News Nuggets

Newsletter of the Albuquerque Gem & Mineral Club

Volume 49 Number 10

23^rd New Mexico Mineral Symposium

The 23^rd New Mexico Mineral Symposium will take place on November 9^th and 10^th at the Sweeney Center at New Mexico Tech in Socorro. The symposium consists of two days of papers, 30 minutes in length, on topics pertaining to the mineralogy of New Mexico and adjacent states. There is also an informal pre-symposium social and tailgating session beginning at 6:00PM on Friday, November 8, 2002, at the Super 8 Motel.

The registration fee for this event is $25.00 per person, seniors (over age 60) is $20.00, and for students with valid ID’s $20.00.

This is a great event to attend whether you are an experienced collector or a novice like most of us. If you go once you will be hooked on this premier event.

The club sponsors the silent auction which takes place in the lobby of the Sweeney Center from 1:15 to 3:00PM on November 10. We still need some quality specimens for the club table at the auction. Please donate a specimen. Any specimens not chosen for the silent auction will be used at the 2003 show for those auctions. We need about

900-1000 minerals for the 2003 show so lets start getting them together now.

Installation Dinner

Saturday December 7, 2002

This year we will be having our Installation Dinner on Saturday December 7. This dinner has been held on a Friday night in previous years. The BOD is hoping that a change to Saturday night will increase participation by club members.

Another change this year will be that the dinner is free!! It is still a pot luck supper though. This is to thank everyone for a year of outstanding participation in club events, from a very successful show in March to the New Mexico State Fair in September. Without you giving your time our events could not be the success they have become.

Officers 2001

President/Editor- Orlando Garcia; home phone: 345-0520; e-mail: jabog@rt66.com

VP-Programs - Grant Kuck; home phone: 323-1520

VP-Field Trips- Kimberly Richie; home phone: 296-8847

VP-Field Trips- Ray DeMark; home phone: 822-8715; e-mail: RayDeMark@aol.com

VP-Special Events- Hank Miller; home phone: 255-7218; e-mail: rgmhgm2@quest.net

Secretary/Historian- Dave Moats; home phone: 892-8163; e-mail: beepbeep59@hotmail.com

Treasurer- Lloyd Keller; Home phone: 889-9357

Ad Hoc Board- Paul Hlava; home phone: 255-5478; e-mail: pfhlava@sandia.gov

Show Chair- Paul Hlava; home phone: 255-5478 ; e-mail: pfhlava@sandia.gov

Club Historian: Tom Katonak; Home phone: 898-5592; e-mail: tkatonak@macconnect.com

Jr. Club: Carl Johnson; home phone: 344-3178

The Club Newsletter; News Nuggets exists to assist the membership in communications and to provide information on club activities. Contributions from all members are welcome on any information that will promote club activities or that would be of interest to club members. News Nuggets is scheduled to be mailed prior to the monthly meeting. Mail news, articles or comments to: Orlando Garcia 1028 Solar Rd. NW, Albuquerque, NM 87107. E-mail: jabog@rt66.com

The Albuquerque Gem & Mineral Club was organized on January 22, 1944. The club is a non-profit organization dedicated to the advancement and enjoyment of the Earth Sciences and associated subjects. Its primary purpose is the exchange of information and the furtherance of knowledge of Mineralogy, Fossils, Geology, Rock Cutting and Gem Faceting and to stimulate interest in the development of these studies.

All Meetings are held at the NM Museum of Natural History. The general meeting is held on the 4^th Monday of the month at 7:30 pm The Junior Club meets at 6:45pm prior to the general meeting. The public is welcome to both meetings. Board of Directors meetings are held at 7:30 pm on the first Monday of each month. (Call for location).

All memberships are family memberships and can include all members of the household. Dues are $20. Send checks to the AGMC, P.O. Box 13718, Albuquerque, NM 87192 or pay the Membership Chair at the monthly meeting.

President’s Message

This has been a very busy year for the AGMC and we still have a few more events before it’s over. Chino, the New Mexico Mineral Symposium, Bingham, the Holiday Installation Dinner and on into 2003! Grant is already lining up speakers for 2003 and Kimberly and Ray are working on field trips to new locations for the coming year.

