It doesn’t take attendance at too many meetings for new members to discover what a dynamic organization our club is. The programs are always interesting and I never fail to learn something or gain new insight. The field trips provide opportunities to collect, understand the geologic history of New Mexico, and sample the diverse enthusiasms and knowledge of the rockhounding community that we are. Coming up soon is the Trim Party on the 19^th. If you have untrimmed material here’s a chance to find out if there are any keepers hidden in there, or maybe spruce up an almost wonderful cabinet specimen. And of course don’t forget Marcus Amshoff’s Sand and Gravel Co. will be in production soon. We have a need for photos for the display we plan to submit to the RMFMS annual meeting and show being hosted in Roswell this year. If you have pictures of the club on a field trip would you share them? Dave Moats, our Historian, is constructing an archive of our activities. That of course includes Junior Club activities. Jim Hill and Suzi Weaver-Haskell have a strong program going on.

I thank my luck to have such a stellar board of directors. They make all this happen for all of us. Read on and see what they’re up to, you won’t be disappointed.

The April club meeting was called to order at 7:40 by President Suzanne Seymour. Following a warm welcome to new members, guests, and visitors, Hank Miller presented Christina Dahm, the winner of the Central New Mexico Science and Engineering Research Challenge with a medal, $100 gift certificate and a "homework" cap. Christina displayed an excellent illustrated exhibit on the Geological Microbiology of New Mexican Travertine Springs.

Committee reports followed, beginning with our Treasurer, Amy Penn reminding us that memberships are due the beginning of the year and now overdue if you have overlooked this matter. Please check your status to ensure you will receive next months News Nuggets. There is a membership form in the back of the News Nuggets. Or see Amy Penn. Memberships are $20 per year per family. If anyone is having trouble receiving the News Nuggets, please contact Patricia Amshoff. Suzanne thanked Pat for the fine job she is doing on the Nuggets.

It should be noted that the Club is still in need of a Secretary for the year.

Our Show Chair Paul Hlava gave us a wonderful but short report on his trip to Costa Rica and the Arenal Volcano. Paul thanked all who worked at our

fabulous Treasures of the Earth Show in March.

Rex Nelson discussed the upcoming April 28^th field trip to the Royal Flush Mine.

Kathy Lawicki still needs people for the balance of the year to help provide snacks for our monthly meetings. Please see Kathy for refreshment details.

Marcus Amshoff spoke of the classes he is offering on carving, a time for members to play and have fun. The initial set-up will be with simple tools to create small scale pieces to sculptural carving pieces using alabaster and soapstone. He stated that you know you are doing it right when you are having fun. Please contact Marcus if you want to join the AGMC "Sand and Gravel Manufacturing" group.

Something new...Mike Potts announced a "Trim Party" on May 19^th. All are welcome. This event will be located at 6721 Academy NE from 10 am to noon.

Suzanne announced that a trimmer was donated to the Club and after discussion of how best to take advantage of this boon, it was decided we will probably have a silent auction this

summer at one of our meetings. Check the coming Nuggets for the auction date.

After the old business was taken care of, Paul Hlave introduced our speaker for the evening, Patricia Hester. She is the Regional Paleontologist for the BLM in Arizona, New Mexico and California.

Her presentation was on "Tracking Permian Wildlife in the Robledo Mountains. She discussed the discovery of some of the animal tracks made in

these mountains near Las Cruces. Some of these animals, whose tracks were found in Paleozoic Trackway localities, predated dinosaurs. Ms. Hester’s’ role

involves working with BLM field office to consider and mitigate, for significant paleontological resources, land use planning and overseeing research permits with institutions holding federal collections.

After the refreshments, enthusiastic winners came forward to receive their door prizes.

Meeting adjourned.

Carmella Bentz

___________________________

WHEN: Saturday, May 19

10:00 AM – Noon

WHERE: Interface Mortgage

parking lot

6721 Academy NE

(directions below)

If you have mineral specimens that need trimming, bring them to the Trim Party. We will have the club trimmer available along with members who can show you how to use it.

This is a great way to remove excess matrix and isolate those showy crystals without using a hammer and chisel (which so often sends the crystals flying in shattered pieces!) – or, just to make the piece display and stand better.

