Volume 51 Number 6

The New Mexico State Fair, er, I mean Expo New Mexico, is right around the corner. The club will have a table with free mineral samples for kids on weekends. I will have a signup sheet for volunteers at the July and August meetings. This is a great time to meet other club members and to talk to kids and their parents about the club and minerals in general.

mineral specimens during the Expo. We will need at least that many specimens this year. If you would like to help in any way please feel free to call me at 345-0520 or e-mail me at jabog02@msn.com .

July 2-4, Flagstaff, AZ- 18^th Annual American Gem & Mineral Show, Little America Hotel

July 9-11, Durango, CO- Four Corners; Gem Show 2004; La Plata County Fairgrounds

August 12-15, Buena Vista, CO- Contin-tail; County Rodeo Grounds

September 4-6, Silver City, NM- Grant County Gem & Mineral Society 21^st Annual Show. Silver City Recreation Center

September 17-19, Denver, CO; Denver Gem & Mineral Show;  Denver Merchandise Mart

VP-Speakers - Ray DeMark; Home phone: 822-8715; E-mail: RayDeMark@msn.com

Past President - Orlando Garcia; Home phone: 345-0520; E-mail: jabog02@msn.com

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 approximately one week prior to the monthly meeting. Mail news, articles or comments to: Darlene Nelson, Editor, 817 Sagebrush Trail SE, Albuquerque, NM 87123, or email to agmcnews@aol.com.

Statisticians point to 38,000 highway fatalities in one year alone, but it is usually overlooked that the family car can save lives too! In emergencies, you car is a fortress. Beneath its hood and within its steel body, can be found materials for family survival.

The average car’s radiator holds 16 to 21 quarts of water. If it hasn’t been contaminated by ANTIFREEZE, that is water enough to last a family of four for four days (take lots of water).

Hubcaps, cleaned with sand, pinch-hit for cups and for shovels.

Your horn can alert rescuers as far as a mile downwind.

Under the hood are four gallons of oil. A quart of oil, burned in a hubcap in the still air of morning, spews a miniature atomic cloud high into the sky – a smoke signal visible for miles. Lube oil, used as a salve against searing sun or frosty winds, can save your life.

A hose from the motor will convert into a siphon for getting gasoline from your tank.

The windshield washer tubing becomes an effective tourniquet for stopping bleeding, when needed.

Door panels become ground blankets insulating you from frozen, wet, or scorching ground.

Dome light’s glass can be a sun-focusing fire starter.

The glove compartment door and sun visors double as shovels.

Slip covers, floor mats and rugs make into blankets and clothing.

Many a hunter has warmed himself (and stayed alive) over a tire-fire. A little siphoned gasoline ignites your tire-fire. Average tires burn three to four hours.

One family, their car broken down on a little-used fire trail, carefully removed a sealed-beam headlight and, leaving it still wired to the battery, directed its beam upward in wide, sweeping arcs. A rescue team quickly spotted them.

"Drastic", you say, "to destroy your car". A California Highway Patrolman says, "Everything you need to live, except food, is found in the average car, but not one motorist in a hundred, when he finds himself up against it, thinks of his car as a survival kit. His first inclination is to set out for help. Too often he is beyond help when we find him a couple of miles down the road, dead from exhaustion, heat, or cold."

Don’t get excited! Stay with your car! Use your imagination to make it a "life saver".

For those unfamiliar with the term, micro mounting is the study of minerals that require magnification for best appreciation. Micro mounters general use low-power (10x-60x) binocular microscopes, and mount the specimens in micro mount boxes, which are about 20 - mm on edge, with a proper label. You know you’re a micro mounter when you find yourself mounting a 1 – mm crystal on a toothbrush bristle. Sounds Cool? Read on!

10 – STORAGE – While you probably can’t fit a thousand micro mounts on the head of a pin, you can sure fit them in a small box under your bed, making micro mounting ideal for apartment dwellers or anyone who has heard the immortal phrase, "Get those rocks out of here!"

