News Nuggets

Newsletter of the Albuquerque Gem & Mineral Club

Mesa Masonic Family Center,

529 Chama SE

(South of Cooperage on Lomas/Wyoming – same location as last year)

The time is near and the show must go on. Make your plans to share the evening with friends and others. It’s always fun and the food is excellent. And, it never happens without the help of so many. Find your niche and commit today.

Here are the opportunities:

Set-up starts at 5 PM. We need about 12 tables, decorations, food prep, serving set-up, silent auction.

What it means: set-up tables for 80, cover them, add decorations, serving set-up, and drink preparations. We need name tags and Greeters and door prizes.

The Club provides Rudy’s Bar-b-que, jalapeno glazed ham, bread and dessert(s), plus punch and coffee (it is permissible to bring your own gentle spirits).

Members provide side dishes, salads, fruits, desserts, or whatever (table service available).

Don’t forget the auction! Bring a white elephant, mineral, or other item for the silent auction. Be creative!

Because I love this group so much, I said yes. Because my life is out of control, I failed to examine my calendar. Because of a family obligation, I will be out of town. I trust you will miss me.

- Hugs, Gwen (247-1533)

An unfortunate event happened during September’s trip to the Zuni Fluorite prospects. Colleen Kei, a club member from Texas, had taken some of her prizes to their truck, and placed the specimens underneath the rear bumper of the vehicle. When she came back later, her specimens were gone. Pete Kei called Ron a few weeks ago and filled him in on this; Colleen was so upset they left immediately after that. Pete told Ron that that’s probably what they should expect for having Texas plates!

Let’s show our fellow club members that this is not how we feel about them! Pete has been incredibly generous to us in the past, bringing many Arkansas quartz crystals for the club to distribute at the show. And, they are wonderful people! If you were on this trip and picked up their material by mistake, now is the time to come forward and return the specimens to their rightful owners. Please call or email either Ron or I and we’ll make sure the material is returned. Even if someone does claim responsibility, I think it would still be a great gesture on the part of each person who attended this trip to bring a single nice Zuni fluorite specimen to the next meeting. I’ll collect them, and will then send these to Colleen as a repayment for her lost treasures. If anyone else would like to bring something for Colleen & Pete, I’m sure they would appreciate it and will send them along as well.

Please, let’s show our fellow members that we care, and help make amends. And, if you see any suspicious activity at any future club trip, please tell the leaders about it immediately.

- Jeff Nekola

The 27^th annual New Mexico Mineral Symposium too place at New Mexico Tech on November 11^th and 12^th. Over 200 people were registered and everyone appeared to have enjoyed the weekend. The Super 8 Motel, where the dealers set up on Friday night, was less than accommodating for an event, which has taken place there for many years. Dave Douglas, the owner of Douglas Minerals, spoke with the managers of the new Comfort Inn regarding moving the tailgating (actually open rooms) to their motel for next year. Details will be published in next year’s symposium flyer.

We didn’t sell as many tables for the silent auction this year as we have in the past 3 years. We usually sell 24-25 tables at $20.00 per table with one reserved for the club. This year we only sold 13 tables with one reserved for the AGMC. That still resulted in a total of $338.00, which the club will donate to the state mineral museum at Tech this year.

I want to thank our retiring field trip chairmen, Ron Boyd and Jeff Nekola for their hard work and excellent field trips during 2006. The participation this year, especially by new members, has been wonderful. Grant Kuck and Rex Nelson will be the incoming Field Chairs for 2007. They should have some very interesting locations for the club to explore next year. Please remember though, Field trips are not like a trip to a theme park. If you bring your children it is your responsibility to keep them with you at all times.

The December installation and scholarship dinner will take place at the Mesa Lodge #68 at 529 Chama NE. This is one block south of the Cooperage Restaurant, which is just east of Louisiana on Lomas Blvd. The club provides the main course and a desert. This is a potluck dinner so bring a side dish and please be generous with the size. We had almost 100 people attending last year. Our scholarship winners will be present and we will have a silent auction in the back room. This is a great fun event and is free to all club members (and wine is allowed). There will be background music on CD’s and plenty of conversation for everyone.

Enjoy!!!