We will meet in the parking lot in front of my office and work outside. Interface Mortgage is in the Academy Office Park which is about half-way between San Mateo and Wyoming on the north side of Academy. Turn in at the main entrance by Bank of the West

and go past the clock and flag poles to the second east-west drive. Turn west (left)

and go down two buildings. The number, 6721, and the name, Interface Mortgage, is up on the face of the building. If you get lost, call me on my cell: 550-7880.

See you there!

Mike Potts

May 26^th: Dictator Mine

This month’s field trip is scheduled for Saturday, May 26. The destination is the Dictator Mine in the Cuchillo Negro District of Sierra County. This is near Winston, about 25 miles west of I-25 South‘s "Alamosa Canyon" crossing. In other words, a fairly remote area. Take adequate supplies and gas as the nearest city is T or C, about 35 miles away.
The Dictator is located on the north flank of Cuchillo Peak and situated along the contact of limestone and monzanite porphyry. The mining was mostly for a complex lead, silver, zinc, and copper ore. The adit, shaft, and waste piles are situated several hundred feet above NM 52 and accessed via a southerly primitive road on open range.
The road is not suitable for standard vehicles after the first 0.8 of a mile. From there, you would need to park and join others in more suitable vehicles. It is 2.2 miles total to the mine. There is a limited amount of camping space nearby, mostly on a slope next to the mine. Additional dry camping spots are available at the O.8 mile mark. For those interested in fluorescent minerals and micros this should be a very rewarding field trip. We will be primarily collecting fluorescent calcite and willemite. The calcite fluoresces brilliant crimson red and the more sparse willemite fluoresces bright green. Some of the willemite will be in small crystals. Smithsonite is scarce but can be collected and it fluoresces a pale pink. Galena, mottramite and azurite are some of the other minerals that can be collected. The adit is 400 feet long. The 130 deep shaft is dangerous and should not be approached. Those interested in collecting underground will need the usual safety gear, hard hats, safety glasses, lights, etc. The usual chisels, hammers, pry bars, etc. will be needed to collect in hard rock. Much collecting can be done easily in the dumps. Adequate materials should be brought for wrapping and preserving specimens. Buckets are ok for collecting some of the fluorescent country rock which is relatively ugly without the fluorescence. Portable UV lights are a real asset for collecting at this mine, either underground or at night.

DIRECTIONS, MEETING PLACE, AND TIME: Take I-25 South to Exit 89 on the south side of Alamosa Canyon. Exit right to the gravel pile on Rt. 181. We will commence gathering here about 9:00 AM. At 9:30 we will caravan to the mine with a brief stop at a Willow Creek local. There we will point out a small mine where unique micro mount minerals were written up in the New Mexico 1989 Mineralogical Record, (Vol. 20, Number 1) by our own Ray DeMark. The distance to the Dictator from the meeting place is approximately 26 miles. No facilities are available so take plenty of water, sunscreen, proper clothing, toiletries, and foodstuffs. For reading about the mine and area refer to NMBMMR Bulletin 10, The Geology and Ore Deposits of Sierra County, NM. This bulletin is available at the NM Tech office on Central.

See you there, Grant and Rex

The subject of the May Junior meeting is "I Found a Cool Rock, Is It A Rock Or A Mineral?" If you have a favorite rock or mineral specimen please bring it to the meeting and be ready to tell everyone why it is your favorite. Did you identify the mystery mineral? We will tell all about it at the meeting! You will also get a new mystery mineral at the meeting.

See you there.

Suzi Weaver-Haskell and Jim Hill

Mark your calendar for a wonderful evening with speaker, Marcus Price who will delight us with his experiences and visits to Australia. When Marcus speaks of his passion for the opals and gem stones that he has collected in this part of the world one feels that they have traveled along with him on his exciting journey. Join Marcus on his excursion and get to know what he has learned from the people of this fascinating land and embracing the mining business of Australia. An evening not to miss.

Our club has been invited to visit private claims in Colorado for a field trip. That is such a bland statement, but hold your judgment until you hear the details.

