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. There is a short business meeting prior to the evening’s presentation, which begins at approximately 8:00 PM

"Mystery Topic"

by ??

The scheduled speaker had to cancel. One possible replacement is Ray DeMark but he will be having surgery between now and meeting time so may not feel up to it. Another possibility is to show the first half of the DVD "Rhodochrosite Red Treasure of the Rockies, The Story of the Sweet Home Mine". If anyone knows of someone willing to put together a talk on short notice contact Anita Willard or John D. Reinert. See last page for contact information.

Come on out and enjoy the company of like minded people as well as whatever entertainment we come up with.

The Treasures Of The Earth Show (TOTE Show) is fast approaching. I'd like to let those who came forward and volunteered for the many jobs that need to be done to make this show a success, know they are greatly appreciated. It could not be accomplished without you. There are members who have worked unselfishly year after year. They know their jobs well. It is time for others to step forward and learn the satisfaction of a job well done! We still need one more security person for the Thursday night shift. Please call Paul Hlava or myself. See you at the show!

John D. Reinert

There are 5 Mondays in March; we meet the 4th Monday (the day after the TOTE Show)

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The AGMC board of directors strongly recommends that there be a first aid kit in every vehicle on a field trip. The object is to have the supplies to administer first aid until the injured person can be seen by a professional.

Whether you buy a kit or makeup your own the following list may be helpful. It is the result of our asking a health care professional and club member what should be in a first aid kit.

Antibiotic ointment

Box of 4 x 4 bandages

Box of 2 x 2 bandages

Cloth adhesive tape

4" ace bandage

2" ace bandage

Splint (can be the foldable kind)

Box of band aids

Face mask (although CPR no longer requires rescuers to do mouth-to-mouth)

1-2 packs of gloves

Roller gauze (3 - 4" width)

Safety pins

Antiseptic wipe packets (Alcohol wipes)

*Aspirin

*Diphenhydramine (Benadryl)

* All I would carry would be aspirin and Benadryl.  People have lots of Advil and other stuff in their purses.

Be VERY CAREFUL about medication administration.  People may have drug allergies, especially to aspirin. 

On Sunday Feb 8th the Junior Club met at Amy and Jay Penn's house to neaten up and consolidate the donated material to be sold at the junior table at the TOTE show.

About 10 juniors were able to make this "field trip" and were allowed to take home an assortment of minerals of their choice from the donated material.

While this was going on, the parents rolled up their sleeves and put address labels and stamps on about 3000 postcards for the show.

President John Reinert was also present, sticking on address labels at a feverish pace, while telling us about his plans for the club.

The AGMC thanks you. All this was done in about 1 1/2 hours. It is amazing how much can be done in a short time when a lot of people pitch in.

Jay and Amy Penn

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Sunny clear weather reigned over the weekend trip to the Lordsburg area. Only 5 of us showed up, but undeterred we set out to the Atwood mine where we collected some decent azurite, small but gemmy on a dark matrix that made for attractive specimens. The site had plenty of room to spread out and we did. After lunch we headed south of town to a couple of different locations for light green fluorite. The second stop was more productive, though the ridge top location was a bit of a hike and by afternoon had gotten windy. Everyone found at least one keeper. That night we yukked it up after dinner and composed Valentines Day haiku.

Here’s one we came up with:

Conversation hearts

Plagiarize eloquence and

Taste like fast food love

By day two, Cathy and Vi had returned to Albuquerque, leaving Jane, Sherry and myself to explore Steeple Rock by ourselves. The drive to Duncan of some 30 miles passed quickly and we entered the Steeple Rock area north of town on good dirt roads. I loved the area for its beauty, (though just how it was different I cannot say exactly).

Our first stop was the Carlyle mine, where we enjoyed looking around the ruins and collected pyrite and copper sulfate minerals, some quartz points too. From there we headed to the East Camp area where we explored a hillside for chalcedony and quartz scepters. The scepters proved exceedingly sparse, one was found, but the chalcedony was abundant coming right out of the volcanic matrix in spheres and other cool shapes. I collected some really interesting pieces.

This area is really big, we didn’t even get to the Bitter Creek area that Bob Wahlstrom gave us a talk on, so I for one, look forward to going back.

Suzanne Seymour

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Congratulations to our newest Rockhounds Malia and Mae-Ling Kao, and Skailar Sovereign. We now have a total of six official Rockhounds, and several more will also be earning this distinction very shortly.