9 – EASY COLLECTING – Field collecting superb 10 – cm crystals of a rare mineral isn’t particularly easy, but the micro mounter can find something of interest almost anywhere.

8 – PERFECTION – Microcrystals are perfectly formed and undamaged far more often than cabinet specimens. They are the peak of aesthetics.

7 – VARIETY – There’s only a few hundred minerals out there that come in nice big crystals, and almost no new species are found in sizeable crystals. Go to any mineral show and what do you see – table after table of aquamarine, quartz, and fluorite, boring indeed. Micro mounters work with far more species than hand-specimen collectors, and far more rarities. It’s where the real mineralogy is.

6 – LOW PRICES – The average price of a micro mount is $3. Really expensive ones are $20. The initial expense of a good scope and proper light is pretty steep, but after that you’re set.

5 – NO FAKES – When a lot of money is changing hands for a fine cabinet piece, one has to be wary that the specimen hasn’t been altered or faked in some way. Faking micro mounts is not only extremely rare, it’s nearly impossible; a microscope easily reveals glue where it shouldn’t be.

4 – CHEAP SHIPPING – Sending 100 micro mounts by airmail to Europe is far more affordable than 100 cabinet pieces.

3 - DISCOVERY – A large part of what drives field collectors is the thrill of discovery. The micro mounter doesn’t have the constraints of a field season. No matter what the weather is like, he can pull some rocks out of storage, trim them down, and find fantastic crystal-filled vugs never before seen by man. It’s a year-round hobby.

2 – WEIRD & WONDERFUL – The micro mounter sees things that aren’t even imagined by ‘macro’ collectors. Things like spiral millerite crystals, Sweet Home Mine rhodocrosite rhombs with moving bubble inclusions, or minerals like rutile, pyrite, and boulangerite in ring crystals, to name a few of the bizarre things seen by the micro mounter.

1 – FREE STUFF – Last time you went to your average, garden-variety mineral show, did they have tables filled with fine cabinet specimens free for the taking? At micro mount symposia, give-away tables loaded with interesting stuff are standard practice. Micro mounters are a very generous lot!

The meeting started at 7:36 P.M., with Grant Kuck presiding.

Visitors: We had 7 visitors today! Welcome to our club!

Field Trips: The next field trip will be to the Phelps Dodge Chino Mine (Santa Rita) on May 29, 30, and 31. This trip will include visits to the Chino and Tyrone operations. Details and meeting place/time were included on a map handed out at the meeting.

Program: Robert M. North presented a talk jointly developed with Virgil W. Leuth on "Gemstones of Southwestern New Mexico". Bob is Chief Geologist with the Phelps Dodge Chino Mines Geology Department. Virgil is the curator of the Mineral Museum at NM Institute of Mines and Technology in Socorro. Bob will be leading the Chino portion of the field trip!

Bob described this talk as essentially a brief tour of some areas in Southwest New Mexico that have produced gem quality materials. He first narrowed down a definition of a gem material to one which includes precious or semiprecious naturally occurring materials that are fashioned into ornamental objects. This might include faceted stones, cabochons, and carvings.

Bob began with Catron County; a number of mining districts lie in this county including Taylor Creek (topaz, red beryl), Chloride, Mogollon, and Wilcox. One particularly significant area is around Pueblo Park, where high quality gem labradorite can be found. Take FR 232 from US 180 south of Reserve to the campground at Pueblo Park.

The gem feldspars are plagioclase chemistry and are true world-class gems. The crystals can occur in sizes up to an inch and a half across. Some (such as the one shown in his slides) have sunstone effects visible. The crystals can be found on the mesas, in the washes, streams, and gravels, and directly in the rock.

Moving on to Socorro county, the Magdalena area is famed for smithsonite from the Kelly Mine and related workings. This material has been carved, cabochoned, and faceted. It is a zinc carbonate with copper impurities that impart the rich sea-foam green color. One of the slides Bob presented showed several smithsonite carvings done by AGMC member Steve Attaway.