Our Board of Directors will look very similar in 2003 with a couple of exceptions. Stephanie Bell has volunteered to be the Treasurer for 2003. Stephanie was one of our scholarship recipients several years ago and will be an enthusiastic new board member. Loyd Keller, who has helped us tremendously in the last 2 years, is retiring as Treasurer. Loyd has agreed to consult with Stephanie if she has any questions pertaining to club finances. Thanks, Loyd!!

Donna Scott will return to the BOD as the Membership Chair for 2003. Donna was a board member when I first came on as editor. Her opinions are always appreciated.

We have accomplished a lot this year and we’ll do even more next year. The board has always taken your trust seriously in discussing issues and upcoming events. We encourage club members to attend the monthly BOD meetings. All meetings are held at the museum on the first Monday of every month unless that falls on a holiday. The next Board of Directors meeting will be held on November 4, 2002 at 7:30PM.

-Orlando

AN UPDATE FROM THE NOMINATING COMMITTEE

The Nominating Committee (Tom Katonak, Dave Moats and Orlando Garcia) has completed the slate of the 2003 AGMC Officers and it was approved by the Board during the October board meeting.  The nominees are: President – Orlando Garcia; VP Programs – Grant Kuck; Secretary – Dave Moats VPs Field Trips – Ray Demark and Kimberly Richie; Treasurer – Stephanie Bell; Membership Chairperson – Donna Scott; and Editor – Open Position. We want to thank these members for volunteering their time to help make the AGMC a fun and successful organization.

At the October general membership meeting, additional nominations may be made from the floor provided the nominees are members in good standing and have consented to be nominated.

The election of the officers will be held at the November general club meeting. (No floor nominations will be allowed at the November general meeting.)

AGMC General Meeting

Monday, 23Sept02

Todd Brown, club member and operator of the Cerrillos rock shop and museum, cuts stones and does lapidary. He has invited anyone interested in learning how to make cabochons to contact him for lessons.

Orlando has the name and telephone number of a person in Rio Rancho who inherited a large collection of Mexican agate and wants to sell them to any interested person.

Hank Miller stated that we had a successful time and fun at the State Fair where we gave away about 1800 bags of sample mineral specimens. We are now looking for five people to help at the silent auction to be held on Sunday, November l0, the last day of the Symposium. Paul Hlava stated that our New Mexico Symposium is among the top 3 or 4 in the country even though it is smaller and less financed than some. He encourages more club members to attend as they would find it very informative and fun. Don’t let the Coloradoans outnumber us New Mexicans in this year’s attendance!

Ray reminded us that September 28 he will be leading us on a field trip to the Old Priest Mine (opened in l950), where thousands of tons of material was mined from a pegmatite. Expect to find topaz, schorl, columbite, monazite, muscovite, microcline and more. This quarry is infrequently visited due to its difficult access so we may expect to do some good collecting. Saturday, October 26, he plans to lead us on a trip to the Chino Pit where Mr. Bob North, the mine’s Chief Geologist, will take us in vans into the pit to collect. Expect to find sheet copper, molybdenum, cuprite and more. Ray stated that recently a boulder with copper crystals was taken out of the mine that was worth $100,000! Ray will also lead a group into the Blanchard Claims on the Thursday, just before the Symposium. For those interested contact Ray.

Grant Kuck, in presenting the news at the radio station where he works, reported on the selection this year of the new Museum of Natural History Director, Dr. Adrian Paul Hunt. He then and there decided to give Dr. Hunt an invitation to speak at tonight’s meeting.

Dr. Hunt has been a past recipient of our club’s scholarship award for the l986-l987 school year under our Club’s then president, Ray DeMark.

Dr. Hunt, born and raised in England, at age l8 already knew that he wanted to be a paleontologist. He attended the University of Manchester, U.K. where he got himself into some hard core mineralogy courses like crystallography, crystal optics, and crystal chemistry before he could get into his favorite areas of study.

There, in l979, he earned a Bachelor’s degree with Honors.

He then came to the U.S. to attend graduate school at N.M. Tech. He has worked for the N.M. Bureau of Mines as a research assistant. In l980, as a struggling student, he was working in the San Juan Basin in the Bisti wilderness collecting fossils and putting them together, receiving a Master’s degree in l984.

