The Albuquerque Gem & Mineral Club meets on the 4^th Monday of the month. All meetings are held at the New Mexico Museum of Natural History, 1801 Mountain Road NW in Old Town, Albuquerque, New Mexico. The entrance is on 18^th Street. The meeting begins at 7:30 p.m. in the Sandia Room on the 2^nd floor. There is a short business meeting prior to the evening’s presentation, which begins at approximately 8:00 p.m.

At this month’s meeting, we have a rare opportunity to learn about some of the most exciting vertebrate fossil discoveries of recent times, right here in New Mexico, from one of the experts involved at the scene.

Alex Downs is curator of paleontology at the Ruth Hall Museum of Paleontology, located at the Ghost Ranch Conference Center in New Mexico. Downs has been interested in vertebrate fossils all his life. In 1982, while attending Northern Virginia†Community College, he became a volunteer fossil preparator at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History. After volunteering there for five years, he was hired to prepare fossils of the dinosaur Coelophysis from Ghost Ranch, for an exhibit. From 1992 to 1997, Downs worked at Ghost Ranch as a fossil preparator during the summer months and at the Smithsonian doing conservation work on vertebrate fossils in the winter. Since Downs joined the Ruth Hall Museum of Paleontology in 1997, the Hayden Quarry at Ghost Ranch was discovered in 2002, and the first Tawa fossils were collected there in the summer of 2004.

Editor’s note: Tawa hallae is a newly-discovered early Triassic carnivorous dinosaur. Coelophysis, another Triassic carnivore, is the state fossil of New Mexico. Alex Downs bio courtesy of a National Science Foundation special report on Tawa hallae; for more information, visit http://www.nsf.gov/news/special_reports/tawa/index.jsp.

On a dark and lonely night we had our year- end party. OK, it wasn't lonely but it was dark. On that dark night only one scholarship was awarded because -------------- the other recipient was ------------ missing. We had not been able to contact the person from NM Tech who was to receive the other scholarship. We searched, we asked questions, we investigated, we fretted, but it was all of no use, she was simply ----------missing.

Fortunately, we had amongst our midst that famous soothsayer, that tenacious seeker of truth, justice, and the American way, "Past President". He would not give up, no, no, no. He stayed on the trail until the truth was finally revealed.

We now know that the missing recipient is

------- Heidi Myers -------- who wasn't really missing at all. Due to a communications foulup at Tech, she didn't know she was named for the award until the last few days of January. Ah ha!! The truth cannot hide forever.

I quickly established a concrete communications link (made a phone call) and asked her if she still wanted the money, and she said -------- “Yes!”

So, at the next general meeting, on February 22^nd, Heidi will be presented with her one thousand dollar scholarship check. Thank you, John, for sticking with this issue until it was resolved. And that is the end of another tale in the continuing saga of the AGMC.

On a more mundane note, the Board of Directors has begun the task of reviewing and modifying the AGMC constitution, bylaws and officer guidelines. At the February meeting we got through the treasurer’s guidelines and most of the constitution. I suspect this effort will take the rest of the year to complete, and then it will be presented to the general membership for

approval -- or not.

See you the 22^nd for the scholarship presentation and to hear a guy talk about really old animals.

-- Jay Penn

All memberships expired Dec. 31, 2009. Dues are still only $20 per household for 2010.

The membership form is near the end of this newsletter as well as on our web site. You can print and fill out a copy to bring to the general meeting or mail it to: AGMC, PO Box 13718, Albuquerque NM 87192-3718.

PLEASE: We need ALL THE INFORMATION on the form FILLED IN for insurance and/or club purposes (even if you filled it out last year).

The February issue of the News Nuggets will be the last issue sent to households that have not renewed their membership for 2010.