-Orlando

President – Orlando Garcia

Home phone: 345-0520

E-mail: jabog02@msn.com

VP-Membership & VP-Programs -

Kimberly Richie

Home phone: 296-8847

E-mail: cattrax55@wmconnect.com

Co-VP-Field Trips – Ron Boyd

Home phone: 262-0053

Email: rgb417@earthlink.net

Co-VP-Field Trips – Jeff Nekola

Home phone: 265-0497

Secretary & Junior Club –

Suzanne Seymour

Home phone: 877-3621

Email: suzannerox5@aol.com

Treasurer – Amy Penn

Home phone: 883-4195

Email: el.chivo.viejo@earthlink.net

Historian - Dave Moats

Home phone: 892-8163

E-mail: beepbeep59@hotmail.com

Editor - Paul Napolitano

Home phone: 856-2157

E-mail: tcot@spinn.net

Show Chair - Paul Hlava

Home phone: 255-5478

E-mail: hpf5@qwest.net

VP – Programs – Mike Sanders

Home phone: 256-1797

E-mail: mrsande@sandia.gov

Special Events: Orlando Garcia

Home phone: 345-0520

E-mail: jabog02@msn.com

Past President – Grant Kuck

Home phone: 323-1520

E-mail: none at the moment.

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: Paul Napolitano, Editor, 7304 Yorktown, NE, Albuquerque, NM 87109, or email to tcot@spinn.net.

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 pm on the first Monday of each month. (Call for location). The public is welcome to both meetings.

Being a member of the Albuquerque Gem and Mineral Club does not make you an official of the AGMC. This makes it inappropriate for any member to take on any responsibility or authority for any club activity without explicit instruction from the AGMC Board of Directors.

1-3--AUSTIN, TEXAS: Show, "Gem Capers 2006"; Austin Gem & Mineral Society; Palmer Events Center, 900 Barton Springs Rd.; Fri. 9-5, Sat. 10-6, Sat. 10-5; adults $5/$9 3-day pass, seniors $4.50/$7 3-day pass, children 6-12 $2, children 5 and under free; door prizes, member mineral displays, lapidary demonstrations, fluorescent tunnel, petrified wood identification, fossil cleaning, microscope specimen photos, kids' Wheel of Fortune, gem mine; contact Josie Middleton, (512) 458-9546; e-mail: gemcapers@austin.rr.com; Web site: www.austingemandmineral.org.

1-3--EL PASO, TEXAS: Show; El Paso Mineral & Gem Society; El Maida Auditorium, 6331 Alabama; Fri. 10-6, Sat. 10-6, Sun. 10-5; adults and students $3, seniors $2, children under 12 free; gems, minerals, fossils, beads, jewelry, tools, books, equipment, geode cutting, silent auction, demonstrations; contact Jeannette Carrillo, 4100 Alameda Ave., El Paso, TX 79905, (877) 533-7153; e-mail: gemcenter@aol.com.

8-10--LONGMONT, COLORADO: Annual show; Flatirons Mineral Club; Boulder County Fairgrounds Exhibit Bldg., 9595 Nelson Rd., at Hover Rd.; Fri. 9-5, Sat. 9-5, Sun. 10-4; adults $4 ($2 Fri.), children 13 and under free with paid adult; dealers, exhibits, classes, demonstrations, speakers, kids' activities, in conjunction with the Boulder Model Railroad Club Annual Show; contact John Hurst, 2863 Nebrina Pl., Boulder, CO 80301, (303) 443-7885; e-mail: john.hurst2@comcast.net; Web site: http://bcn.boulder.co.us/community/fmc/fmcshow.htm.

12-14--LAKEWOOD, COLORADO: Annual show; Denver Area Mineral Dealers; Holiday Inn Denver West, 14707 W. Colfax Ave; Fri. 10-6, Sat. 10-6, Sun. 11-4; free admission; door prizes, 10 dealers, minerals, fossils, jewelry, gemstones, gemstone rough; contact Pat Tucci, (303) 279-5504; e-mail: ptucci@sprintmail.com.

19-21--GLOBE, ARIZONA: 50th annual show; Show; Gila County Gem & Mineral; Gila County Fairgrounds; Fri. 9-5, Sat. 9-5, Sun. 9-4; adults $2, high school students with ID and children with adult free; dealers, demonstrations, lapidary equipment, finished jewelry, books, tools, minerals, slabs, fossils, door prizes; contact Bill Morrow, (928) 812-0561, or Clyde Caviness, (928) 425-7200.

24-28--QUARTZSITE, ARIZONA: 41st annual pow wow and show; Quartzsite Improvement Association; 235 E. Ironwood Dr.; Wed. 9-5, Thu. 9-5, Fri. 9-5, Sat. 9-5, Sun. 9-5; free admission; more than 300 vendors, rocks, gems, minerals, fossils, beads, wire wrap supplies, jewelry, lapidary supplies, daily field trips, lapidary, jewelry-making, faceting, knapping, and gold panning demonstrations, exhibits; contact Diane Abbott, Pow Wow Chairman, P.O. Box 881, Quartzsite, AZ 85346-0881, (928) 927-6325; e-mail: gia@rraz.net; Web site: www.quartzsiteimprovementassoc.com.

