Mundrabilla Shale
Found in 1911
Location: Western Australia, Australia
Altered Iron Material
Mundrabilla Shale is a layered weathering product of the Mundrabilla iron meteorite. Mundrabilla was first found on the Nullarbor Plain of Australia in 1911. After that original discovery many more masses of the iron meteorite were located in the same area decades later. Over a long period of time a thick coating of hard altered iron material forms on iron meteorites as they weather on Earth. Eventually this layered material exfoliates off the mass and is found in the soil near the meteorite. Mundrabilla shale is somewhat distinctive from other iron shales because of the thinness of the layers seen in some pieces. Like other iron shales from meteorites found elsewhere on Earth tiny specks of shiny iron metal can sometimes be seen when the shale is cut or ground.