The trip will be to the Crystal Peak area, west of Colorado Springs. There are three claims, two owned by Donna Ware and Jeff Self of Self-a-Ware Minerals, the third owned by a friend. The trip will include the Colorado Mineral Society and the Cheyenne Rock Club. The original schedule was a Saturday, but the third claim owner will have to work that day and can come on Sunday. The other clubs have opted to switch to Sunday. Donna called me with this information and offered to keep the Saturday open to us. This means that we can have a group on Saturday AND Sunday! There is a 25 person maximum per day. Because they will be camping overnight at the claims, those of us who can, are welcome to stay over and, yes, meet the other clubs on Sunday, AND enjoy a second collecting day. Example: 25 people can come for Saturday. 8 people stay over, then 17 people can come in on Sunday.

Ok, now that is out of the way….here is the detail:

Why: Expect to find: amazonite, smokey quartz, hematite, goethite, and fluorite. May find: topaz, phenacite, cassiderite, columbite.

How: All surface collecting, no underground. Access: 2-wheel drive vehicle ok to the last ¼ mile, then 4-wheel drive needed, walk up, or "truck-pool."

Time: 9:00 AM

Meet: Divide Venture Market, Divide, Colorado

Additional Information: I-25 North to Colorado Springs, take exit for Woodland Park, west on 24/64. This is about 400 miles to Woodland Park, about 7 miles to Divide, and 12 miles to 2-wheel parking area. There will be copies of directions, instructions, and a map at the May 2007 general meeting, or if needed, I will mail them to you.

SIGN UP: Please call me to be on the list. Info needed is name, phone, number of persons, day attending, and if Saturday, if you plan to stay over for Sunday.

More Info: Elevation is 9200 ft., collecting area has no shade, so plan for sun, but it could be cold. The bears will be awake, there has not been previous evidence of rattlesnakes, but watch out for ticks. There have been sightings of fluorescent milky quartz, and the amazonite turns dark brick red under a fluorescent light. Bring your lamps and cameras!

There are similar considerations as for other private claim collecting:

There are campgrounds in the area, and lodging options in Woodland Park.

Please e-mail cat-trax@hotmail.com, or call 505-281-3886 to reserve a spot for an undoubtedly unforgettable trip.

Kimberly Richie, AGMC member

This month’s field trip will be under the guidance of our webmaster, collector and dealer, John Scully who has prepared the following article. Feel free to visit John’s website at Feraloldguy.com.

The field trip in June will be to Hondo Canyon just south of Taos. We will be collecting staurolites, also known as fairy crosses, or to the inhabitants of the region, Lagrimas de Cristo (Tears of Christ).

On April 17 we visited the location and found the road into the collecting area passable and the Forest Service gate at the halfway point open. We could not resist doing a bit of collecting and found many small and a few large specimens about an inch in width. Most were of the 120/60 degree version, but 4 or 5 were the 90/90 degree crosses.

The road into the location is rugged and only a high clearance 4WD can make it. Because of this we will need to meet at the Rio Grand Visitor Center in Pilar 5 miles south of the canyon entrance and consolidate into 4WD vehicles. We will also need to cram into as few of these as possible since the road is narrow (causing difficulties if a vehicle is coming the other way) and there is limited parking at the end of the road.

The collecting area is in extremely rugged terrain, and it is very easy to get lost in the dense underbrush. I am very concerned about people getting lost in the wilderness. I have been myself twice. In exploring the area, I thought I would try to find my way back to the truck without the aid of my GPS. I failed totally and was reduced to turning on theGPS to find my way back. One time, I was two miles off the mark. I also know that, once on location, people will want to wander to find ever better outcrops of the staurolite-bearing schist which are all over the area. So, I urge those of you who have a GPS to bring it and lead small groups that stick together during the day. We will discuss this at a brief organizing session at the visitor center.

What to bring: GPS!!! This is high country so be prepared for the usual changeability of NM weather. Bring plenty of water and lunch and some warm removable clothing. Light collecting tools – a trowel is a must, a geology hammer, a sturdy screwdriver, plastic sandwich bags for your new treasures. For the sturdier of you, a chisel might be handy to chip out a matrix specimen. And, of course, a backpack to haul it all in and out.