Farther south, Dona Ana county is famed for the Kilbourne Hole locality, where gem quality peridot can be found. Kilbourne Hole is a mar volcano, where peridot bearing basalt "bombs" can be found. These can be carefully broken apart, yielding crystal fragments that can cut quite large stones. Hunts Hole is a similar nearby deposit. Both of these localities, and others in the vicinity produce gem peridot for collectors. This is also a good area to observe snakes.

Westward, Luna county is home to Rockhound State Park, which produces agates, geodes, jasper, and various other gem materials. To collect the best material from this locality requires breaking rock, but nice specimens can be found on the surface as well. Cooks Peak and Tres Hermanas are gem producing areas in Luna county. Cooks Peak has produced very nice fluorite over the years. The area is locked and cannot be entered. The fluorite may be colored in green, blue, pink, banded, purple, etc.

A large number of mines were operating in this area around the turn of the century. These were access to rockhounds up to around the last ten or twenty years, when the area began to be sealed off by private landholders.

Tres Hermanas yields dumortierite and spurrite. Dumortierite is a beautiful purple material than can be caved and makes great cabochons. Spurrite is a calcium silicate, pink/purple carving cab material. Luna county also produced quite dramatic banded agates from the area surrounding Apache Creek.

Grant county includes the Hachita/Eureka area and is famed for producing gem turquoise. Turquoise Mountain was explored commercially as a copper producing area at one time, but was not found to be economic. Turquoise can still be found in this district.

Other areas include the Copper King and the Hornet mine. Claims may be active in this area so it is best to collect only where it is clear that no claims are in place. Some fantastic specimens have come from this area.

Grant county is also home to the Burro Mountains that include the Chino copper porphyry deposit. Many mines in can be found this area, not just for copper, but for silver, gold, zinc, and other minerals. Riccolite can be found in the Redrock Wildlife Area, but it is now totally off limits to any form of access by the public. Riccolite occurs near Smith Mountain/Ash Creek over a fairly large area. Riccolite is a dramatic banded serpentine/talc material that was found at one time in fairly large chunks. It has often been carved very nice works.

The copper mine at Tyrone produces some turquoise; members on the field trip may get a chance to visit the turquoise area on Sunday if all goes well. The turquoise from this locality can be very high quality. Nice chrysacolla and azurite/malachite specimens have also been found in the past.

The Santa Rita/Chino Mine area includes the Hanover Mtn district and the Fierro Mine area. These districts have produced copper minerals including azurite, malachite, chrysacolla, turquoise, chalcocite, and cuprite. Not much turquoise comes from Chino at this time. Spectacular azurite-malachite-calcite specimens have been found in the past. Native copper is found regularly and can be spectacular. The Hanover-Fierro #2 area has produced from the fine azurite roses that are truly museum grade. This area may be mined as part of Chino operations in the future and there is a chance that the AGMC may be given the opportunity to collect there.

The Rabb Canyon area produces some very nice moonstones. This is a good hike but is worth the work! The material is sanidine (potassium feldspar) and may occur as Baveno twins and shimmering brilliant blue stones. This locality is peculiar form of pegmatite.

The Mule Creek area new Brushy Mountain produces intricate amethyst crystals. These crystals may occur with hopper faces and scepters. They closely resemble crystals from Vera Cruz, Mexico.

The Ladrone Mountains north of Socorro are also now producing amethyst. This locality has been recently rediscovered by enterprising students from New Mexico Tech.

Q: Paul Hlava has analyzed the Pueblo Park material and found it to be solidly in the labradorite range, not bytownite as is often claimed.

A: This was determined using an electron microprobe. The rim may be andesine in some cases, but the cores of the crystals are very consistently right in the middle of the labradorite range.

Q: Did the Hornet Mine near Hachita produce any smithsonite?

A: No. It's a zinc area but no smithsonite was found there.

Q: What is the current outlook for the Chino operation from an economic

standpoint?