Our February Jr. club meeting was attended by 13 Jr. members, and the meeting topic was about "Showmanship". With the Treasures Of The Earth show fast approaching, we thought this a perfect time to learn how to show off our collections. Jim Hill brought in a display case, the juniors brought in their collections and we discussed effective techniques for displaying them, such as lighting, labeling, and balance.

The juniors will also have a public display at the TOTE show, which is required to earn this merit badge.

In January, we entered in a contest to draw and color a "crazy" mineral that was submitted to the Mini Miner’s Monthly. Unfortunately, it arrived too late to be considered in the competition. Here is an email that I received from Darryl Powers, aka Diamond Dan:

If you would like more information about the AFMS and their merit badge program, visit their website at www.amfed.org. For more information on the Mini Miners Monthly publication, visit

www.diamonddanpublications.com

Earlene Shroyer

And this just in:

Check out the kids' drawings on the website - www.diamonddanpublications.com - Mae-Ling has her drawing on the homepage, and the rest of the AGMC Junior's drawings can be seen when you click on her's (bottom of page) - so cool!

Earlene

John Reinert called the meeting to order at 7:30 p.m. and welcomed everyone to the meeting. He announced the passing of June Moyle, a former member, in January and current member Robert Hall’s sudden passing last Friday, February 20^th.

Amy Penn announced she has two geology brochures for $4 each and the rhodochrosite DVD is available to loan.

Suzanne Seymour said that five people were on the recent field trip. They had good weather and found nice material. They went to Steeple Rock and the Carlyle copper mine and found some jasper and chalcedony.

Michael Johnson announced that the club’s name tags are $7.50 for ones with pins and $8.50 for ones with magnets. Please contact him to order the name tags.

John Reinert announced that three people are needed for security at the TOTE show for Thursday and maybe someone on Saturday night. Mike Sanders is organizing displays for the TOTE show and needs one more display to fill out the cases. He also needs the kids’ displays. Hank Miller announced that everyone who volunteers to work at the show gets free parking. He needs volunteers to help with the raffle. Gwen Poe talked about setting up tables on Thursday the 19^th and dinner will be Rudy’s BBQ and ham. She needs greeters. Everyone shows up at 6:00 p.m., and we’ll eat about 6:30. Bring a large dish to share with members and vendors. No alcohol is allowed. Kimberly Richie has two volunteer openings for admissions and has the parking passes for those who have signed up. Jim Hill has the sign-up sheet for the junior table and is taking donations for the club’s silent auction.

Jim Hill said that 14 juniors attended tonight’s meeting, and they will have a Junior Club display at the show.

Jim Hutchins announced the passing of his father and that member Robert Lobato is not doing well. Robert is on the waiting list for a heart transplant.

Anita Willard introduced Todd Brown, who gave an entertaining talk on Cerrillos turquoise and the eight mines he has worked in the Cerrillos hills.

Kathy Lawicki talked about the snacks and the growth in the size of meetings over the past five years and the procedure for providing snacks. Volunteers are needed and will be reimbursed upon presentation of the receipts.

Amy announced that TOTE show flyers and post cards are available to pass out. Also, TOTE show T-shirts are available for $15 each.

The meeting was adjourned at 9:00 p.m. for refreshments and door prizes.

Submitted by Janey Johnson, Secretary

Howdy Folks. The show is coming up fast! About 9 days away (YIKES!). I was really gratified by the wonderful response I got for set-up and tear down volunteers at January’s meeting. If you didn’t sign up and feel like rolling up your sleeves, you can just show up and pitch in. That means everyone will get finished quicker so you all (I suppose that should read "all y’alls") can relax with coffee/tea and some nice, healthy, dietetic donuts! I do still need some folks to help with overnight security on Thursday. If you are interested, call me at 255-5478 or email hpf5@qwest.net

Dealers. We have no booths left at the show. Nada, zip, zero. They are all gone!

Publicity for the show is pretty much done. My supply of garish flyers is quite depleted but you are all welcome to the rest! 6000 postcards were mailed out to our list of past attendees, passed on to treasured friends and we have another 1,000 with blank backs for us to sell as regular post cards. This was Gwen Poe’s suggestion. If you want some, they are $0.25 each or 6 for a dollar. We sent 750 of the postcards out to our out-of-town dealers. The various rock and mineral magazines have been contacted and we have prepared public service announcements for streaming radio spots. Newspaper ads will be sent in at the proper time. Of course, one of the best advertising media is you. Word of mouth invitations are one of our most popular and effective ways of getting new folks (and returnees) to come to the show.

