Sebkha el Melah 001 Aubrite, Enstatite Crystal, 17.37g, Natural Uncut, Registered Specimen

A 17.37 gram enstatite crystal from one of the most enstatite rich aubrites on record

Sebkha el Melah 001 is an aubrite, an enstatite achondrite, found in Mali in 2022. Petrographic work at the University of New Mexico reports that enstatite makes up roughly 98 percent of the meteorite, one of the highest modal abundances of enstatite ever reported in an aubrite. This listing is for a single elongated enstatite crystal from that classified material, weighing 17.37 grams, offered in natural, uncut condition and housed in a labeled GemBox display case. It is registered as specimen TC-00051 in our permanent specimen registry.

Structure and features of this specimen

This piece is a long, prismatic enstatite crystal with flat cleavage faces running its full length, the form described in the Bulletin writeup for the coarse, interlocking crystals that make up Sebkha el Melah 001. The surface is cream to milky white with a soft, satin luster and fine cleavage traces along the length. At one end the crystal gives way to a cluster of smaller interlocking enstatite grains, some of them pale and translucent, showing the pegmatitic texture of the meteorite at close range. Small orange-brown spots and scattered dark specks are present on several faces; the writeup also notes scattered dark-colored patches on some crystals of this meteorite. These features are described from the photographs and have not been analyzed.

The macro photographs show the cleavage steps and the crystal cluster at the end in detail. The specimen ships in the GemBox display case shown in the second photograph, with its weight label and a printed Sebkha el Melah 001 card. It browses within the Aubrites collection and the wider Stony Meteorites collection.

Discovery and provenance

Sebkha el Melah 001 was found in late March 2022 in the region of Wad Alhath in Mali, about 54 kilometers northeast of the village of Tamanieret and 245 kilometers southeast of Taoudenni, by Sahrawi meteorite hunters. The total recovered amount was approximately 17 kilograms, in several pieces. Bachir Salek obtained 12.5 kilograms, including the main mass, which weighs 3550 grams. The meteorite was classified by C. Agee at the University of New Mexico, with petrography by A. Ross and C. Agee and geochemistry by A. Ross, and a 216 gram type specimen is on deposit at UNM. The name was approved on 12 November 2022 and published in the Meteoritical Bulletin, No. 111 (2023). This specimen was acquired by Treasure Coast Meteorite Co.

Scientific context

Aubrites are enstatite achondrites, igneous rocks that formed under highly reducing conditions on a differentiated parent body and are dominated by nearly iron free enstatite. In Sebkha el Melah 001, electron microprobe analysis found enstatite at about 98 percent, with scattered small diopside grains, a single olivine grain, and accessory kamacite, taenite, schreibersite, Ti-troilite, troilite, and daubreelite. No feldspar was found in the microprobe mount. The enstatite, diopside, and forsterite carry some of the lowest iron contents ever documented in an aubrite, below electron microprobe major element detection limits. The writeup describes cm-sized crystals with distinct cleavage, the largest single crystal weighing 45 grams at about 5 cm long. Shock stage and weathering grade are both recorded as low.

The meteorite is classified as an aubrite, non-brecciated, after Keil (1989). As of October 2026, the Meteoritical Bulletin lists this as 1 of 96 approved meteorites classified as Aubrite. To read more about this class, see our guides on what an achondrite is and how meteorites are classified.

What the research reports

The Meteoritical Bulletin records Sebkha el Melah 001 simply as Aubrite. No study devoted to this meteorite has been published beyond its Bulletin writeup, so the work below concerns aubrites as a group: how they are classified, where they formed, and where they may come from. Findings come from the authors' own samples and methods and are given as the studies state them. One difference is worth noting: Keil's 2010 review counted 27 aubrites, while the Bulletin now lists 96 approved, so group statistics from that review describe a smaller population than exists today.