Directions: Go to Espanola about 90 miles from Albuquerque. The road splits just as you get into town with 84/285 going off to the left toward Chama and 68 going straight on up towards Taos. Take 68. Go to Pilar, and just after mile maker #28 turn right into the Rio Grande Gorge visitor center parking lot. 10:00AM seems like a good hour to meet. We will drive about two miles up the 4WD road in Hondo Canyon to the point beyond which vehicular traffic is not possible and proceed on foot about ½ mile to the beginning of the collecting area. If you get to the visitor center early, you can get a latte across the road.

Just after mile marker #17 (heading north) is a wonderful restaurant called Embudo Station with outdoor seating right on the Rio Grande river. Might be a nice place for dinner on the way home. It also has cabins for rent should you want to be closer to the meeting area. 505-852-4707

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 that are named for geographic localities. This year I thought I’d concentrate on minerals named for some physical property that they possess.

What is this mineral used for? No uses.

To the Master Mind of Mystery Minerals:

On Saturday Morning 50 members of the AGMC gathered by the little town of Bingham located on US 380 about 30 miles east of the San Antonio I-25 interchange. Shortly after 9:30, mine owner Tom Massis lead a caravan of vehicles to one of his claims in the Oscura Mountains called the Royal Flush. At the site some members collected underground while others searched the surface for specimens. Members found blue and violet fluorite, galena, barite, and calcite.

Then some time after 1 in the afternoon, Tom took those who still wanted to collect to another of his claims called the Mex-Tex. Nobody collected underground at this site. However there was plenty of surface material to sort through and members found brochantite, chrysocolla, cyanotrichite, quartz, green fluorite and spangolite. Tom also led a trip to an amethyst location where rock hounds did find some. Tom’s grandchildren were along and introduced collectors to the "Fluorite Song", and involuntary reaction to discovering a horde of green fluorite. I think I have an idea of what it was like when they discovered gold at Sutters Mill. Anyway the weather was beautiful, although it did become a little windy in the afternoon. The views from the Oscura Mountains were magnificent, the specimens we collected were gorgeous, and the camaraderie helped to make this a unique collecting adventure.

All AGMC field trips are open to club members who are more than welcome to participate in our next field trip at Dictator Mine. For more information, check out Rex Nelson’s May Field Trip article in this issue of the News Nuggets and hopefully we’ll see you there. Don’t forget, keep looking down.

Grant & Rex

The cost of printing and distributing the News Nuggets has doubled in the last 10 months to $1.63 per issue or $17.93 per year. This seems to be the going rate now days. With memberships at $20 per year this leaves only $2 per year per family to provide: snacks at general meetings, drinks at the club picnic in July, and the venue and main course at the Christmas dinner. Obviously this situation cannot continue without significantly dipping into our reserve funds. Your board of directors has decided on several actions to help alleviate the situation.

First, we are asking anyone who can receive email to get their News Nuggets that way. Please let Patricia or Amy know if you are willing to get the News Nuggets by email. Patricia Amshoff, News Nuggets editor, naturalstonelights@yahoo.com Amy Penn, treasurer, el.chivo.viejo@earthlink.net (please make the subject line "AGMC" and disregard the spam reply you may get)

Second, we will stop sending News Nuggets to expired memberships. All memberships expire December 31st, regardless of when they are paid. Not sure if your membership is current? Ask Amy Penn, 883-4195.

Third, we are reorganizing the process by which the Nuggets is sent to the printer and distributed. This is in order to keep the distribution current with paid membership and to stop sending both hard copy and email Nuggets to many members.

Other solutions discussed included increasing membership dues and/or to stop providing the above mentioned services. The board is not going to take either of these measures at this time.

Please help by accepting email News Nuggets.

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: Patricia Amshoff, Editor, 83 Placita de Oro, Studio 6, Santa Fe, New Mexico 87501, or e-mail at naturalstonelights@yahoo.com.

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

All meetings are held at the NM Museum of Natural History, 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. Board of Directors meetings are held at 7:30 p.m. on the first Monday of each month.

Payment type: □ Check Date Received_______

□ Cash $__________________

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PO Box 13718