Don’t forget that show workers get free admission to the show and free parking passes. If you are a club member but not working at the show you have to pay to park and to get in. And you don’t have to work ALL the time. Work a stretch then browse the exhibits and dealers, buy some stuff, and then repeat. And please remember – make sure you have fun at OUR show!

Gwen Poe will be coordinating the World Famous Albuquerque Gem and Mineral Club’s annual pre-show Pot Luck supper! I’m sure she would also appreciate a number of angels to help her with that FUN job. I want you to think about what generous dish you can bring to share with the rest of the club and our guests, the dealers. If’n I remember correctly, the club supplies the main dish (Rudy’s Bar-Be-Que). Club members supply casseroles and hearty salads and such like. Hmm. I may bring tamales again or maybe green chili stew. Oh, Gwen is handling hospitality for Thursday and Carolyn Wood will help with Friday thru Sunday. They need another person or two to help take care of coffee, "power pills" (donuts), et cetera on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

Others interested in volunteer help include Kimberly Richie (admissions) and Hank Miller (door prizes & raffle).

And lastly - The club has had new display cases made. We are trying to dispose of the old cases. They are free to any club member who asks for one. After this show we will dump the last of them.

Paul Hlava

Our Treasures of the Earth show is quickly approaching and it's time to make your plans for the silent auction – whether you are donating, selling or buying.

Donating: We need donations to sell at the club tables. You can take them to the silent auction area beginning Thursday night at the pot luck dinner. Most of the tables get sold in advance to dealers and club members so your donations of a few better pieces rather than large numbers of the same thing are much better for the club. While your donations are greatly appreciated, we don’t need flats of scrap material.

Selling: Selling at the silent auction is a great way to off load some of your excess material - it also makes money for the club which is a good thing.  You can expand your collection by purchasing flats of material for a good price, keeping the best for yourself and selling off the remainder for enough to pay your table cost and recover your cost of the whole flat.  Minerals for free!

You can buy a six foot section of lighted table for $20 per auction.  There are three auctions per day of the show and you or a representative needs to be at the table during the auction (limit of two adults per table, please).  You can sign up for table space on a first-come basis beginning Thursday night at the pot luck dinner.  You will need to pay for the table in advance in order to reserve it.  See Jim Hill or Jim Van Loan to sign up.

Buying:  Because of the way we now do the silent auction, there is often some really nice material available at great prices.  You should try to attend as many of the auctions as possible to see what is offered. Whether you are working at the show at auction time or not, it’s worth the trip to attend every auction if you love a bargain! Thanks for your support.

The Silent Auction Staff: Jim Van Loan, Grant Kuck, Jim Hill, Bill Barr

The AGMC field trip for March is actually the field trips provided as part of the Deming Gem & Mineral Society's "Rockhound Roundup" Gem and Mineral Show March 12-15. The club holds field trips Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. They offer 5 different field trips, 3 each day (you can attend one per day).

The show is located at the Southwest New Mexico State Fairgrounds off Country Club Road just south of Pine Street in Deming, NM.

The trips cost $5 per person per trip ($10 for the Big Diggins trip, where the moss agate is found). You can pay the morning of the field trip, but get there early. Or you can select and pay for your trip(s) anytime starting Wednesday afternoon through Saturday morning.

Trips leave from the Fairgrounds at 8:30 a.m. Do not be late. You caravan in your own vehicle 25 to 75 miles away depending on the trip. Regular 2 wheel drive cars should be able to make any of the trips unless they have had recent heavy rains, ask when you sign up to be sure. The club does a good job of making the collecting very easy (i.e. no hiking, loose dirt if digging is required, etc.). Make sure you have plenty of gas, easy digging tools, windy/cool weather clothes, water, and lunch. Also do not forget your sun block and first aid kit. Remember this is spring time in New Mexico with high winds the rule rather than the exception, be prepared for dust storms. There are no restrooms at any of these sites.

Depending on which trip(s) you chose the materials found are: peridot, sagenite (rutile in quartz), onyx, agate, rhyolite, fossils, chalcedony, and geodes. The geodes are Baker Ranch geodes which are distinctive. For the best agate, you should plan on the Big Diggins trip on March 12. Later days it is pretty picked over. The club pays for a back hoe to dig the agate, so there is a limit of 25 pounds of agate per day, and your collecting bucket will be weighed. The agate is blue, red, and orange moss patterns.