On Jan. 30th we had a very enjoyable and successful "party" to put addresses and stamps on the TotE Show postcards. We got 5200 of the 6148 postcards labeled and stamped in 2 hours when we ran out of cards, oops, the rest were somewhere else. The attendees were: Bill Hoban, Duane Fuller, Bill Winegar, Jim & Sylvia Westmoreland, Viola Mahan, Nancy Rice, Lannois Neely, Suzie Orchard, Suzanne Seymour, Tim Tessendorf, Shari Anderson and Jay and Amy Penn. With so many helping hands and great conversation all around, it was a ~Breeze~ of a job. Thank you to all.

-- Amy Penn

The January Junior Club meeting was attended by 19 junior members, of whom 4 had just joined the Junior Club! We are really growing! This year, we are going to try something new. The Rockhounds will be meeting with Jim Hill, who has lots of plans for experiments and activities for our more experienced kids. The Rockhounds will be mentoring the younger/newer kids and helping them to earn their Rockhound badges.

At the January meeting, the Rockhounds met with Jim and planned the Junior club group display for the TOTE show. This is one of the requirements to earn the LEADERSHIP merit badge. The Pebble Pups/Pup Rocks/Gem Hawks (yes, we need to decide on a name for our younger members) met with Earlene and learned about the geological time chart, collecting fossils, and about the New Mexico state fossil in order to earn their FOSSILS merit badge. The kids were each given several fossil specimens to start their own collection. A special THANK YOU to Laurie Scully for her donation of the fossils!

On Saturday, February 6, the Junior Club met in Rio Rancho and grew crystals, and was attended by 15 junior members. A special THANK YOU to Martin Wormser, who donated the Smithsonian Crystal Growing kits that we used, and to the parents who stepped up in all the confusion and helped us to read the directions, boil massive amounts of water, measure, stir and help set up the displays. We really appreciate all of your help! The crystals will grow for several weeks, and will be brought to the next Junior Club meeting.

Call to Order: President Jay Penn call the meeting to order at 7:35 p.m.

Welcome: Visitors and new members were welcomed to the club by Jay Penn. Five new members and several guests attended the meeting.

Announcements: Jay Penn announced that the Monte Vista Christian Church is no longer an option for our annual Christmas party due to our size and parking space availability. The church requested that we find another location. We need a location with a kitchen that can seat 150 people, provide 10 tables for the silent auction, and is not too expensive ($400 range). Dec. 11^th is the tentative date set, but it could change based on availability. The club is seeking suggestions for locations for this event.

Field Trips: Ray DeMark discussed the field trip to the Socorro area and the mining museum. There were 6 people on the field trip, 2 of them from Socorro. Virgil Lueth, Senior Mineralogist and Curator of the Mineralogical Museum at New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, conducted the tour of the museum. The group also went to the NCA Mine. It was cold there, but people found hollandite and manganese oxide specimens.

The next field trip on February 27^th will be to Bosque Draw and Cottonwood draw, north of Roswell. The meeting place will be the Roswell McDonalds at 9:00 a.m. It is a 4 hour drive, so you may want to arrive the night before. If there is inclement weather, the trip may be canceled. Ray brought sample minerals that can be found on the trip: concretions, pyrite, and iron oxides.

You can expect to dig to find the best specimens or check out the arroyo. Cottonwood has pseudomorphs of dolomite after aragonite. It is _ mile to the locations, so a backpack and packing materials are recommended.

Treasurer: Amy reported that she has membership forms and field trip calendars available for those who would like them.

Membership: Robair Lobato said that there was a delay in receiving the last name tags due to an equipment malfunction. If you would like a nametag, they are $6.50 or $7.50 depending on whether you want a pin or a magnet type.

Refreshments: Kathy Lawicki is seeking volunteers to bring refreshments in the coming year. She has sign-up sheets for the year and will need names and phone numbers to contact volunteers. To get reimbursed, you will need to submit receipts for the food items purchased.

Treasures of the Earth (TOTE) Show: Paul Hlava passed our flyers and postcards for the event. He also solicited volunteers for staffing booths, manning the silent auction, helping with set up and takedown, and assisting at the entrance. A person who could do publicity is needed. Sign-up sheets will be available at upcoming meetings or by contacting Paul Hlava.