A: Copper as an industry is a highly variable business. Chino's concentrator was closed in 2001 due to low prices. Things are turning around now and the economy is picking up, but it is early in the cycle. It costs Phelps Dodge about $0.70/lb to produce copper. China is a big player and may influence the price. Copper stocks are down, so the current price of approx $1.15/lb may hold for a while, making mining profitable.

Q; Are there any of the silver/gold mines near silver city still operating?

A: No. Most of these mines were operating around the turn of the century but they are not economic.

Q: Are there old dumps that can be accessed by collectors anymore?

A: A few. Many have been well picked over. Between Fierro and Hanover there are some dumps on the highway right-of-way that may produce varied minerals including marble, hedenbergite, and epidote. A little garnet may be found as well due to the proximity to skarns. Most places have been gated and fenced due to the liability that would be involved if members of the public were injured in the old mine workings.

Q: Will Morenci ever be available for collecting again?

A: Likely not. The benefits of public access are clear - the public is allowed to see how well the mine is doing at conducting their business and it is the basis for a quality educational dialog, but the current management is not interested in spending resources on it. Unless that situation changes there will be no public collecting at Morenci.

Q: How is the reclamation work at Chino going?

A: The idea is to get ahead of the curve and do reclamation as the mining progresses. There are two aspects: groundwater and surface/dumps/etc. There are a complex set of rules that govern how the reclamation is funded and carried out and Phelps Dodge is pushing hard to get things moving against the momentum of bureaucracy. Good progress has been made recently with the help of the state. Some projects are well underway. Timeframes are long; leaching operations may go for 30-40 years and it doesn't make sense to reclaim until the metal extraction is complete. That being said, old areas that are no longer economic are being reclaimed as mining operations proceed.

Q: How does the leaching work?

A: Water, when trickled on old dumps will generate acid from the oxidation of pyrite. Some additional acid is put in to hasten the process. Under the acidic conditions, copper goes into solution. The leach solutions work through the dumps and pick up copper from the rocks and minerals in them. The solutions are collected below the leach heaps with special plumbing systems. The copper is recovered from the solution by mixing it with an organic material - something kerosene. The copper moves to the organic solvent. The solvent/acid-water mixture is separated, with the acid-water being sent back to the heaps to continue its work. The organic solvent is mixed with an electrolyte, which picks up the copper; the solvent is separated and is recirculated. The electrolyte is processed by an electrowinning (similar to electroplating) process with the copper depositing on large plates (SX-EW). The copper plates are further refined as required for the application.

The leach solution is mostly just sulfuric acid. Ferric sulfate is also present due to the oxidation of iron sulfides; this is effective on chalcocite. Some bacterial action is involved. For chrysacolla, the acid is what does the work.

About 200 tons/day of copper is extracted at Chino Mine. Morenci does much larger amounts.

Big round of applause!

Attendance: Attendance for tonight was 100.

Refreshments: Todd and Pat Brown brought the goodies tonight. Many thanks to you both!

Minerals:  Azurite nodules, calcite-lined concretions (septarians), fossilized wood with chalcocite, malachite and azurite replacement, and pyrite balls.  The septarians are not plentiful, so members are asked to take just one or two and leave the rest for future rock hounds. There are areas of the property that are dangerous and should be avoided:  any old structures or equipment, the lake at the bottom, the massive boulders at the top of the mine.  Vehicle:  all paved roads till the turnoff to the mine.  The last ¼ mile is a dirt road.  I visited the mine on March 31, 2004, to check out a rumor that the road in had been closed.  This was not the case; however, if the gate is closed on June 26, there is plenty of space to park outside of it and walk back in.

The elevation is over 7,500 feet but it will still likely be hot, so bring plenty of water, sunscreen, lunch, and maybe a chair to take a break.  This is an open area with very little shade.  There are no bathrooms.  El Bruno's in Cuba is a totally excellent restaurant and is right in Cuba near where we turn on 126 to go up to the mine.