Also, plan on attending the show, there will be plenty of time after you get back from the field trip. Admission is free. They have 103 vendors this year, both indoors and out, don't miss building #2 in the back.

There are 13 RV parks, 15 motels, & several restaurants in Deming. It is recommended that you get motel/RV reservations now.

You can also stay at the Rockhound State Park, 575-546-6182. We collected geodes and jasper there several years ago, (after hiking up a long, steep hill). The park is 12-15 miles from Deming.

Check out www.cityofdeming.org for other places to see, such as a walking tour of old buildings, the Deming-Luna Mimbres Museum, the Geolapidary Museum Rock Shop run by the Baker Egg Mine owners, and other interests.

Michael Johnson (with additions from a 2006 News Nuggets article by Jay and Amy Penn)

We set up Thursday and the show runs Friday - Sunday. See other articles in this issue for details.

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The topic for the March Junior meeting will be "Field Trips". The group will plan a field trip that we will go on in April! The requirements are on the AFMS website at www.amfed.org as are all the badge topics.

We will need to get permission from the land owner of the site we select for the trip and study the "Field trip etiquette & code of ethics" section of the guide book to earn the award.

See you at the meeting,

Earlene and Jim

"Mystery Topic"

by ??

(See page 1 for abstract)

Mar 12-15, Deming Gem and Mineral Show leader: Michael Johnson

Apr 18, Jones Camp District (East of Socorro)

leader: Suzanne Seymour

May ?, Ghost Ranch (near Abiquiu)

leader: Anita Willard

Jun 6-7, Woodland Park, CO (west of Colorado Springs)

leader: Michael Johnson

Jul 25, AGMC picnic, San Pedro Mine

(east of Albuquerque) leader: John Reinert

Aug ?, Molycorp Mine maybe? (east of Questa)

leader: ??

Sep ?, Harding Mine or Zuni Mountains

leader: ? or Jane Bardal

Oct 24, Turquoise Trail (East of Albuquerque)

leader: Paul Hlava

Nov ?, Blanchard Mine (east of Socorro)

leader: Ray DeMark

Dec 12, Club Christmas Party Potluck

leader: Gwen Poe

Questions? Contact Suzanne Seymour 877-3621

Yes, this is a change from the originally scheduled trip to Orogrande. A number of factors necessitated this change from a weekend expedition to a one day trip, and I hope more of you will be able to attend, that’s my current thinking anyway. This trip will be to the location of an unusual skarn type deposit with manganese minerals. Collectable minerals include manganite, titanite, and sphene. Collecting will be from extensive mine dumps, in an area with no facilities. Please be prepared to be responsible for your personal comfort needs. Be aware that snakes are possible. We’ll meet just east of the rock shop in Bingham at 9:00am, and leave at 9:15 to caravan to the site. Although it is too soon to predict road conditions precisely, 4x2 high clearance vehicles should be adequate to access this site. Bingham is 30+ miles east of San Antonio on Highway 380 approximately 2 ½ hours drive from Albuquerque. Look for further details in the April News Nuggets.

Suzanne Seymour

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The club will be traveling to Woodland Park on June 5 to dig for topaz on June 6 and smoky quartz /amazonite on June 7. The two sites are about 10 miles from Woodland Park, and are about 5 miles apart. Start planning your vacation. Crystal Peak is the area we dug at 2 years ago for smoky quartz and amazonite. The road to the topaz site is suitable for RV’s. For those that want to camp, primitive camping is available. I will provide more details as we get closer to the date. Our hosts are Jeff Self and Donna Ware.

Michael Johnson

The following is solely the opinion of the editor------------today.

I might change my mind tomorrow.

For those of you who skip straight to the Editor's Opinion in every issue: Don't Forget!! Treasures of the Earth Gem and Mineral Show

by the Albuquerque Gem and Mineral Club (that's us, folks)

This is the best club sponsored show anywhere. -----OK, the Tucson club puts on a pretty good show too.

Mar 20-22, State Fair Grounds (Expo NM)

Thursday Mar 19, 6:00pm, pot luck dinner for club members and dealers. The club supplies main course, plastic ware, plates, and drinks. Bring a dish to share and sit around eating food and talking about rocks, it doesn't get any better than that.

