Meteorite Domeyko – Chile

The Domeyko meteorite is an iron meteorite of type IIIAB, discovered in 2000 in northern Chile, specifically in the Atacama Desert near the famous fall of the Imilac pallasite. The discoverer was French collector and meteorite expert Luc Labenne during an expedition to an area rich in ancient meteorites. The site is located at an altitude of over 3000 m in the Domeyko region near the city of Antofagasta, from which the meteorite takes its name.

Domeyko is classified as a fine-grained octahedrite of group IIIAB. These meteorites are characterized by the presence of nickel-iron in the form of the metal phases kamacite and taenite, which arrange into a regular pattern—Widmanstätten structures—during slow cooling in space. These structures (visible after etching a polished section) are key identifying features of many iron meteorites.

An interesting feature in the cuts of the Domeyko meteorite are the so-called Brezina lamellae (Brezina lamellae), which are very thin, elongated inclusions rich in iron phosphide – schreibersite. These lamellae form during extremely slow cooling of the metallic material inside the body of a planetesimal from which the meteorite originates. They are named after Austrian mineralogist Arthur Brezina, who significantly contributed to meteorite research in the 19th century. Their presence indicates that Domeyko originates from a differentiated metallic core of a planetary body and underwent a very slow cooling process (on the order of a few degrees per million years).

The original piece of the meteorite weighed approximately 13.88 kg and measured about 27 × 19 × 10 cm. Its surface is typical of meteorites found in the dry environment of the Atacama—with shallow pits formed by corrosion and erosion in arid conditions. The bottom was rather smooth, while the top was covered with numerous fine depressions and protrusions.

The Domeyko meteorite is often considered one of the most aesthetically impressive iron meteorites ever, not only due to its fine structural pattern, but also thanks to the presence of Brezina lamellae.