Junior Club: Earlene Shroyer announced that there were 22 youths at the meeting with 4-5 new ones. The rock hound group will mentor newer members. The junior club will be working on crystal kits. February 6^th will be a field trip.

Newsletter: Bill Barr noted that newsletter is out. He would like to encourage participation. He welcomes suggestions and articles for upcoming editions.

Programs: Bruce Owens, Vice President for Programs, introduced the speaker for the January program. The speaker was Virgil Lueth, Senior Mineralogist at the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology. The presentation was entitled “Joy of Jarosite”. Jarosite is a mineral found in abundance both on Earth and Mars. Jarosite is formed by the weathering of pyrite by ground water and can be found in the Questa area. The importance of jarosite is that it requires water and oxygen to be transformed. This is the link to the premise that Mars may once have had a life-sustaining atmosphere.

The meeting adjourned for refreshments and the monthly raffle.

Respectfully submitted,

Carmen Taylor, Secretary

This section is for the not for profit exchange of goods and services between club members (cars, boats, rocks, minerals, tools, equipment, -------- anything). For profit (stock in trade) items will not be published.

Hint: This is a good place to post requests for rides to field trips or other club events, or to offer rides to help cover fuel expenses.

Found: Fold up umbrella at the July picnic.† Please call Gwen Poe about retrieving it.  247-1533.

Found: Windbreaker with some rocks in it, at the Zuni Mountains field trip. Contact Jane Bardal at jbardal@q.com.

Wanted: Rolling mill, for making/ rolling sheet metal. Martin, 254-7804.

The field trip for February will be on Saturday the 27th to Bosque and Cottonwood Draws northeast of Roswell, NM. The plan is to meet at 9:00 am at the Flying Saucer McDonalds in downtown Roswell, NM. We will leave as a group and travel (caravan) to the field trip area.

Weather could adversely affect our trip plans as the road into the area becomes impassible during wet conditions (plan accordingly). If weather conditions are dry, passenger cars should be adequate for access.

Useful tools at these sites will be rock hammers and digging tools (shovels, picks, etc.). Bring packing material (newspapers, paper towels, etc.) and a backpack as we have to hike about a quarter mile from the road into the collecting areas. At Cottonwood Draw you can find aragonite crystals that have been pseudomorphed by dolomite. Cyclic, hexagonal twins can be found as well as compound groups of crystals "affectionally" referred to as hand grenades. They are generally found loose in the arroyo sands but can also be dug out of the enclosing sedimentary rocks at a couple of spots. At Bosque Draw, pyrite crystals are found on concretions or as concretionary aggregates. Surface specimens found loose are generally partially altered to iron oxides (goethite) and some have a very attractive patina. To collect unaltered pyrite crystals requires some digging. The enclosing sedimentary layer that contains the pyrite dips from north to south. Thus the layer at the north side of the arroyo is closer to the surface while the pyrite-bearing layer is about 5 feet down on the south side of the arroyo.

If there are any questions call me or bring them to the February meeting.

-- Ray DeMark

The Club voted at the February 8th meeting, to have only one meeting a month beginning in March. The fourth Monday of each month has been selected, and the next meeting will be March 28th.

The Rock Pups, led by Earlene, will learn about rocks and minerals. Questions to be discussed are: What is a rock and what is it made of; what is a mineral and what is it made of; and what are the differences between them? Can they be both a rock and a mineral?

The Rockhounds will start an in-depth study of minerals and their physical characteristics. We will be comparing shapes and forms of several crystal types. See you at the new meeting room at 6:30

-- Earlene and Jim

My apologies to any readers who haven’t received their News Nuggets as soon as they would have liked. It’s all on me, not on any of the contributors who faithfully send in their material. I will try to get the jump on future issues sooner; this month, my eyes were giving me some trouble (especially after a brief trip to the Tucson show, where they kept popping out of their sockets!).