He then came to UNM where he studied the fossils of Eastern New Mexico along with a lot of sedimentology work thus earning his PhD with the official title of Dr. of Earth and Planetary Sciences (1994).

Afterwards he was hired by the University of Denver where he worked for some time (l992-l995) as an instructor in the Department of Geology and as Curator of Paleontology before getting a call from the small Mesalands Community Collage in Tucumcari, N.M. The school, wanting to become more of a Liberal Arts School, decided they wanted a natural history program and a museum with something to do with fossils. Dr. Hunt was recommended. Accepting the job (1996-2002), he found it to be very difficult as everything had to be started totally from scratch. It was under his leadership that the forging of bronze ancient animals were constructed and displayed. He organized and coordinated Fossil Friends, a volunteer organization for the Mesalands Dinosaur Museum that resulted in over l,000 volunteer hours per year and co-edited the Bare Bones newsletter for Fossil Friends.

Now he has another big job, that of running the Southwest’s premier Natural History Museum right here in Albuquerque. Having trained here, he knows a lot about the people associated with the museum and museum itself. Opening in l986, most of the exhibits were built in 9 months which he stated "is an incredible time frame." It had no Cretaceous Hall until l988. The Lode Star addition was the 2^nd big phase in the development of the museum. Now, what to do next? He stated that "it is important to have different kinds of displays in a museum." Dr. Hunt thinks he will go back to the exhibits and fill in the blanks, such as, there is nothing in the timeline between the Origin of the Earth and the Jurassic Period.

We have Seismosaurus, one of the largest ever found (near San Ysidro) being about 120 feet long and 50% taller than T. Rex. Twenty percent of the bones were found and the rest reconstructed from other dinosaur finds. Many remote sensing techniques were used to try and find all the bones but most methods didn’t work. Japan currently has much of the fossil on loan but we will be getting it back soon. They spent $12 million on the exhibit and for a display that was scheduled to last only 60 days! To pay for this they were looking to get one million people in attendance at $20 a head. In 45 days they had over 850,000 people attending. Where Seismosaurus will go in our museum is uncertain at this time but it will take about two years and $250,000 to put the skeleton together. Putting a skeleton together is very expensive!

January 12, 2003 a Cretaceous exhibit will open with l00% real New Mexico fossils. There will eventually be a room to experience the big Cretaceous extinction of 65 million years ago. The Tertiary Period is not well represented and needs finishing, in fact almost everything in the next few years will be redone. This will require "bucket loads of money."

The mineral display, as it now exists, doesn’t fit into the story that is trying to be told of the earth. Dr. Hunt doesn’t know what will be done with this aspect of the museum yet. Maybe they will work up "recipe cards" on how to form minerals and rocks. Dr. Hunt stated that there are basically two ways to "do" minerals, one is esthetically and the second method is a didactic display that tells a story.

An invertebrate exhibit will include the world famous Permian Reef fossils from the southeastern part of the state.

He is a self described "Big Dreamer" which he loves to do. He will need a Master Exhibit Plan and then it will probably take ten years to collect the needed monies. The Museum needs extra facilities that large groups can use. In the Spring, 900+ kids a day came thru the facilities!

The Explora Science Museum that is across the street will open soon. In addition there are lots of museums in the area that are all trying to raise money. Albuquerque has a great selection of museums many of which are near the Natural History Museum. This is good, as that translates to higher attendance at any one museum. With 300,000 visitors a year, that makes the New Mexico Museum of Natural History the preemier museum in the Southwestern United States and among the top l0 tourist attractions in the state. Only the Balloon Fiesta and Elephant Butte Lake draw more people.

Dr. Hunt’s principal research interests are the late Paleozoic – late Mesozoic tetrapods and their footprints. He is particularly interested in Late Triassic tetrapods and the nature of the Triassic replacement of the archaic amphibians and reptiles by the dinosaurs. In carrying out his research he has visited over 30 museums in five countries and conducted fieldwork in l0 U.S. states and 3 foreign countries plus has published over 400 publications.

The sixty-nine in attendance tonight were all very glad to make their acquaintance with the new Museum Director and it would seem from all we heard that we can expect some big changes that will truly enhance our museum, city and state and Dr. Adrian Hunt is just the man to do it!

