Inside the International Meteorite Market

Writing at The Naked Scientists, Amy Tempelsman offers up an overview of the market in meteorites. Apparently, when a meteorite falls to earth, it sets off a "feeding frenzy": According to Ralph Harvey, a geologist at Case Western Reserve University, "There is a market out there that treats these [meteorites] as collectibles and curios, almost as though they were fine art or ancient artifacts," and scientists and museums must negotiate a bewildering network of middlemen to obtain a meteorite.

Twelker purchases meteorites from dealers in Morocco, Russia, Canada and Nigeria, among other countries. When asked how he determines the legality of the specimens he purchases, Twelker paused. “There’s some degree of concern,” he said. “To a large extent -- and I would say this is for dealers and institutions, as well -- the question [of legality] isn’t asked or it isn’t pursued.”.... Making sure that meteorites are acquired legally has proven particularly difficult in North Africa, where it’s often difficult to determine the provenance of specimens for sale. “The skill level that some collectors have to get stones out of Africa rivals that of drug dealers,” says Dr. Harvey. “It’s clear that meteorites are so valuable to these collectors that they’re more than happy to get them and worry about the cost in terms of legality later on."

It's not all cloak-and-dagger, though -- the laws governing meteorite finds are also just plain confusing:

Every country has its own way of determining meteorite ownership -- that is, if such laws exist at all. If a meteorite crash-lands into your rental home in the U.S. or U.K., it’s considered the landlord’s property. If you stumble upon a space rock in Japan, however, finders-keepers applies. In Switzerland, meteorites belong to the government -- but the finder is compensated with a sum suitable to the value of the object. In India, Denmark, and most Australian states, meteorites must be handed over to specific, government-owned museums.

Typical price for a Martian meteorite: about $1,000 per gram.


Fonte: Boston.com