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.

“Two-for-One Program”

by Todd Brown

AGMC Member and

Co-proprietor of the Casa Grande Trading Post & Petting Zoo

And Cerillos Turquoise Mining Museum

The show at our March meeting will be double the fun, as the inimitable Todd Brown offers two PowerPoint presentations. One will be entitled “Gold Panning Made Easy Using the Sniping Method” and the second will be “Ghost Towns of New Mexico.” It promises to be a unique combination of practical skills and historical knowledge, two subject areas that many members ought to find interesting and useful.

Todd and Patricia Brown also hold the claim at the Little Chalchihuitl Turquoise Mine near Cerillos. According to their website, the Cerillos turquoise mining district is one of the oldest and most substantial turquoise workings in North America, with mining taking place since at least 900 AD and possibly earlier. If you haven’t already been there, a trip to visit their establishment in Cerillos is a highly-recommended outing, both enjoyable and educational, as Todd’s programs at the club meeting will also doubtless be.

"It's Show Time"

There are two "local" shows that happen before the next News Nuggets comes out. First is the Deming Gem and Mineral Society's 45^th Annual Rockhound Roundup March 11-14. This is a very good club show which reflects that club's focus toward the lapidary arts, i.e. lots of rough rock, slabs, equipment, and finished material. And of course there are plenty of mineral specimens for gawking and buying. Also, they have field trips Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Go to dgms.bravehost.com for more details

Many people make a day trip of it, leaving Albuquerque between 6 and 7 a.m., having breakfast in Socorro and arriving in Deming around 10 a.m. Spend 2-3 hours going through the show, have lunch, then back to Albuquerque by 6 or 7 p.m. Don't forget to take the short cut between Hatch and Deming; SR26 is a good 2 lane highway.

Second is the Albuquerque Gem and Mineral Club's 41st Annual Treasurers of the Earth Show. That's us, folks! If you have been paying any attention at all you know it is April 9-11 at EXPO New Mexico (state fair grounds). This is a great club show which reflects our club's leaning toward mineral collecting, i.e. lots of minerals of all quality/price levels. Of course there are plenty of gems and jewelry, too.

It takes a lot of work to put on a show like this. After the signup sheets for volunteers were passed around at the last meeting there were still many empty spaces. I think people didn't understand what they were being asked to sign up for. We didn't do a very good job of explaining it so that a new person would understand. I take responsibility for not slowing things down to allow for clarification, and questions to be asked. The bottom line is we need your help. Please call one of the people listed in the following articles to see what you can do. I'm not asking anyone to do a lot; I'm asking everyone to do a little.

Jay Penn

Howdy, Folks. The show is coming up fast! As I write this it is just about 5 weeks to our show (YIKES, or should I say Crikey!?!). I was really gratified by the wonderful response I got for set-up and tear down volunteers at February’s meeting. I expect that we’ll be able to set the show up in good time. And the tear down should be a breeze. Of course, 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 and 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 and Saturday. If you are interested, call me at 255-5478 or email paulhlava@q.com.

Dealers: We have no booths left at the show. Nada, zip, zero. They are all gone! And they are all paid for.

Publicity for the show is underway. My supply of garish flyers is getting quite depleted but you are all welcome to the rest! We have 8,000 postcards to mail out to our lists of past attendees and to pass on to treasured friends and another 500 with blank backs for us to sell as regular post cards. This was Gwen Poe’s suggestion. If you want some, they are $0.50 each or 3 for a dollar. We will soon send a stack of the postcards out to each of our out-of-town dealers. The various rock and mineral magazines have been contacted and we are preparing public service announcements for radio and TV 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.

Once again I will plead for more people to get involved with the show committee. 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 281-3886 (admissions), Hank Miller 255-7218 (door prizes & raffle), Grant Kuck 323-1520 (set-up & tear-down), John Reinert 299-0732 (overnight security) and Bill Barr 803-4888 (silent auction).

Paul Hlava

The Show is on. So…, Thank You all for your being involved.

Here is the set-up plan for the kitchen part… Eating is always a good plan.

