Fukang is a 983-kilogram main-group pallasite from Xinjiang, China, famous for olivine crystals set in metal. A 2023 magazine reported a value of US$1.7 million, but no documented sale or primary appraisal substantiating that figure was found. Nor do the cited sources establish a Fukang-specific age of exactly 4.5 billion years.
What is the Fukang meteorite?
Fukang is a stony-iron meteorite classified as a main-group pallasite in the Meteoritical Bulletin Database. Pallasites are distinguished by the intergrowth of olivine crystals and metal. In polished, backlit slices, that structure can resemble stained glass; this is a visual comparison, not a scientific classification.
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Olivine is the mineral name. “Peridot” refers to gem-quality olivine, so it is not an appropriate name for every olivine grain in the meteorite.
What the material looks like
The bulletin describes Fukang’s olivine grains as rounded to angular, often fractured, and ranging from less than 5 millimeters to several centimeters. It also records concentrated clusters as large as 11 centimeters across, crossed by metal veins only a few millimeters wide.
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Where and when was Fukang found?
The official record places the find near Fukang, Xinjiang Province, China, at 44°26′N, 87°38′E, and gives 2000 as the find year. It classifies Fukang as a find, not an observed fall. That means 2000 is when it was found; the record does not give a witnessed date for its passage through the atmosphere.
The bulletin says an anonymous finder recovered a 1,003-kilogram specimen. About 20 kilograms had been removed before the remaining 983-kilogram mass was investigated. The material was seen at the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show in February 2005.
How old is the Fukang meteorite?
The exact claim that Fukang is 4.5 billion years old is not established by the cited sources as a measurement specific to this meteorite. The age commonly associated with the early Solar System should not be presented as though it were a radiometric date for Fukang.
A 2019 paper in Meteoritics & Planetary Science characterizes Fukang’s olivine and metal phases and reports measurements consistent with its main-group pallasite classification. It also discusses the history of the Main-group parent body; it is not, on the evidence cited here, a source for an exact 4.5-billion-year age for Fukang. Read the paper’s record.
Is Fukang really worth millions?
A 2023 Ghana Science Association magazine article says Fukang is valued at US$1.7 million. The article does not supply a named appraiser, appraisal method, transaction date, or completed sale record. The figure is therefore a reported valuation, not a verified current market price. See the magazine.
An estimate, an asking price, an insurance valuation, and a completed sale price are different measures. Without evidence clarifying which applies to the $1.7 million figure, it should not be described as the price the meteorite sold for or as its established present value. The available evidence also does not support calculating a per-gram price from that headline figure.
What makes Fukang scientifically notable?
Its documented classification and striking olivine-and-metal structure make Fukang a well-known example of a main-group pallasite. The 2019 phase analysis provides scientific characterization consistent with that classification and examines implications for the parent body’s history.
Pallasites are often discussed as material from a differentiated asteroid, with popular accounts placing them near a core–mantle boundary. The cited evidence supports Fukang’s classification and parent-body study, but it does not establish one precise formation location or a simple, settled origin story for this specimen.
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