RE: [meteorite-list] Aswan Rock - Opinions?

[mark ford]

Jeff



Looks like a sedimentary pressure metamorphosized
aggregated conglomerate to me :). 





But I have seen similar looking rocks in
the Alps (Austria) only over there
they tend to be found near river beds, something to do with the Ice age.



Could also be a type of granite or Marble
there is a lot about in that area of the world (the pyramids are made of a
similar stone)



Mark





-Original Message-
From: Jeff Kuyken
[mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] 
Sent: 12 December 2003 10:39
To: Meteorite List
Subject: [meteorite-list] Aswan
Rock - Opinions?





Hey all,











When I was in Egypt in
October, I jumped onto a young half-trained CCRRAAZZYY camel and headed out
into the desert. Among a few rocks (mostly fossils) I found an interesting
stone which was nothing like the others in the area. I don't think it is a
meteorite but it does look like some kind of breccia. It is a broken quarter
sphere in shape and the photos are ofthe two broken surfaces. I'd
appreciate any opinions on this one. Thelinks are:











http://www.meteoritesaustralia.com/images/Aswan
1.jpg











http://www.meteoritesaustralia.com/images/Aswan
2.jpg











Cheers,











Jeff Kuyken
I.M.C.A. #3085
www.meteorites.com.au








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Re: [meteorite-list] Aswan Rock - Opinions?

[N Lehrman]

Jeff  list,


I've spent my career with rocks like that! It is a 
hydrothermal breccia from a low-sulfidation epithermal vein system. You'll 
notice that some of the clasts have quartz/chalcedony hairlines healing 
jigsaw-puzzle breccias (pieces would still fit neatly back together, not jumbled 
or significantly displaced). This is hydraulic fracturing that forms as 
fluid pressures exceed lithostatic pressures, just before a hydrothermal 
explosion. Once the system cracks and explodes, fluid streaming does 
jumble and rotate most of the clasts. Your rock likely contains anomalous 
amounts of As, Hg, Sb, and quite possibly, Au and Ag.The rounded exterior 
is simply from erosion and water transport. From the photos I can't tell 
for sure what the clasts are, but I would guess they are rhyolite (a common 
associate of this style of mineralization). 

Merry Winter Solstice and a Happy New Orbit to All,

Norm Lehrman
(http://TektiteSource.com) 



  - Original Message - 
  From: 
  Jeff Kuyken 
  To: Meteorite List 
  Sent: Friday, December 12, 2003 2:38 
  AM
  Subject: [meteorite-list] Aswan Rock - 
  Opinions?
  
  Hey all,
  
  When I was in Egypt in October, I jumped onto a young 
  half-trained CCRRAAZZYY camel and headed out into the desert. Among a few 
  rocks (mostly fossils) I found an interesting stone which was nothing like the 
  others in the area. I don't think it is a meteorite but it does look like some 
  kind of breccia. It is a broken quarter sphere in shape and the photos are 
  ofthe two broken surfaces. I'd appreciate any opinions on this one. 
  Thelinks are:
  
  http://www.meteoritesaustralia.com/images/Aswan 
  1.jpg
  
  http://www.meteoritesaustralia.com/images/Aswan 
  2.jpg
  
  Cheers,
  
  Jeff KuykenI.M.C.A. #3085www.meteorites.com.au