– Bill Barr

Location: Kinney Brick Company south of Tijeras. Collect Pennsylvanian age (250 million years) fossils. Numerous varieties of fossil leaves, along with mollusks, crustaceans and rarely, fish. Sat., Mar. 27. Leader: Jim Hill

Here are events located in NM, TX, OK, CO, UT and AZ for the near future.

You can see a more comprehensive list at: www.rockngem.com/showdates.asp.

6-7--BIG SPRING, TEXAS: 41st annual show; Big Spring Prospectors Club; Howard County Fair Barn; Sat. 9-5, Sun. 10-5; dealers, demonstrators; contact Jerald Wilson, 707 Tulane, Big Spring, TX 79720, (432) 263-4662 or (432) 263-3340

11-14--DEMING, NEW MEXICO: 45th annual show, "Rockhound Roundup Gem & Mineral Show"; Deming Gem & Mineral Society; SWNM Fairgrounds, Raymond Reed Blvd.; Thu. 9-5, Fri. 9-5, Sat. 9-5, Sun. 9-5; free admission; more than 100 dealers, demonstrations, displays, field trips, jewelry, rocks, drawings, cash raffle, silent auction Fri., live auction Sat.; contact Jerry & Carolyn Abbey, P.O. Box 1459, Deming, NM 88030, (575) 543-8916; e-mail: theDGMS@gmail.com; Web site: dgms.bravehost.com



Editor’s note: Margaret and I went to the Deming Show last year and had a ball! Lots of great minerals and cutting material for sale.

12-14--COTTONWOOD, ARIZONA: Show, "Verde Valley Gem & Mineral Show"; Mingus Gem & Mineral Club; Verde Valley Fairgrounds, 800 E. Cherry St.; Fri. 9-5, Sat. 9-5, Sun. 10-4; adults $1 (Fri.) and $3 (Sat./Sun.), children free with adult; worldwide minerals and gems, fine and costume jewelry, gem and mineral displays, raffles, silent auctions, jewelry, lapidary tools, supplies, equipment, children's activities, free mineral and gem identification; contact Sue Valek, (928) 634-7452

20-21--LIVE OAK, TEXAS: Show, "Fiesta of Gems"; Southwest Gem and Mineral Society; Live Oak Civic Center, 8101 Pat Booker Rd.; Sat. 10-6, Sun. 10-4; adults $5, students and seniors $3, children 50 cents, military discount, special school group rate; minerals, gemstones, fossils, jewelry , lapidary, demonstrations, exhibits; contact Robert Bowie, (830) 935-3373; e-mail: krbotx@gvtc.com; Web site: swgemandmineral.org

26-28--ADA, OKLAHOMA: Show, "The Rock 'n Gem, Mineral & Fossil Show 2010"; Ada Gem, Mineral & Fossil Club; Pontotoc County Agri-Plex, NE corner of state Hwy. 99 and Richardson Loop Bypass; Fri. 10-6, Sat. 9-5, Sun. 10-5; free admission; demonstrators, fluorescent displays, dealers, kids' fossil dig, spinning wheels; contact Ed Vermillion, P.O. Box 782, Purcell, OK 73080, (405) 527-6431; e-mail: okieed42@windstream.net; Web site: http://www.freewebs.com/agmfc/index.htm

26-28--FORT COLLINS, COLORADO: 49th annual show; Fort Collins Rockhounds; Lincoln Center, 419 W. Magnolia St.; Fri. 4-8, Sat. 9-6, Sun. 10-5; adults $3, ($5 weekend pass), students under 18 $1, children 12 and under free with adult; Minerals of the American West with a special focus on quartz, exhibits and demonstrations by club members and invited guests, door prizes, silent auction, grab bags, seven gem and mineral dealers; contact Dave Halliburton, 2506 Pear Court, Fort Collins, CO 80521, (970) 493-6168; e-mail: fcrockhounds@yahoo.com; Web site: fortcollinsrockhounds.org

A few folks emailed me that they read the Mystery Mineral and try to decipher the mineral names. Email me at hpf5@qwest.net and let me know your guesses by copying the Questions below and answering them. This includes AGMC members and everyone else who reads ”News Nuggets”. I have gotten very few responses, folks. EMAIL paulhlava@q.com! I have been gratified by folks responding that they WORK at these minerals. Good, that IS the idea. This way you learn about them.