Speakers

Our speaker for October will be Wayne Holland. Wayne will give a talk on "Rockhounding the West."  

Chino Mine Field Trip

Saturday 26 October 2002

Our trip for October will be to the Phelps-Dodge Company Chino Pit near Silver City. We will meet at 8:00 a.m. at the intersection of NM 152 and U.S. 180 about nine miles east of Silver City. This is the turnoff (south) to Bayard and Hurley. From there we will proceed as a convoy to the mine gate. Cars will not be allowed in the pit, so we will have to load up in three vans for transportation to the various mine sites. No open-toed shoes will be allowed and long pants are recommended. Please bring hard hats and safety glasses if you have them. It is about a five-hour drive from Albuquerque to Silver City so I am strongly recommending that attendees drive to Silver City on Friday in order to make our rendezvous on time. We are restricted to 33 participants as a Phelps-Dodge limitation (drivers for the vans). So attendance is on a first-come, first-serve basis (call me at 822-8715 to get on the list). Once you are placed on the list, attendance will be considered mandatory except for emergencies. I will compile an alternate list and will notify alternates if openings develop.

Mr. Robert North (Chief Geologist for Phelps-Dodge at Chino) will be our host and has graciously made arrangements to accommodate as many AGMC members as possible. We owe Mr. North and Phelps-Dodge a big "thank you" for permitting this visit.

You will need hard rock tools (hammers and chisels) plus a hand lens and small back pack. I am discouraging buckets as we will be traveling in vans and space will be limited. Metal detectors might be of use looking for copper but remember our space constraints. We will be looking for copper, cuprite and chalcocite in one of the pits. The copper often occurs with alunite (a hydrated K,Al sulfate) that looks like a hard clay with a greenish tint. We will also visit a skarn in another pit that contains magnetite, pyrite and secondary copper oxides. Chalcotrichite, the hair-like variety of cuprite, may also be found on this trip.

See you in Silver City on the 26^th.

-Ray

Blanchard Mine Field Trip

Saturday – 16 November 2002

Our final field trip for the year will be to the Blanchard mine near Bingham. We will meet at the Bingham Rock Shop at 9:00 a.m. and proceed as a group to the mine site. Passenger vehicles will be okay to the mine site but 4-wheel drive or high clearance vehicles will be needed to drive up to the "hill". I expect to allow visits to some of the tunnels, so if you want to go underground, bring suitable lights and a hard hat. All visitors will be required to sign a liability release at Bingham and no unescorted minors will be allowed on this trip.

Once again, hard rock tools will be required as the minerals of interest occur in a tough silicified limestone. By the way, a claw hammer is not considered a hard rock mining tool! The primary collectible minerals are fluorite, barite and galena but brochantite and linarite are not uncommon as well as at least 40 other minerals if you are diligent and sharp-eyed! You are free to bring buckets, but as to why, I haven’t a clue. A portable UV lamp might be useful underground. I will give a rundown on the history, geology, and mineralogy of the Blanchard mine at the mine site.

To reach Bingham, take I-25 south past Socorro for 8 miles to the U.S. 380 exit. Take U.S. 380 east for 31 miles to Bingham. The rock shop is on the right and you literally cannot miss this place. Keep you fingers crossed for good weather.

-Ray

Remember!! You can pay your dues for 2203 now and avoid the rush in January.

The Old Priest Mine Adventure

September 28 at 9:00AM was much chillier than most of us expected. There was a brisk wind pushing the storm front ahead of it, and hopefully it would take the wind with it!

Ray gave us our instructions and we scurried for the vehicles. 23 members attended and I’ll venture to say we all wondered what the weather would do to us. After about 2 miles the drizzle started again but the wind seemed to have been left behind. I thought about describing the road into the mine but let it suffice to say it was just what Ray said- ‘7 miles of bad road!!’

The deposit at the mine is a Pre-Cambian (yes, this means that this place really is older than dirt!) pegmatite so it was not surprising to find large pieces of the primary minerals: quartz, feldspar and mica. Included in the mix was a generous portion of schorl (black tourmaline), columbite and beryl, which were spirited away long ago.

It continued to almost rain for a couple of hours. I don’t think anyone was really bothered by it and the showers kept everything clean and shiny.