Thursday April 8th is the date. Show up about 9:00 a.m. at the Fine Arts Bldg on the Fair Grounds. It is just south-east of the Manual Lujan Expo Bldg. We will have coffee and donuts.

We set tables, cover them with paper and decorate them.

Lunchtime comes and we have pizza or maybe Subways & sodas. It depends on the crowd.

After lunch we help skirt and cover vendor booths. You can stay all day or part-time it.

At 5:00 p.m. we return to actually set up for dinner. It’s mostly the social time with getting drinks set up and food located on tables. Club members bring a dish to go with BBQ. Be generous because we entertain the vendors. Suit your own palate. Desserts are welcome. The club provides the meat, drinks and some dessert, plus plates and flatware. (Note: be discreet if you wish to BYOB.) It’s a good time to meet and greet and share stories… or jokes. I have a new one.

After dinner, we pick up and then rearrange the tables for the silent auction.

See you there…

Gwen

______________________________________

Our 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 offload 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 Bill Barr 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, Rex Nelson, Bill Barr (volunteers welcome!)

The February Jr. Club meeting was attended by 13 members. We began the meeting looking at examples of minerals (quartz and calcite) that can come in different shapes and colors. Several of the Jr. members also brought in their crystals that they had grown at home.

We then broke into two groups: Jim and the Rockhounds used protractors to measure the angles of different mineral specimens to see how they were similar or different, and the Jr. Rockhounds (or maybe Crystal Coyotes? we’re still looking for a name – any ideas?) met with Earlene and completed the activities needed to earn the Rocks and Minerals merit badge. We made models using patterns of different crystal shapes, cutting and coloring, then gluing them together. Finally, we discussed the three rock types (igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic) and how these rock types typically form.

For the March Jr. club meeting, we will be completing our crystal growing experiment. The wait will be over! Many of the Jr. members will be seeing their crystals for the first time! We will mount the crystals onto wooden blocks and then create labels for them, all in preparation for the ToTE show in April, where the Jr. Club will display their crystals in a display case.

See you at the March meeting!

Earlene Shroyer

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

Welcome: Jay Penn welcomed guests, visitors and new members.

Field Trips: Ray DeMark announced that the field trip scheduled for February 27^th has been canceled due to weather conditions. Brian Anderson asked members to pass the word on that the field trip was canceled. The April field trip will be a two-day trip to the Dictator Mine and Paramount Canyon. This field trip will be led by Rex Nelson. (Editor’s note: This trip has been changed; see Field Trip article in this issue.)

Treasurer: Jay Penn announced that Amy was not able to be there due to illness. Robair Lobato is filling in for her this evening. Robair reported that he had been collecting membership dues this evening.

TOTE Show: The TOTE Show will be April 9-11^th from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm, except Sunday which will be 10:00am to 6:00pm. Paul Hlava indicated that work is underway for the event and urged members to volunteer to help. He introduced his committee-chairs, John Reinert, Grant Kuck, Bill Barr, and Hank Miller. He indicated a need volunteers for security, admissions, security, raffle, and silent auction. Sign-up sheets were circulated. John indicated he needs 4 people for security on both Thursday and Friday night. Hank reminded members that those who volunteer get free parking and free admission to the show. Set-up will be on Thursday during the day, with the potluck to follow. Bill Barr needs help putting the samples out and collecting money after each auction.

There will be 3 auctions per day and the cost of a table per auction is $20. Money raised from the silent auction funds club scholarships. Mike Sanders indicated that the theme of the show is copper minerals. Mike indicated that there is a need for packing materials and flats. Jay Penn encouraged the group to have an article in the News Nuggets to cover this information.

Junior Club- Jim Hill reported that there were 14 juniors at the meeting. The younger group discussed the difference between rocks and minerals. The older group used protractors to measure angles on faces of minerals.

Old Business: Jay Penn discussed the delay in presenting Heidi Meyers her scholarship. She was not notified by New Mexico Tech. John Reinert introduced and presented the club’s $1,000 scholarship to Heidi Meyers.