26-6--TUCSON, ARIZONA: Show; J.O.G.S. International Exhibits; Tucson Expo Center, 3750 E. Irvington Rd.; Fri. 11-6; free admission; rough rock, polished rock, findings, finished jewelry, Brazilian gems and stones, amber, jewelry designers, minerals, fossils, mammoth bones and carvings; contact Vitaliy, 650 S. Hill St., Ste. 612, Los Angeles, CA 90014, (213) 629-3030; e-mail: info@jogsshow.com; Web site: www.jogsshow.com.

27-4--TUCSON, ARIZONA: Wholesale show; George Zraket; BGMS Gem Central, 5151 S. Country Club; 10-6 all days; US and international exhibitors, designer jewelry, rough and faceted gemstones, specimens, cabochons, crystals, beads, lapidary, findings; contact George Zraket, 6060 N. Miller Rd., Scottsdale, AZ 85250-4626, (480) 998-4000; e-mail: gzraket@aol.com; Web site: www.beaudrygemshow.com.

27-10--TUCSON, ARIZONA: Show, "Arizona Mineral & Fossil Show"; Martin Zinn Expositions; five locations: The InnSuites Hotel, 475 N. Granada; The Mineral & Fossil Marketplace, 1333 N. Oracle Rd.; Clarion Hotel - Randolph Park, 102 N. Alvernon Way; Quality Inn, 1025 E. Benson Hwy.; Ramada Limited, 665 N. Freeway; 10-6 daily, 10-5 last day; free admission; more than 400 international dealers, free shuttle among locations, Artist Gallery at InnSuites Hotel; contact Martin Zinn Expositions, P.O. Box 665, Bernalillo, NM 87004-0665, fax (505) 867-0073; e-mail: MZ0955@aol.com; Web site: www.mzexpos.com.

November, 2006

From the devious mind of Paul Hlava

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 their chemistry.

This month’s MM is a real toughie! It is a very rare, tetragonal silicate of a very heavy metal that is found in a very few pegmatites (these happen to be tantalum-bearing but that is not Ta-bearing). The most important clue is that it is isostructural with zircon. This mineral has imperfect cleavage and a brittle, conchoidal fracture, vitreous to adamantine luster, hardness of 7.5, and specific gravity of 6.97. Transparent to translucent, color is brownish, yellow, red-brown, and rarely clear.

What is the name of the mineral?

What is the origin of the name?

Why the strange name ending?

What is it used for?

How was the very heavy element in it discovered?

Why did I bother you with this mineral?

Name a NM locality.

Name some other US localities.

Name some world-wide, world-class specimen localities.

What is the name of the mineral? Cuprite

What is the origin of the name? Latin for copper

What is the name of the filiform variety? Chalcotrichite (hairy copper)

What is it used for? An ore of copper

What minerals is it associated with? Other oxidized copper species – azurite, malachite, chrysocholla, tenorite, etc. Also some of the sulfides from which it forms – bornite, chalcopyrite, chalcocite, etc.

Where do most specimens come from? Oxidized zone of porphyry copper deposits like in the SW USA.

Where is the type locality (place where it was first discovered)? Cyprus from which copper got its name.

Name a NM locality. – Chino mines, Tyrone mine, and maybe 100 more across the state.

Name some other US localities. – Globe mine, Ray mine, Bisbee, AZ and all over the US, mainly in the SW.

Name some world-wide, world-class specimen localities. – Congo, China, Namibia, France, England and the stuff is all over the globe!

Our first field trip for 2007 is tentatively scheduled for the 20th of January. The destination is the Nakaye Mine in the Derry district of Sierra County. This date is tentative and - in case of severe weather - will be changed to an alternate date.

The gathering point is on the east side of the bridge at exit 51 on I25 South. This is about 2 1/2 - 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.

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 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 prior to the trip and/or at the meeting place. 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.

There are numerous collecting areas around the Sierra County area if you desire additional collecting opportunities for the lengthy trip.

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

See you at the meeting place.

- Grant Kuck and Rex Nelson

I have found a fantastic web site, which maps mines, forests, peaks, rivers, streams, ridges and lots more.

