Meteorite hunting...a craft that generates millions for those searching for “gifts from heaven”
The news of a meteorite falling in or near your town may be frightening news, but it is not so in the south-east of Morocco. Rather, it is like the discovery of a treasure to which hundreds of “meteorite hunters” make a pilgrimage.
It is an adventure similar to searching for a needle in a haystack, but it generates millions for those lucky enough to find a piece of the precious stone.
The desert regions of Morocco have witnessed many meteorites falling from space in recent years, making them receive great attention from researchers, universities and the media.
These pieces represent unique treasures for the “meteorite hunters,” who travel towards the southeast of the Kingdom, carrying their supplies, tents, and exploration tools, on a journey to search for a precious catch that the sky brought, before selling it to one of the international research institutes or museums for sums that may reach tens of dollars. Thousands of dollars.
A number of local residents in the south of the Kingdom live by trading meteorites, as the prices of meteorite arriving from space vary depending on its components and quality, and generally range between 500 and 1,000 dollars per gram.
Desert meteor hunting
In the year 2008, the journey of the Moroccan young man Mouloud Bel Sheikh began in the world of meteorites, when he was working as a guide accompanying foreign missions arriving to search for meteorite fragments scattered in sites in the south of the Kingdom, due to his extensive knowledge of the region’s topography.
Over the course of 3 years, Al-Sheikh gained extensive experience, which enabled him to become familiar with the important scientific and material value of meteorites, which prompted him to explore for them and devote his time to it, becoming in turn a “meteorite hunter.”
In his interview with the “Sky News Arabia” website, Bel Sheikh recalls his first hunt in 2011, when he quickly moved to the city of Tata as soon as the news of the fall of the “Tessint” meteorite spread, which became famous internationally, to launch a unique experience that transformed over the years. A passion for this field.
He says: “Exploring meteorites is an adventure fraught with many risks, perhaps the most prominent of which are the harsh climatic factors in desert areas, in addition to the fact that they contain some mines.”
However, Sheikh Al-Arim’s passion for exploring the world of meteorites pushed him to rise to the challenge and continue his favorite hobby of collecting gifts from the sky.
Bel Sheikh confirms that prospecting for meteorites “provided him with a respectable financial income, enabling him to improve his social situation, with part of it allocated to the acquisition of prospecting equipment.”
He also does not hide his desire to realize a dream that he has had for years, by establishing a museum of meteorites that would receive visitors from all over the world. For this reason, he is careful not to offer all the meteorites he obtains for sale, stressing that he keeps more than 100 pieces.
The young Moroccan man reveals that the “Black Beauty” meteorite, which was found in the Bir Anzran area (south), is the most expensive piece he has sold since he began his exploration career more than 14 years ago, as its price reached about 480 thousand Moroccan dirhams (more than 48 thousand dollars). ).
Belsheikh says that Morocco is ranked among the first countries in the world in the number of meteorites found on Earth, noting that its terrain and vast desert allow for exploration of meteorites, whether visible ones that people witnessed penetrating the airspace before they fell, or those that fell to the ground over time. far.
Heaven's gifts
The story of Balsheikh and meteorites does not end with exploration or sale, as his passion for rocks coming from space led him to establish an association called “Heaven’s Gifts for Meteors and Meteorites.”
He explains that among the association’s goals is “to contribute to spreading the culture of meteorites among various segments of society, and to spread awareness of their importance in the field of scientific research.”
The association also aims to “help meteorite hunters gain experience that allows them to distinguish between the various types of these rock pieces arriving on Earth, enrich their knowledge regarding the types and types of meteorites, and give them the evaluation they deserve.”
The spokesman adds that the association is working to establish partnerships with other associations from Morocco and abroad, to coordinate efforts, exchange experiences and information, and implement joint projects and activities.
He points out that “the marketing of meteorites is subject to strict legal requirements, and it is allowed to export them outside Morocco with a license from the Ministry of Energy and Minerals after inspecting them and determining their value and type, which contributed to reducing the smuggling of meteorites abroad.”
Museum for preserving meteorites
Geologists call Morocco “the paradise of meteorites,” and to preserve this geological heritage, “Ibn Zohr” University in the city of Agadir, in the south of the Kingdom, allocated a “university museum for meteorites,” which is considered the first Arab and African museum for meteorites.
The head of the University Museum of Meteorites, Abdel Rahman Ibhi, told Sky News Arabia, “The aim of establishing this museum is to preserve the meteorites for which Morocco is famous, a large part of which have been located in international museums.”
Ibhi points out that this museum “also seeks to contribute to the development of scientific research in this field among students at Ibn Zohr University and those interested in this field, and to receive visitors who are passionate about the secrets of space.”
The expert in meteorites points out that Morocco “tops the list of countries exporting meteorites,” stressing that more than half of the scientific articles on meteorites in the world focused on meteorites in Morocco, “which highlights the Kingdom’s important position in this field.”
He explains that “the number of meteorite researchers in Morocco has doubled compared to previous years and is now estimated at dozens, which has contributed to creating jobs and improving the income of a number of families in the south of the Kingdom.”
The Martian “Tisnit” meteorite
On one night in July 2011, residents of the village of Tissint in the city of Tata, southern Morocco, witnessed the fall of a meteorite that later turned out to be coming from Mars, and provided information that contributed to understanding some of the secrets of the red planet.
Ibhi says that the “Tissint” meteorite, which originates from the planet Mars, “is considered one of the most important and expensive meteorites in the world, and it has contributed to providing space scientists with valuable data about Mars, which humans have not been able to reach until today, which has given the Tissint meteorite scientific value.” It is extremely important, and hundreds of scientific articles have been written about it around the world.”
He also considers that this meteorite, which fell in Morocco and bore the name of the village “Tissint,” “contributed to strengthening the Kingdom’s position in this field, as the influx of researchers to explore for meteorites began to double immediately after that.”
Based on the research carried out by the head of the “University Museum of Meteorites” at the site of the “Tissint” meteorite fall, Ibhi estimated its weight at about 17 kg, as only a small piece of it remained inside Morocco, after parts of this precious wealth were sold at a low price that did not equal its value. The real prices, while their prices outside Morocco reached astronomical numbers.
Ibhi believes that preserving this geological wealth “requires the establishment of a national museum that includes all the meteorites found in Morocco, and recording and recording them in special literature.”
He also called for “encouraging scientific research and integrating astronomy and meteorites into the educational curricula and curricula of various departments.”
In recent years, Morocco has sought to encourage scientific research in this field, by establishing the first university museum for meteorites in Africa and the Arab world, affiliated with Ibn Zohr University in Agadir, in the south of the country. Its mission is to collect and study meteorites.
Meteorite hunters proudly share the story of a meteorite found in the village of “Tissint” in southern Morocco, which was sold to the Natural History Museum in London at an exorbitant price.
A report was issued after studying the meteorite, which confirmed that it was originally from Mars, which is considered a scientific treasure for specialists, allowing them to study the components of the planet.
Source: Shahba Press + East Economy