New Business: None

Programs: Bruce Owens introduced the speaker, Alex Downs from Ghost Ranch. Alex Downs is the curator at the Ruth Hall Museum at Ghost Ranch in Abiquiu, New Mexico. He also spends time with fossil preparation at the Smithsonian. Mr. Downs reviewed the geological layers found in the Abiquiu area and displayed various findings from the area. He discussed the history of Ghost Ranch and how it became an area attraction. He had pictures from the area, as well as sample finds to show to club members. He issued an invitation to club members to visit the museum. He provided members additional information about classes and special events at Ghost Ranch.

Respectfully submitted,

Carmen Taylor,

Secretary AGMC

We will meet at the Sandia Ranger station on NM Highway 337, just south of Tijeras, at 9:00 AM. If necessary, we will carpool from there to the site, depending on parking at the quarry site. An alternate site north of Socorro will be a possibility if the weather conditions warrant. This site has silicified marine brachiopods in limestone. An email will be sent out in case of a change.

The Kinney quarry, located in the Manzanita Mountains south of Tijeras, New Mexico is a world-class fossil location. The age of the formation here is about 275 to 300 million years before present. This places it in the late Pennsylvanian epoch.

The deposit is a near shore delta deposit and was probably salt and fresh water depending on weather conditions. Brackish water conditions favored the growth of crustaceans, snails, pectens (bivalve mollusks), and fishes. All have been found as fossils at this site. There are also trace fossils of land plants and insects. These consist of carbon imprints on the shale layers. You will find the pecten Dunbarella (a type of scallop), sometimes attached to plant fossil remains. You may, if very lucky, find a fossil imprint of a fish. Ray-finned fish, spiny shark, lungfish and coelacanth fossils have been found here. Plant fossils are common in the shale layers.

Fossils found here are in a friable shale deposit that is mined for brick-making clay (including the fossils). The nature of this material makes it important to carefully wrap and pack specimens to preserve them while transporting them. The fossil-bearing shale is also water soaked and must be carefully dried in

a shady, cool location after arriving home. It takes about 2 to 4 weeks to dry out if the weather is not damp. Do not allow them to freeze! I have preserved this material by soaking it in a mixture of 90% lacquer thinner and 10% flat lacquer. (You can also use a 90% shellac thinner and 10% shellac mixture, with a shiny surface resulting on drying.) I soak the fossils about two months in this solution, which seems to stabilize them.

For collecting here you will need the usual rock pick, chisels and wrapping materials. You will also need a putty knife, old butter knife or similar tool for separating the shale layers. Beverage flats, well padded, work better for transport than buckets due to the flat shape of most specimens.

For further reading I recommend the following:

1. The Paleontology of New Mexico, Barry S. Kues, UNM press, 2008

2. Fossils of New Mexico, Barry S. Kues, UNM Press, 1982 (out of print)

3. Geology and Paleontology of the Kinney Brick Quarry, Bulletin 138, New Mexico Bureau of Mines and Mineral Resources

Jim Hill

SHOP HINT: A beautiful agate can sometimes bring great disappointment when it turns out to have pits. Often this helps: During the pre-polish stage, work clear Epoxy into the pits. Then continue polishing. The addition of gold dust or silver dust to the Epoxy application will enhance a stone’s appearance most of the time -- “Nip” Kinslow suggestion.

The destination for next month's field trip has been changed. The two locations originally planned are currently under claim. I have not been able to get permission for going to either the Dictator Mine or the digging site at Paramount Canyon; consequently, the new field trip site will be as announced below. I apologize if this has created any inconvenience for those who planned to attend either of these trips.

April's field trip will be to the Nakaye Mine in the Derry District of Sierra County.

The gathering point is on the east side of the bridge at Exit 51 on I-25 South. This is about 2-1/2 to 3 hours south of Albuquerque, or about 10 miles south of the Caballo Reservoir. We will commence gathering around 9:00 a.m. and depart for the mine at 9:30. The approximate 4 miles of dirt and gravel road is passable with standard city vehicles but is rough and steep in some areas. Once we get to the mine area, we will carpool in 4-wheel drive vehicles the last quarter mile to the mine. Hiking up the hill is an option for hardy souls.

Due to the dangers of this area, children must be constantly supervised.

