finder in published results.
9. Note that meteorites may not be traded in South Africa – this is, not bought or sold. The meteorites you find on sale at fleamarkets and commercial mineral outlets are not local, but the law does not explicitly exempt them from commercial activities.

Meteorite Classification

Following is an extract from a meteorite classification table. For the complete table (including Sub-Types, Ages, Secondary Processes, and References) and more detail on the Groups, see the Downloads section below.

Southern African Meteorite Database

Following is an extract from the meteorite database for South Africa. For the entire table for Southern Africa (including Classification,  Mass, Known Pieces, and References) see the Downloads section below.

Downloads

• Meteorite Classification Table (Microsoft Excel file, 40 KB)
• Southern African Meteorite Database (Microsoft Excel file, 81 KB)
• Meteorite Group Detail (Microsoft Word file, 74 KB)