** Low Priority ** good afternoon, list members; I have recently joined the list and also work at the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto, in the Earth Sciences section. We are glad to see such another large mass of Buzzard surface. There has been a fair degree of confusion in the past regarding Canada's export laws regarding meteorites. Hopefully this email may shed some light on the process involved. All meteorites recovered in Canada - regardless of value - are withheld from export pending the export review process. In a nutshell the system works like this: the owner of the meteorite decides he or she wishes to sell the piece. They apply to our Ministry of Heritage for an export permit. Normally the Ministry withholds granting the permit for a 6 month period. This gives Canadian institutions the opportunity to decide if they want to attempt to acquire the piece in question. If after the end of 6 months no institution has notified the Ministry of their intention to purchase the piece the export permit is granted and the owner can sell the sample to anyone they choose, anywhere in the world, perfectly legally. The owner of the 8kg mass, Mr. Wiley, has been told about the need to apply for an export permit and has been told about advantages offered by the Ministry which encourage Canadians to sell to Canadian institutions. We are aware that this law rankles many around the world however it's intention is only to give Canadians a chance first so that important material from our country remain here for the enjoyment of Canadians. This is hardly an unreasonable thing. It seems likely that there will be a large amount of material from the Buzzard Coulee fall recovered. So it is likely that there will be a significant amount of material making it's way to the international market. However it is to everyone's advantage - the buyer and the seller- that export be done according to the law. Ian Nicklin
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