Keil, 1989

K. Keil, Enstatite meteorites and their parent bodies, Meteoritics 24, 195 to 208 (1989). This is the classification reference cited in the Sebkha el Melah 001 writeup. Keil reviewed the enstatite meteorites, the EH and EL chondrites and the aubrites, and argued that aubrites sample a separate parent body from the enstatite chondrites. He suggested the aubrite parent body may have been broken apart by collision and gravitationally reassembled, and that the anomalous enstatite achondrite Shallowater may come from yet another body.

Brett and Keil, 1986

R. Brett and K. Keil, Enstatite chondrites and enstatite achondrites (aubrites) were not derived from the same parent body, Earth and Planetary Science Letters (1986). The authors argued that aubrites could not have formed by melting known enstatite chondrites on a shared parent body, pointing to differences in metal and troilite, the absence of clasts of either group inside the other, and cosmic ray exposure ages that are easier to explain with separate bodies.

Keil, 2010

K. Keil, Enstatite achondrite meteorites (aubrites) and the histories of their asteroidal parent bodies, Chemie der Erde 70, 295 to 317 (2010). Keil describes aubrites as nearly monomineralic enstatite pyroxenites of igneous origin, formed by melting and fractional crystallization, possibly of a magma ocean. Of the 27 aubrites in his review, 15 were fragmental breccias, 6 regolith breccias, and 6 non-brecciated, the group Sebkha el Melah 001 belongs to. He concluded that aubrites formed within a few million years of the first solids of the solar system, most likely heated by short-lived radionuclides, and that they derive from enstatite chondrite-like material on at least two parent bodies.

Ćuk, Gladman and Nesvorný, 2014

M. Ćuk, B. Gladman and D. Nesvorný, Hungaria asteroid family as the source of aubrite meteorites, Icarus (2014). Using orbital modeling, the authors proposed that aubrites come from the Hungaria asteroid family near the inner edge of the main belt, at about 1.7 AU, with fragments reaching Earth by slow Yarkovsky drift across the orbit of Mars. They found this consistent with the long cosmic ray exposure ages of aubrites. This is a proposed source region, not a confirmed one.

Frequently asked questions

Is this an authentic, classified meteorite?
Yes. Sebkha el Melah 001 is an officially classified aubrite recorded in the Meteoritical Bulletin, No. 111. This crystal is authentic material from that classified find and ships with a certificate of authenticity from Treasure Coast Meteorite Co., IMCA member #3323.

What is an aubrite?
An aubrite is an enstatite achondrite, an igneous stony meteorite made up almost entirely of the magnesium silicate enstatite, formed under strongly reducing conditions. You can learn more in our achondrite guide.

Is the crystal cut or polished?
No. This is a natural enstatite crystal with its cleavage faces intact. It has not been cut, polished, or coated.

Why does this specimen have a registry number?
Given the scarcity of this material and the large size of this piece, a registry number is warranted. Aubrites account for 96 approved meteorites in the Meteoritical Bulletin as of October 2026, and the writeup records the largest single crystal of Sebkha el Melah 001 at 45 grams. Most pieces of this meteorite we have seen offered weigh a few grams. The specimen is recorded as TC-00051, with its weight and photographs, in our specimen registry.

What is included?
The specimen ships in a GemBox display case with a weight label and a printed Sebkha el Melah 001 card, together with a certificate of authenticity bearing serial TC-00051. The stand, base, and scale cube shown in some photographs are for scale and are not included. Read more about our authenticity and certificates.

How should I store it?
Keep it in its case, dry, and handle it as little as possible so the cleavage edges stay crisp. Our guide on how to care for and store a meteorite covers the basics.

Collector significance

Aubrites are a small group among the achondrites, and Sebkha el Melah 001 stands out for its very high enstatite content and its exceptionally low iron chemistry. At 17.37 grams, this crystal shows the cleavage and pegmatitic character that define the meteorite at a scale most pieces of it do not reach, and the interlocking cluster at one end shows how the crystals grew together. It is documented in our specimen registry as TC-00051 and ships display ready in its GemBox case. Treasure Coast Meteorite Co. is IMCA member #3323. Full classification data, provenance, and petrography are published in the Meteoritical Bulletin entry for Sebkha el Melah 001.