NWA 13948 - Acapulcoite - Complete Slice - 2.91g - Algeria

This 2.91g complete slice of NWA 13948 is an Acapulcoite, a primitive achondrite that was heated almost to melting on its parent body but never fully separated into crust and core.

NWA 13948 is a rare Acapulcoite, a type of Primitive Achondrite purchased in 2021 from a meteorite dealer in Nouadhibou, Mauritania. Acapulcoites are transitional meteorites, representing material that experienced heating and recrystallisation on an early asteroid parent body without fully differentiating into a typical core and mantle structure. NWA 13948 has a reported total known weight of just 104 grams, making available material very limited.

Specimens of NWA 13948 are described as brownish rock without fusion crust, with a protogranular texture dominated by orthopyroxene and olivine grains around 400 micrometers in average size. Reported accessory minerals include merrillite and chlorapatite, with opaque phases such as chromite, troilite, kamacite, and schreibersite. No relict chondrules were observed, supporting its classification as an Acapulcoite rather than a Chondrite.

For collectors, NWA 13948 offers a scarce example of the Acapulcoite-Lodranite family with strong scientific interest and limited availability. Its small recovered mass, official classification, and Primitive Achondrite character make it especially appealing for collections focused on transitional meteorites and early asteroid evolution. Each specimen represents material from the earliest stages of planetary processing, preserved for over 4.5 billion years.