I don't have a good explanation why (lack of pressure, maybe?) but this doesn't seem to be the case. For example, I've seen the 60-ton Hoba meteorite in Namibia

I don't have a good explanation why (lack of pressure, maybe?) but this doesn't seem to be the case. For example, I've seen the 60-ton Hoba meteorite in Namibia, and although the surface has corroded and oxidised, its bulk is definitely solid metal (mostly iron, some nickel). It would still take some processing to separate the compounds, but nowhere near as much as ores. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoba_meteorite http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoba_meteorite