NWA 18448 Brecciated Eucrite HED Achondrite, 111.11g End Cut

A 111.11 gram end cut from the main mass of NWA 18448

Northwest Africa 18448 is a brecciated eucrite, an HED achondrite recorded in the Meteoritical Bulletin as Eucrite-br. The Bulletin records a single stone with a total known weight of 900 g, and records the main mass with Brian McDonald of Treasure Coast Meteorite Co. This 111.11 g end cut comes from that main mass.

An end cut has one cut face and one natural exterior. Here the cut face shows the brecciated interior in full section, and the reverse keeps the original weathered surface of the stone. That combination lets you see both what the meteorite is made of and what it looked like as it was recovered.

Structure and features

The cut face is a dense clastic breccia. Pale cream and tan clasts, dark gray to black angular clasts, and smaller gray mineral fragments are set in a fine-grained gray matrix. Clast sizes range from sub-millimeter grains up to fragments several millimeters across. A thin pale vein runs along part of the lower edge of the face.

The classification writeup describes an igneous rock with a brecciated texture, composed of Ca-rich pyroxene, low-Ca pyroxene, plagioclase and a silica polymorph in a clastic matrix, with accessory chromite, troilite and FeNi metal. The Bulletin records the shock stage as moderate and the weathering grade as low.

The natural reverse is a rough, weathered exterior with clasts visible in relief across the surface. The side profile shows the taper typical of an end cut, thickest at the cut face and thinning toward the outer edge of the stone.

Discovery and provenance

According to the Meteoritical Bulletin, the meteorite was purchased from a meteorite dealer in Africa in 2024 and is recorded under Algeria. Recovery coordinates are not known, which is normal for Northwest Africa material bought through the trade.

Classification was carried out by Jose Garcia (ADARA), working under the name BMD 036. The thin section is held at ADARA, and the 20.88 g type specimen is deposited at MUNA, the Museo de la Naturaleza y Arqueologia in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain. The name was approved on 10 March 2026, and the writeup appears in Meteoritical Bulletin no. 115, which is in preparation. Information from MetBull 115 remains subject to change by the Meteorite Nomenclature Committee until the volume is final.

Scientific context

Eucrites are basaltic and gabbroic rocks, the crust of a differentiated asteroid that once melted and separated into core, mantle and crust. Together with howardites and diogenites they make up the HED group, which most researchers link to the asteroid 4 Vesta. That link rests on spectral matches between the meteorites and Vesta's surface and was tested directly by NASA's Dawn spacecraft, which orbited Vesta from 2011 to 2012.

In their 2013 review in Meteoritics and Planetary Science, McSween and colleagues on the Dawn science team concluded that Dawn's measurements of Vesta's composition, surface mineralogy, geochemistry and impact history strengthen the identification of Vesta as the HED parent body, and that Dawn's mapping supplies the geologic context these meteorites had lacked (McSween et al. 2013, Meteoritics and Planetary Science 48, 2090 to 2104).

The picture is not fully settled. An earlier review by McSween, Mittlefehldt, Beck, Mayne and McCoy noted that a few eucrite-like meteorites deviate in oxygen isotope composition, which suggests either that some come from other parent bodies or that Vesta was not completely homogenized as it differentiated (McSween et al. 2011, Space Science Reviews 163, 141 to 174). The NWA 18448 entry reports no oxygen isotope data. Its classification is based on texture and mineral composition, including pyroxene FeO/MnO ratios of 27 to 31.

The breccia texture records what happened after the crust formed. Repeated impacts on the parent body broke up crustal rock and welded the fragments back together, which is why a single cut face can show clasts of different color and grain size side by side.

Frequently asked questions

What does Eucrite-br mean?

It is the Meteoritical Bulletin classification for a brecciated eucrite: a eucrite made of broken rock fragments cemented in a finer clastic matrix. As of November 2026 the Bulletin lists 278 approved meteorites under this classification. That is a count of database entries; some may be pieces of the same fall that are listed separately until pairing is established.

Is this specimen from the main mass?

Yes. The Bulletin records NWA 18448 as one piece of 900 g with the main mass held by Brian McDonald, and this end cut was cut from that stone.

Where does NWA 18448 come from?

It is a eucrite, a member of the HED group linked by most researchers to the asteroid 4 Vesta. On Earth it was purchased from a dealer in Africa in 2024 and is recorded under Algeria.

Has NWA 18448 been published?

The name is official and was approved on 10 March 2026. The writeup appears in Meteoritical Bulletin no. 115, which is in preparation.

How should I store it?

Keep it dry and handle it with clean cotton or nitrile gloves. Accessory FeNi metal and troilite can react with moisture and skin salts over time. See how to care for and store a meteorite.

Does it come with documentation?

Yes. It ships with a certificate of authenticity from Treasure Coast Meteorite Co., IMCA Member #3323.

Collector significance

NWA 18448 offers a substantial piece of brecciated HED crust with a traceable record: a single 900 g stone, a named classifier, a deposited type specimen and a main mass recorded with the dealer offering it. At 111.11 g, this end cut shows both a full cut section of the breccia and the natural exterior of the stone. A 34.20 g full slice from the same stone is also available.

Browse more material from the same group in the eucrites and HED meteorites collections. For background, see what is an achondrite and the Meteoritical Bulletin explained.

Official record: Meteoritical Bulletin Database, Northwest Africa 18448. Treasure Coast Meteorite Co., IMCA Member #3323.