Come on out and see the sites, have some fun. And since this year's show theme is ruby check the following articles.

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Aluminum Oxide with chromium (Al₂O₃:Cr)

The mineral corundum is formed from the elements aluminum (Al) and oxygen (O). Pure corundum is colorless, but when it contains traces of chromium, it becomes red and is called a ruby. Corundum doesn't cleave (split along definite planes), but like glass, it breaks in a conchoidal (curving) fracture.

At 9 on the Mohs Scale of Hardness, ruby is one of the hardest minerals. It forms hexagonal (six-sided) crystals. Rubies have a glassy luster, and their rarity and sparkle make them valued gemstones. In fact, the clearest rubies are more valuable than diamonds!

Still, you can find small ruby crystals at reasonable prices at gem shows. The inexpensive ones tend to be cloudy and purple-brown or red-brown. The finest specimens come from Myanmar, but rubies are commonly found in Sri Lank, Afghanistan and Pakistan, often in river gravel.

Some rubies that contain inclusions (other minerals within the crystal) can be made into cabochons that present a six-rayed star reflection. This effect created when the inclusions reflect light, is called asterism (derived from the Greek word for "star"). There are many famous star rubies, including the DeLong Star Ruby, the Midnight Star Ruby, the Neelanjali Ruby, and the Rajaratna Ruby.

Crushed rubies are used as the abrasive in emery sandpaper, and small rubies often are set in watches to protect moving parts. Ruby is the birthstone for the month of July and is used to mark 40th anniversaries. It's also the state gemstone of Wisconsin. According to gemstone lore and legend, rubies were once thought to counteract poison and the plague and were sometimes rubbed on the skin in the belief that they would restore youth.

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Ruby Glass

Ruby Glass contains gold to give it its beautiful color. Gold reflects light strongest at the red end of the spectrum but absorbs red frequencies when the light is transmitted though the gold. As a result, small crystals of gold reflect red light and molecular thin gold appears blue-green from the transmitted light. You may be familiar with quartz crystals that have been plated with a thin layer of gold and called aqua aura, which are this color.

Molten glass can dissolve small quantities of gold; the typical gold content of ruby glass is 0.001%. When this glass is cooled rapidly the gold remains in solution as molecular sized particles and the glass appears grayish.

However, upon reheating to about half the melting temperature, or 600° to 700°C (1,200° F) and holding there for several hours, the gold comes out of solution and forms tiny octahedral crystals of 1 to 10 nanometers (0.2 millionths of an inch) in size. This process is called "striking". These tiny gold crystals reflect red light while absorbing the other colors giving the glass its ruby color. The process of coloring glass with gold had been practiced for centuries.

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51 years ago from Feb 1958 newsletter

"A ROCK IS BORN" - The above subject is the first in our Educational Series. This Series will take fifteen minutes at every meeting, with 2 or 3 exceptions, and will cover the basic information on Mineralogy, given in simple terms. Mr. Guy Shockley, one of our own members, well qualified in this field, will start us off in the right direction…. Consented to outline the Series for us, because so many members asked for a planned educational program….Please bring a book to take notes. The Series will last at least a year…

(Mr. & Mrs. Guy Shockley were Charter Members with AGMC card #1)

25 years ago from Mar 1984 News Nuggets

AGMC has pledged $l000 over a period of five years to support initial construction of the museum (N.M. Museum of Natural History). Club members are also encouraged, as individuals, to attend their lectures and field trips, and to serve as volunteer workers.

Submitted by AGMC Historian, David Moats

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.

For sale: Sailboat, Coronado 34ft., equipped for cruising, $25,000. Bentz 857-0728

For sale: 10' Vibrating Lap, Diamond Pacific brand, good working condition, this is what you use to polish a sawed or other flat surface on a rock, $65. Walter Morris 345-3245

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Great Truths that Little Children Have Learned

1) No matter how hard you try, you can't baptize cats.  

2) When your Mom is mad at your Dad, don't let her brush your hair.    

3) If your sister hits you, don't hit her back. They always catch the second person.  

4) Never ask your 3-year old brother to hold a tomato.  

5) You can't trust dogs to watch your food.  

6) Don't sneeze when someone is cutting your hair.    

7) Never hold a Dust-Buster and a cat at the same time.  

8) You can't hide a piece of broccoli in a glass of milk.  

