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Wilson

-2-

It seems to me that arrangements between the Max Planck Institute and Australian authorities have been unfortunately lax in one important area. The legitimate Australian interest in exchange value from Mundrabilla meteorite material has not been sufficiently protected. This was discussed when we were talking about bringing the M2 mass to Washington for cutting, and I have not changed my thinking since that time. As a consequence of this particular bit of history and because sound principles of curation are involved, we at the Smithsonian have developed a specific policy for handling the Mundrabilla exhibit slice and research bar. For the forseeable future we will do two things:

1) The Mundrabilla slice will remain on public exhibit and material will not be removed from it.

2) The research bar will be sampled for research purposes only, and use of this sample material will be closely controlled.

This means that the Smithsonian Institution will not compete with Australians or others in exchanges or in other types of transactions dealing with the Mundrabilla meteorite. I would urge a similar policy on the other major recipients, should they be interested in my views. I have refused to make several requested Mundrabilla exchanges with other U.S. institutions. At least one of the individuals making such a request had been directed to me by Professor Ramdohr. Of course, our actions will not stop people from getting samples directly from Heidelberg.

With this background stated, we can now return to your interest in obtaining meteorite specimens. The Smithsonian would be pleased to make you a gift of a small specimen of the Woodbine, Illinois, iron meteorite as a token of our appreciation for your part in bringing the Mundrabilla specimens to us. This meteorite is not represented in the South Australian Museum's collection, and we would stipulate that the specimen be transfered to that institution when you no longer have need for it. Woodbine and Mundrabilla are both unusual iron meteorites. Woodbine contains large amounts of both sulfide and troilite. The sample is being sent to you for consideration under separate cover. The specimen weighs about 250g, a significant portion of the 48kg mass recovered. When the shipment is received, please date, sign and return the white copy of the invoice to the Office of the Registrar.

Installation of our large meteorite saw has recently been completed. It should be in operation with the next two or three months. There has