Patos de Minas is a normal hexahedrite with Neumann lines extending throughout the section. In most places, the lines reach the corroded surface; but in short 1-2 cm lengths, irregular 0.5-1 mm wide remnants of a zone affected by alpha-2 heat can still be recognized. This observation is unequivocal proof that the meteorite has lost about 1-2 mm from its exterior due to weathering. It is out of the question, under the given climatic conditions, that this loss may have occurred between its "fall" in 1925 and 1958 when the mass was reported in the scientific literature. Therefore, Patos was already a significant terrestrial age when it was discovered in 1925. The etched section shows the usual irregular patches of alternating clear and frosty kamacite. In the clear areas, the rhabdites are quite large (prisms with a cross section of 5 to 30 µm), and the Neumann lines are wide, 5-10 µm. Schreibersite itself was not observed. The phosphorus content is estimated to be around 0.2%. Troilite is quite common as angular nodules of 1 to 10 mm and, in these, bluish bars of daubréelite with 0.5-1 mm in width. Sulphides are little damaged and apparently monocrystalline. Source: Buchwald (1975).