Nickel-Iron Tektite

specimen number:
2262199

location:
Malaguit, Paracale, Camarines Norte, Bicol, Luzon, Philippines

description:
A set of two nickel iron rich tektites. These are often called philippinite. Size provided is for the larger of the two examples. The specimen comes with a previous data card with an original acquisition date for these of 1972.

The Indochinite strewn field, which extends across Southeast Asia, includes the Philippines as a premier locality for a distinct class of tektites known as philippinites or rizalites, which are famous for containing microscopic nickel-iron metallic spherules. Geologically, these tektites are not volcanic but are impactite glasses formed approximately 788,000 years ago during the Pleistocene epoch, when a massive meteorite struck Earth (likely in the Indochina region), instantly melting terrestrial sediments and ejecting the molten silica into the upper atmosphere where it quenched into glass before falling back to earth. While the bulk composition of the glass consists of roughly seventy to seventy-five percent silicon dioxide along with several percent of iron oxide, specialized mineralogical studies have isolated tiny, embedded kamacite spherules containing one to three percent nickel, representing pristine remnants of the cosmic impactor. Historically, systematic mining and surface quarrying of these tektites has never occurred for industrial metal extraction; instead, they have been harvested by hand from alluvial soils and placer gold workings in regions like Rizal, Camarines Norte, and Pangasinan. Organized collecting and commercial harvesting for scientific study and the international gem and mineral trade began in the 1920s under the documentation of anthropologist H. Otley Beyer, and small-scale surface gathering by local residents continues through 2026 to supply collectors with these unique cosmic-terrestrial artifacts.

Questions about this specimen?
Send an email or call us: 314-341-1811.