Quartz: Mostly milky white with some clear areas. The distinctive quality of the material are the white lines that run parallel and intersecting through the material.

Feldspar: Most noticeable due to the strong pink and salmon colors. I saw many pieces with identifiable crystal faces on 2 or more sides.

Mica: This seemed to create the most excitement. I saw a size range of ¼ inch to a few inches across and 2-3 inches thick.

Schorl: Unfortunately much of the schorl had degraded to a crumbly condition, almost powder. Add a little water and it was like touching wet ashes. Many examples were once large crystals 1" in diameter and 6" in length or more. With a bit of help retrieving it, I brought back a section of one of those larger crystals. An unusual feature worth mentioning- many of the tourmalines that I saw have a mica coating on the outside of the crystal. One piece collected by another club member appears to be completely replaced by mica.

Spessartine Garnet: I really didn’t see much red colored anything all day till Rayy handed me a piece of predominantly feldspar with small red spheres scattered across one side. It may have been easier to spot if the sun had been out.

As field trips go, it was another winner!! A bit damp but not too hot, and certainly not picked over. Only the determined, dedicated rockhound would have the nerve to drive up there.

Thanks to Ray again for a great trip!!

-Kimberly

Mystery Mineral

For October, 2002

From the devious mind of Paul Hlava

The Game Plan – I will describe a mineral and you have to guess/decipher/research the name of the mineral and the answers to the other questions asked about uses, history, notable facts, etc. I expect the Top Guns in the club to be able to guess the name off the top of their heads. The learners will need a reference book or two. You will benefit most if you do not ask others for the answers but work it out for yourselves. When you have decided on the name you can compare notes with others or wait for the answers to be announced at the meetings or published in the News Nuggets. Good luck and have fun.

 This Month’s Mystery Mineral is—

a carbonate of a common metal element. This mineral is usually supergene and forms from the action of carbonate –rich waters acting on primary ore minerals. It usually forms as botryoidal, stalactitic, or reniform masses. In its crystallized form, it is an uncommon vein material associated with various metallic ores. It is often associated with sphalerite, galena, hemimorphite, cerussite, calcite and limonite.. The rhombohedral crystals have a perfect rhombohedral cleavage (3 of equal quality but not at 90 degrees). Hardness = 4.5; Gravity = 4.45; Luster = vitreous; Color = grayish white to dark gray but can be green, yellow, blue, and pink to purple; sub-transparent to translucent; Soluble in dilute HCl with effervescence.

Questions

What is the name of the mineral?

What is the chemistry of the mineral?

What is the origin of the name?

What is the mineral used for?

What mineral does it form from?

Localities – (Just list the famous ones)

--NM –

--USA –

--World –

Answers to Last Month’s Questions

What is the name of the mineral? Siderite

What is the chemistry of the mineral? Iron carbonate

What is the origin of the name? Named for its iron content

What is the mineral used for? Minor ore of iron

Localities – (Just list the famous ones)

--NM – None

--USA – western PA and eastern OH, Lake Superior region

--World – Styria, Austria; Westphalia, Germany; Britain & Scotland

Paul Hlava 021009

                                                  Notes from Nova Scotia

-Chandler Jones  

Albuquerque Gem & Mineral Club

Membership Form

Last Name_____________________________Renewal from 2002? Y N

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Annual Dues: Dues are $20.00 per family.

Send this form and check to: AGMC

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Albuquerque, NM 87192

October 28- Wayne Holland will give a talk on ‘Rockhounding the West’

The Albuquerque Gem & Mineral Club meets on the 4^th Monday of every month (except December). All meetings are held at the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Sciences. The meeting begins at approximately 7:30 PM. There will be a short business meeting prior to the evening’s talk, which begins at approximately 8 PM.

Refreshments and door prizes will follow immediately after the talk. We have the room till 10:00 PM.

News Nuggets

1^st Place Winner

RMFMS Editor’s Contest 2002

Category: Large Newsletter

News Nuggets

10^th Place Winner

AFMS National Editor’s Contest 2002

Category: Large Newsletter 

Albuquerque Gem & Mineral Club

Orlando Garcia, Editor

PO Box 13718

Albuquerque, NM 87192-3718