9) Don't wear polka-dot underwear under white shorts.    

June Moyle, born 7/7/1921, passed 1/13/09 in Colorado, June is survived by children: Pat, Mary, Sue, Windy, and 3 grandchildren.

June and her husband Bill joined our club in the mid 1970s. June was a former board member, a volunteer, teacher and friend. She will be missed by many who knew her. She was preceded by her husband Bill of 66 years, who went on January 3, 2008.

John D. Reinert

Ed note: The following information was taken from the historical archive CDs provided by club historian, Dave Moats.

--------The Moyles joined our club several years ago when Bill was here on a temporary work assignment. --------now they have come back to Albuquerque to stay. Best of all, at their first meeting here they volunteered to do the Publicity for the 1980 Show.

---- after buying a number of stones for her jewelry, she mentioned to Bill that it might be fun to cut and polish their own stones. Three weeks later, on Valentine’s Day, Bill gave her a four place lapidary unit. (Some ladies get flowers and candy, says June!) She is now on her fourth unit. Their vacations from then on involved digging for rocks and minerals all over the country.

AGMC members were invited to celebrate Bill and June's 50th wedding anniversary on Oct 31, 1992.

June is a long-time member of the club who has contributed much of her time to the advancement of the clubs goals. She has worked with the regular and junior club and given her time demonstrating her lapidary skills at the AGMC Gem Show.

Robert D. "Bob" Hall, passed away on Saturday, February 21, 2009.

Bob was a retiree of the United States Army, with over 20 years of service. He was a 3rd degree member of Council 8230 of the Knights of Columbus at Kirtland Air Force Base and a member of our club.

He was wonderful husband and father and is survived by his beloved wife, Peggy Hall; daughter, Tina Dial and her husband, Michael of Murfreesboro, TN; son, Dr. John Hall and his fiancee, Dr. Katie Ippolito of Chicago, IL; siblings, Linda Brown of North Carolina and Jean Hobbs, Chuck Hall, Doug Hall, Susan Hall, Mike Hall and Kathy Gartung, all of Tennessee. Also surviving is one grandson, Evan and numerous nieces and nephews.

A viewing and Rosary was held on Wednesday, February 25, 2009 in the chapel of Riverside Funeral Home of Belen.

The Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated by Father Jerome Mueller on Thursday morning at Our Lady of the Sandias located at the Kirtland Air Force Base Chapel. Interment was private. His family asked that in lieu of flowers, please contribute in Bob's name to the American Heart Association or the American Diabetes Association.

Bob was always a happy go lucky person. He had a smile for everyone. He was a ready volunteer and gave of himself to the fullest.

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

12-15--Deming, NM: 44th annual show, "Rockhound Roundup"; Deming Gem & Mineral Society; Southwestern New Mexico Fairgrounds; Thu. 9-5, Fri. 9-5, Sat. 9-5, Sun. 9-5; free admission; displays, demonstrations, jewelry, rocks, drawings, raffle, field trips, silent auction, live auction; contact Caroline Abby, P.O. Box 1459, Deming, NM 88031, (575) 543-9816

13-15--Cottonwood, AZ: "Verde Valley Gem, Mineral & Jewelry Show"; Mingus Gem & Mineral Club; Verde Valley Fairgrounds, 800 E. Cherry St.; Fri. 9-5, Sat. 9-5, Sun. 10-4; adults $3 ($1 Fri.), students free with ID, children free with adult; free gem and mineral ID Sat.; contact Mike Ramsey, (928) 634-0666; e-mail: ramsey6264@yahoo.com; Web site:

www.mingusclub.org

13-15--Ogden, UT: 58th annual show, "2009 Gemstone Junction;" Golden Spike Gem & Mineral Society; Union Station, 2500 Wall Ave.; Fri. 9-6, Sat. 10-6, Sun. 10-5; adults $2, students $1.50, children under 12 free with adult; more than 25 dealers, more than 30 display cases, dinosaur bones, fossils, minerals, jewelry, beads, faceted stones, geodes, petrified wood, lapidary tools and equipment, demonstrations, rock bags, wheel of fortune, door prizes, silent auction; contact Richard Gabel, P.O. Box 12835, Ogden, UT 84412-2835, (801) 648-5060; e-mail:

club@goldenspikegem.org

20-22--Albuquerque, NM: 40th annual show, "Treasures of the Earth Show"; Albuquerque Gem & Mineral Club; School Arts/Flower Bldg., New Mexico State Fair Grounds (EXPO-NM); Fri. 10-6, Sat. 10-6, Sun. 10-5; adults $1 (Fri.) and $3 (Sat. and Sun.), kids under 13 free; more than 35 dealers, mineral displays, demonstrations, door prizes, kids' booth, silent auctions; contact Paul Hlava, (505) 255-5478; e-mail: hpf5@qwest.net