Directions:  From Albuquerque, take I-25 north to NM 44 west at the second Bernalillo exit.  Follow NM 44 west to Cuba, NM.  At the intersection of M 126, right in the middle of Cuba, turn right (east) and head east for 5-6 miles to the mine road (just past the national forest boundary) on the north side of the road (approximately at mile marker 5).  Travel time:  2 hours from Albuquerque.   Cuba is approximately 80 miles from Bernalillo.  There is usually a speed trap as you approach San Ysidro.   Plan to be at the Nacimiento entrance at 10:00 for a quick orientation.

Plans have not yet been finalized for the July trip. Hopefully, more information will be available at our June meeting on the 28^th.

Rabb Park, Moonstone Area Sunday, August 29

Minerals:  Moonstone.  The pieces are generally tiny to small (little fingernail size), but larger pieces have been found.  The creek beds are littered with this pretty light blue to creamy white feldspar, which weathers out of pegmatite at the head of the creek drainage area. Hopefully, the monsoon will have been heavy and washed lots of new pieces into the creek bed where the best collecting is.

I've made this a Sunday outing because it will require spending the night at the Iron Creek campground.  There is no water at the campground, so you need to bring plenty for the night and following day.  Rabb Park is 2.5 miles (5 mile round trip hike) from the road over a moderately difficult trail.  It starts out with a steep climb of maybe 400 feet and then more or less levels off.  If you are not used to hiking, this is not a trip for you.  This is also bear country.  I had one walk through my campsite a couple of years ago.  So prepare accordingly planning to sleep away from where you store and cook food.  Rabb Park is also one of the few places I've seen a rattle snake here in NM.  Bring at least two quarts of water for the hike to Rabb Park. Meet at the Iron Creek Campground Saturday evening.  Gather in the morning at Iron Creek and leave for Rabb Park at 7:30 AM -- We will drive about 6 miles further down the road and park at the trail head.  Hike into the at the collecting area and arrive there roughly at 10:00 AM.  Leave there at 2:00, return to road by 4:00.  This should give folks time to get home comfortably Sunday evening.  You could stay in TorC or Silver City overnight.  Just be at Iron Creek by 7:30 Sunday morning.  Kingston has a B&B and Hillsboro may also.  Searching Google may be useful if this is an option you want to pursue.

The area in to and around Rabb Park is densely vegetated and one can get lost easily -  I have twice.  I will NOT WANT people wandering off from the main group unless the wanderers use a GPS to get back to the collecting area.  We will discuss this at the 7:30 meeting.  Those of you who have GPSs, please bring them.

Directions:  Distance about 230 miles.  Coming from Albuquerque, take I 25 South beyond Truth or Consequences.  About 15-20 miles south of TorC, take route 152 west through Kingston and Hillsboro (both quaint old towns) into the Gila National Forest.  Proceed up and through Emory Pass (where there is a place to turn off and take in the beautiful view to the east).  About 5 to 10 miles from Emory Pass you will come to Iron Creek on the left.

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.

A hydrated secondary mineral found in granites and other uranium bearing rocks. It is tetragonal and often forms beautiful, square, flat crystals that look like green wulfenites. These have a vitreous luster on the sides but a pearly luster on the main face. Transparent to translucent, One perfect cleavage, Harness 2 – 2.5, Specific Gravity about 3.2, Color – various shades of green, Streak – paler green. Radioactive.

Who WAS the mineral originally named for? Wernerite was named for Abraham Gottlob Werner. Yeah, the same guy I mentioned last month. Werner was an ardent Neptunist who thought that all rocks formed by settling or precipitation from a primeval sea. Even basalts, because the basalts he saw were inter-layered with sandstones and limestones in the hills around Freiberg. (He never traveled and so he never saw basalts flowing out of Italian volcanoes.) Werner found a new black mineral in the basalts near home. He named it pyroxene or "stranger to fire" to indicate (hammer home!) the origin he claimed for basalts.