Quartz & Meteorites?

[golden ray]

People keep showing me their meteorites, or 'wrongs'. Have one now which is a meteorite in every
way,except that it contains quartz.(stuck on the side,not in the rock.) Have never seen,read,etc.
anything concerning quartz & meteorites.
Does anyone have any thoughts on this

 

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[TerryC]

Quartz is the most common mineral on earth, yet is considered rare in meteorites.
A partial quote from the Washington University/ St.Louis:
Although for convenience we sometimes state here that the minerals quartz, calcite, magnetite, hematite, and micas do not occur in meteorites, these statements are not entirely true. Each of these minerals are among the many minerals listed by Rubin (1997a,b) that have been observed in some meteorites. However, all these minerals are minor to rare in any type of meteorite and don't occur at all in the most common types of meteorites. TTC

 

[GTzer]

How stuck is it? Meaning -does it seem to be a part of the rock? A couple of relics and 1 coin I've seen had quartz "stuck" to them-if you get my thought. Is it fused by association through oxidation or weathering?.

 

[golden ray]

Thanks Terry, the quartz is not in the form of a vein.
Just a small part of the rock. Thinking more & more that
its not a meteorite.

 

[TerryC]

Hmmm. I just had an interesting thought. If meteorites, the building blocks of the universe, rarely have quartz in them... and quartz is the most abundant mineral on earth... is there a direct connection between quartz and life? Or quartz and an oxygen-rich invironment? Hmmm. TTC

 

[hvacker]

A reference book I use most is Minerals Of New Mexico (Northrop UNM Press) I'm sure is out of print as mine was printed in 1959. Anyway it lists 45 different minerals found in NM meteorites and quartz is one. They are usually in trace amounts. I've never seen quartz stuck to a meteorite.
What you seem to describe is what occurs in hot fluids as minerals precipitate and form like when quartz clings to gold. or the other way around. Prospectors look for quartz veins as it can mean gold clinging to it. Maybe you found a piece of iron.