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.

Last year I discussed minerals with metallic and sub-metallic lusters. This year I’ll work on minerals found in the Hansonburg District of NM. I’ll start off easy.

This month’s MM is an uncommon, secondary mineral that is a simple, hydrated sulfate. It is usually found in arid climates or in rapidly oxidizing ore deposits. It usually occurs as fine, radiating, monoclinic prisms to acicular needles or as druses. It has one perfect cleavage. It is transparent to highly translucent. It is emerald green, green, or black with a light green streak. Sp. Gr. = 3.97, H = 3.5 to 4.

What is the name of the mineral?

What is the origin of the name?

What metals does it contain?

What non-metals does it contain?

What other secondary minerals might occur with it?

What other minerals might it easily be confused with?

What is it mined and used for?

Do you have some in your collection?

In NM –

In the USA –

In the World –

What is the name of the mineral? Barite

What is the "official" spelling of that name? Baryte

What is the origin of the name? From the Greek

Baryos for heavy because it feels denser than

most non-metallic minerals.

What metals does it contain? Barium (Ba)

What non-metals does it contain? Sulfur (S) and oxygen (O).

What other primary minerals might occur with it? Quartz, calcite, fluorite, galena, pyrite, sphalerite, chalcopyrite, etc.

What other minerals might it easily be confused with? Anglesite, and small xls of aragonite, celestite, cerussite.

What is it mined and used for? Source of barium, drilling mud densifier (biggest use), x-ray scans (because it is inert and it stops x-rays well.

Do you have some in your collection? Lots

In NM – Hansonburg district, lots of others

In the USA – beauties from CO (Eagle Mine, Sherman Tunnel, Grand Junction, Stoneham, etc.), SD, OK, IL, MO, NV, TN and lots more

In the World – all over

-- Paul Hlava, February 3, 2010

Please include all the names to be included in your Household Membership. This information is required by the Rocky Mountain Federation of Mineralogical Societies (RMFMS), for insurance and dues purposes.

Annual dues are $20.00 per household. Please complete all the information below.

New members joining in July or August pay dues of $10.00 for the rest of the year. If you join September through December you can pay dues of $10.00 for the rest of the current year, OR pay $20.00 in dues which will pay you through December of the following year.

All memberships expire Dec. 31st. Dues can be turned in at the monthly meeting or mailed to:

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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, Albuquerque, NM. The general meeting is held on the 4^th Monday of the month (unless otherwise announced) at 7:30 p.m. The Junior Club meets at 6:30 p.m. prior to the general meeting. The public is welcome at both meetings.

Board of Directors meetings are held at 6:30 p.m. on the first Monday of each month. All club members are welcome.

All memberships are family memberships and include all members of the household. Dues are $20. Send checks to the AGMC, P.O. Box 13718, Albuquerque, NM 87192-3718 or pay the Membership Chair at the monthly meeting. All memberships expire Dec 31.

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 for any information that will promote club activities or that would be of interest to club members. News Nuggets is scheduled to be mailed approximately one week prior to the monthly meeting. You are cordially invited to send news, articles or comments to: Bill Barr, wbarr@umich.edu.

Please begin the subject line with AGMC.

Instructions for entering the Members' Page are provided in the new member packet.

Treasurer: el.chivo.viejo@earthlink.net

robair1952@yahoo.com

Abqfoxbutt@aol.com

klawicki@gmail.com