20-22--Spanish Fork, UT: 50th annual show, "Spring Parade of Gems"; Timpanogos Gem & Mineral Society; Spanish Fork Fairgrounds, 475 S. Main; Fri. 10-7, Sat. 10-7, Sun. 10-5; free admission; contact Don Bagshaw, 210 S 400 E, Salem, UT 84653, (801) 423-2538; e-mail: baojiazhi1@msn.com

21-22--San Antonio, TX: 48th show, "Fiesta of Gems"; Southwest Gem & Mineral Society; Live Oak Civic Center, 8101 Pat Booker Rd.; Sat. 10-6, Sun. 10-4; adults $4, seniors and military $3, students $2, children 50 cents; minerals, gems, jewelry, fossils, lapidary, exhibits, silent auction; contact Robert Bowie, 1324 Kings Point Dr., Canyon Lake, TX 78133; e-mail: krbotx@gvtc.com; Web site:

www.swgemandmineral.org

27-29--Fort Collins, CO: 48th annual show, "Nature's Treasures"; Fort Collins Rockhounds; Lincoln Center, 419 W. Magnolia St.; Fri. 4-8, Sat. 9-6, Sun. 10-5; adults $3, $5/weekend, seniors $3, students (under 18) $1, children under 12 free with adult; exhibits, door prizes, grab bags, silent auction, demonstrations, 7 gem and mineral dealers; contact Dave Halliburton, P.O. Box 482, Fort Collins, CO 80522, (970) 493-6168; e-mail:

showchairman@fortcollinsrockhounds.org

Web site: www.fortcollinsrockhounds.org

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. 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 published in the News Nuggets. Good luck and have fun.

Last year I discussed minerals and rocks that are used as gemstones. This year I think I’ll work on minerals with metallic and sub-metallic lusters.

This month’s MM is another common, mineral but this one can be found in lots of environments including igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary as both a primary mineral or a secondary mineral. Nice platey to rhombohedral crystals are found in hydrothermal vein deposits. It can also be disseminated in igneous rocks, or in massive deposits, these are sometimes metamorphic and/or replacement deposits. It is trigonal. It exhibits no cleavage BUT can have 4 directions of parting. The fracture of crystals is conchoidal. It is opaque with a metallic luster, the color of crystals is metallic black but it can be dull to earthy, red to reddish-brown when fine-grained or pulverulent. It has a red to reddish brown streak. Sp. Gr. = 5.3, H = 6.5 in crystals (pulverulent material is very soft). It is not magnetic.

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 minerals might occur with it?

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? Chalcopyrite

What is the origin of the name? From the Greek chalkos for copper and pyrites to strike fire.

What metals does it contain? Copper (Cu) and iron (Fe)

What non-metals does it contain? Sulfur (S) - the chemical formula is CuFeS₂.

What other minerals might occur with it? Lots – Pyrite, galena, sphalerite, pyrrhotite, molybdenite, quartz, calcite, dolomite, siderite, ankerite, barite, fluorite, etc.

Name some secondary minerals that might be formed by alteration of this one. Hoo, Boy! There are hundreds but I need to mention cuprite, native copper, bornite, chalcocite, covellite, malachite, azurite, linarite, brochantite, and turquoise. Some of those other Cu minerals can be primary but they are also abundant as secondaries. The two are not mutually exclusive.

What is it mined and used for? Copper, Baby, copper! It is THE main Cu ore mineral world-wide and the primary source for most of the other Cu ore minerals

Do you have some in your collection? Yes

In NM – San Pedros, Groundhog mine (near Silver City), OK, There’s lots in the Chino Mines, etc. but I am concentrating on nice, crystallized specimens in this list.

In the USA – Tri-state district (MO-KS-OK); CO; Butte, MT; PA

In the World – Australia, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Germany, Mexico, Peru, Romania; Dal’negorsk, Russia; Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, UK

Paul Hlava

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 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. You are cordially invited to mail news, articles or comments to:

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