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Nininger Moment #24
The Springwater Pallasite
 One of the many letters Nininger received was one dated August
1931 from Saskatehewa, Canada. A meteorite was said to have been
found in a field near the city of Springwater. This meteorite was of
unique interest as only eleven others had been found in North
America and none had been found in Canada. This meteorite weighed 41
pounds (20.6 kg) and looked like a full loaf of bread cut in half
along with numerous broad shallow depressions in the meteorite. The
meteorite also showed some places of oriented flight. Also shown
were signs of it being broken from landing or possibly breakage
during the last stages of flight. The matrix of the broken part
resembled a fresh honey comb of yellowish olivine along with the
jagged, irregular edge of metal that protruded from the specimen.
The specimen revealed shinny metal where the owner had hammered it
(for a sample) with the remaining metal a rusty brown dull color.
Nininger compared the Springwater Pallasite to the Brenham Pallasite
and noted several observations. One was the outside could have been
recognize as a Brenham piece, however the interior showed a finer
matrix compared to the Brenham slices that Nininger had on hand. The
crystals were about 1/3 that of the Brenham specimens. The metallic
bands were also narrower. Nininger also noted that the olivine in
the Springwater varied in brightness, from dingy to more transparent
but in an irregular manor not associated with the outside weathering
of the specimen. The metal in the Springwater Pallasite are about
equal with the olivine and the metal doesn't make up the larger
portion of the meteorite. Etching pattern in Springwater is similar
to the Brenham specimen but because of wider bands in Brenham they
stand out more pronounced.
Nothing was known about the fall but Nininger noted that because the
meteorite was not heavily weathered that the specimen probably
couldn't have been on the ground very long from the lack of scale
and heavy oxide. Nininger noted that after the first initial mass
was located, another two additional masses were located later on
weighing 23 lbs and 85 lbs. Those pieces became a part of the
Nininger Collection of Meteorites. One other mass that Nininger
later investigated was said to be much larger then any of the mass
so far recovered. That mass was said to have been thrown down a deep
well. Nininger's effort to recover this mass failed.
(Authors Note, Hammering a meteorite for a sample can ruin the
meteorite and make the value decline a fraction of what it might
have been worth had it not been defaced. Talk to someone who knows
how to remove samples)
The Nininger Moments are articles or books written originally by
Harvey Nininger and put into a consolidated form by Al Mitterling.
Some of the items written in the moments might be old out dated
material and the reader is advised to keep this in mind. Source:
Find A Falling Star
--AL Mitterling
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