Auctions Niger and Sotheby's fight over meteorite
Who owns a rock that fell from the sky? This question is currently the subject of heated debate, specifically concerning NWA 16788, a Martian meteorite that has traveled over 200 million kilometers through space, weighs 25 kilograms and is very valuable.
20.08.2025, 05:29
SDA
The New York auction house Sotheby's recently auctioned off the rock for 5.3 million dollars to an unknown private individual - and Niger, where the meteorite was found, is outraged.
According to Sotheby's, NWA 16788 is the largest Martian meteorite discovered to date. It was presumably split off from Mars by an asteroid and, according to the auction house, traveled around 225 million kilometers on its way to Earth.
According to Sotheby's, the rock was found in November 2023 in the Nigerian desert region of Agadez. After its discovery, the jagged, ochre-colored meteorite was sold to an international dealer, exhibited in Italy for a short time until it finally ended up in the Sotheby's catalog.
According to the government in Niger, this was illegal: the auction in New York obviously fulfilled "all the characteristics of international illegal trade", it declared. Investigations had been initiated. The West African country also responded with an export ban on valuable stones and meteorites, which has been in force for over a week.
Sotheby's rejected the accusations. The Mars meteorite was "exported from Niger and transported in accordance with all relevant international regulations", the auction house explained. It also said it was launching an investigation into the allegations.
Different laws
In fact, the legal situation varies from country to country. A meteorite that hits the earth on private property in the USA, for example, belongs to the landowner. In Niger, the Martian meteorite could fall under the law on "national cultural heritage", which also regulates the ownership of rare minerals such as stones. "In our opinion, meteorites should undoubtedly be considered rare minerals," legal and meteorite experts Max and Matthieu Gounelle told the AFP news agency.
US paleontologist Paul Sereno also has doubts about the legality of the auction. It is suspicious that everyone involved in the resale of the meteorite to the USA remained anonymous. "From the person who found it to the dealers and the buyer, everyone is anonymous," he stated. The meteorite landed in Niger, "it belongs to Niger."
Moreover, such a rare Martian rock should not disappear into the possession of a private owner, but should be used for scientific purposes: The meteorite is "natural heritage" and in many ways even "world heritage", said Sereno. "It tells us something about space. We should honor it."