This is a remote site with "NO" facilities. Bring adequate food, water, and toiletries to meet your needs.

There are accessible and adequate underground workings, surface workings, and waste piles for everyone. Hard hats, lights, and goggles are required for underground work. Suggested materials, in addition to these, are picks, hammers, shovels, pry bars, gloves, whiskbrooms, and wrapping materials for preserving specimens.

Fluorite, barite and calcite are the primary collectable minerals at the Nakaye. The fluorite

can be gray to intense blue and needs protection from direct light. The purple fluorite tends to fade to a rose wine color and is frequently found on the waste piles in association with dark barite. The barite is unusual and can be strikingly beautiful. It is unique as it contains minute crystals of included pyrite, giving it an olive-green color.

Specimens typical for collecting at this site will be made available for viewing at the meeting place. The club's collecting ethics are to be observed at this site. These will be reviewed at the meeting place.

If enough club members are interested, I will lead a collecting trip to the Tin District’s Squaw Creek Mine on Sunday. Please let me know on Saturday if you are interested in this trip.

Hotel rooms are relatively cheap at Williamsburg south of T or C. The number for the Chamber of Commerce is 505-894-3536. You may inquire there for motel information. For RV owners and campers there are reasonably priced cabins and RV hook-ups at the Lakeview RV Park off of I-25 near exit 63. There are only 2 cabins but each has a set of bunk beds and a regular size bed. (Bring your own covers or sleeping bags and pillows). Each cabin has one electric duplex. Space heaters are available in each cabin. The one overhead light is pretty dim.

When I last checked they rented for $25/night. That is only about $9.00/person/night for people who team up and share a cabin.

See you at the meeting place, Rex Nelson

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.

11-14--DEMING, NM: 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.; Jerry & Carolyn Abbey, P.O. Box 1459, Deming NM 88030, (575) 543-8916; e-mail: theDGMS@gmail.com; Web site: dgms.bravehost.com

12-14--COTTONWOOD, AZ: 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

19-21--SPANISH FORK, UT: Show, "Spring Parade of Gems Invitational"; Timpanogos Gem & Mineral Society; Spanish Fork Tennis Court, 475 S. Main St.; Fri. 10-7, Sat. 10-7, Sun. 10-5; free admission; Mr. Bones walking dinosaur, handmade jewelry, gems, minerals, fossils, lapidary supplies, demonstrations, educational displays, silent auction, rough rock; contact Larry Hataway, P.O. Box 103, Spanish Fork, UT 84660, (801) 798-2758; email:

larry@spanishtrailssilver.com; Web site: spanishtrailssilver.com

20-21--LIVE OAK, TX: 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, OK: 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, CO: 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

9-11—ALBUQUERQUE, NM: Don’t forget the AGMC TotE Show! See info in this issue!

A few folks emailed me that they read the Mystery Mineral and try to decipher the mineral names. Email me at paulhlava@q.com 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 me at 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 two metal, hydrated sulfate. It is usually found in arid climates or in oxidized ore deposits. It usually occurs as incrustations or platy sheets but it can form prismatic crystals. It has one perfect cleavage and a distinct cleavage at 102 degrees. It is transparent to highly translucent. It is electric blue, sky blue, or deep blue with a light blue streak. Sp. Gr. = 5.4, H = 2.5.

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? Brochantite

What is the origin of the name?

What metals does it contain? Copper (Cu)

What non-metals does it contain? Sulfur (S), oxygen (O), and hydrogen (H) – Cu₄(SO₄)(OH)₆

What other secondary minerals might occur with it? A number of other Cu secondary minerals, Ca and Pb sulfates, as well as Cu, Ca, Pb, Zn, etc. carbonates.

What other minerals might it easily be confused with? Mainly malachite but also antlerite.

What is it mined and used for? Copper

Do you have some in your collection? Yep.

In NM – Hansonburg District

In the USA – Bisbee, AZ; Grand View Mine, AZ, other AZ, Nevada, OK, Utah

In the World – Australia, Chile, Congo, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Mexico, Morocco, Namibia, Portugal, UK, Zambia

Paul Hlava

March 4, 2010

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