© Charles Araujo
Locals said hundreds of pieces of the 4.6billion-year-old rock fell 'like rain' from the sky
The largest chunk of the meteorite, weighing about 40 kilograms, is reportedly worth around $26,000.
Residents of a remote town in northeastern Brazil called Santa Filomena recently received an unexpected bonanza when chunks of a meteorite believed to be 4.6 billion-year-old started falling "like rain" from the sky on 19 August, the
Daily Mail reports.
According to the newspaper, the meteorite was a "rare chondrite which dates back to the origins of the Solar System", and whose fragments turned out to be quite valuable, with the biggest chunk, weighing about 40 kilograms, being worth over £20,000 ($26,000) - "the same as 10 years' worth of the average salary in the area".
"The price is getting close to 40 reals (£5.50) per gramme, and it's getting higher. Only a few days ago it was half that", said Edimar da Costa Rodrigues, a 20-year old student who discovered one of the fragments. "Ninety percent of the town's population are farmers. There aren't many shops, nothing that generates jobs. It's a humble place, with people on a low wage. Most people think it's a really good thing. Lots of people have found a rock, and it has come at a time when many really need some money to pay the bills".
Comment: Previously: Kilkenny, Ireland residents baffled by mystery 'loud bang' heard around city