A meteorite gold mine for Morocco's celestial treasure hunters

When a fireball from space crashed into the rocky plains of southeastern Morocco in September, Mohamed Benitjit topped up the credit on his cellphone and packed a bag with a tiny magnet and a few clothes, ready to set off in search of meteorite fragments.

- BY SOUHAIL KARAM

"I just need to know where it landed," the 52-year-old merchant said in Enzala, a village at the foothills of the Atlas mountains. "Information is everything in our trade. It doesn't come easy since whoever finds something likes to keep it for himself."

Like many other locals, Benitjit is seeking to cash in on the kingdom's status as a booming hub for meteorite hunting.

Morocco has reported more falls than anywhere else in the last 20 years, and about half of all scientific publications involving meteorites are based on finds made in the country, according to Hasnaa Chennaoui Aoudjehane, a professor of meteoritics and planetary science at the Hassan II University of Casablanca.

Since the global market is fragmented and unregulated, sales are difficult to track, but prices range from hundreds of dollars for pieces traded on internet sites including EBay to millions for larger chunks sold through auction houses, such as Sotheby's and Christie's.

The North African country of around 38 million people has made it easier for meteor hunters to export finds amid a drive to boost tourism and create new revenue sources in remote regions - where traditional pastoral activities are suffering from climate change.

What was once "a hobby and a key part of the local heritage" for thousands of people has become "an extractive activity in its own right," said Samira Mizbar, an independent socioeconomist who specializes in development policies.

Meteorites tend to explode into pieces as they crash through the Earth's outer atmosphere; they can also shatter on impact. Although thousands fall every year, only a tiny fraction of fragments are found, with the vast majority landing in oceans or isolated areas.

Valuation depends on various factors, including where in the solar system a piece originated and when it fell, as prolonged exposure to the Earth's elements can cause contamination, or damage.