Go to www.placenames.com/

click> USA Place Names

click> New Mexico

click> any county

go to> Other Types of places

click> Mines

click> which mine you want to find and map

go to> Maps and Aerial Photos

click> Aerial photo and topo map

This takes you to Terraserver. You have an aerial photo or click to see the topo map.

Love it.

Martin Wormser

The juniors learned from Ray DeMark about the minerals commonly found at the Blanchard Mine. Nov. 18th the club field trip is to the Blanchard. There is gypsum, quartz, barite, fluorite, brochantite, linerite, and galena. The juniors got samples of these and learned about their transparency, specific gravity, cleavage, shape and hardness. Then they were blind folded and asked to guess what was in their hand. So… if anyone is needing clarification of minerals on Nov. 18th…. Ask a Junior member.

Thank you Ray for your expertise!

- Amy Penn

Dear AGMC members;

I wanted to take some space in this month’s News Nuggets to explain why you have been receiving late newsletters.

I’m sure most of you out there know by now that this will be the last News Nuggets I edit for quite some time. Yes, my personal life has gotten increasingly busy and I do not have time to attend the meetings, but that is not the reason for late News Nuggets. I have forgone the meetings to make time for editing – it has remained my priority.

What you may not know is that I have implemented some changes in the publishing of the newsletter to expedite the process. I have the print shop meter, label, and mail the newsletters so my availability to pick them up does not impact their timeliness. That means I email the document to the print shop and they do the rest, usually the same day (even on Saturday!). In theory, this means you should be getting your News Nuggets earlier than ever. So why aren’t you?

The deadline for submissions by the Board of Directors has been consistent from what appears to be the beginning of time. From the submission deadline, I have a week to assemble, edit, and find content if needed. Why there have been so many months where I did not receive the bulk of submissions until after I should have sent the copy to the print shop, I cannot answer. Have the meeting dates changed? No. Has the submission date (relative to the BOD meetings) changed? Again, no. So why were there so many months where I did not get the required information until after it was too late to get the issue to the print shop for timely delivery?

Why have you been getting late News Nuggets? Because BOD members have been increasingly late with their submissions. If you would like an answer to this question, please ask the BOD.

I have brought this problem up with the BOD on several occasions without resolve.

I have had enough of being associated with the late newsletters. I want the membership to know that I am not to blame. When I am 3 (or more) pages short, or missing critical information (such as the BOD slate), I cannot proceed with the newsletter publishing process. This results in painfully late newsletters.

That said, I have decided not to continue as editor.

Hopefully the new BOD will work with the new editor so the newsletters will be received by the membership before the general meeting.

I don’t want to leave you with the impression that I am negative about my experience with the club. I have enjoyed it very much, and there are some hard working folks out there who realize they are cogs in a greater system who have made my job easier. I do want to thank those folks who were timely with their submissions; you know who you are.

I have enjoyed editing for the club in the past, and perhaps in the future I will be able to again.

‘Till we meet again,

Paul Napolitano

8 November 2006

Watch somebody munch on boiled sweets in the dark, and you might just see their mouth glow. That's because piezoelectric materials such as sugar can emit light when they are broken. Now researchers at the University of Illinois in the US have made this "mechanoluminescence" up to 1000 times brighter by pummelling crystals with ultrasonic shock waves (Nature 444 163).

In materials with structures that lack symmetry such as piezoelectric crystals, charge of opposite sign separates when the material is stressed. If the stress is great enough, the material fractures, and the charge then recombines in the gas between the gap producing a small spark of light. Kenneth Suslick and Nathan Eddingaas from Illinois found that they can intensify the effect by immersing slurries of crystals into paraffin infused with various gases, which is then irradiated with ultrasonic waves.

Crushing light

During this process, millions of microscopic bubbles continually form and implode through the process of "acoustic cavitation", generating shock waves that drive individual crystals together at half the speed of sound. "It's like the difference between hitting the crystals with a hammer and firing at them with a bullet," said Suslick.

The team monitored the light emitted from two known piezoelectric crystals: sugar and resorcinol (a white aromatic solid). When they were manually crushed in nitrogen, the crystals not only displayed luminescence, but also a faint nitrogen emission spectrum. Both types of crystals produced the same emission when they were irradiated with ultrasound in nitrogen-infused paraffin – however, the intensity was so much greater that the crystal slurries could be seen glowing in daylight. Moreover, only irradiation with ultrasound could produce spectra from paraffin infused with inert gases such as helium or argon.

Suslick and Eddingaas said that the bolstered intensity was because of the increased rate of fracture from the 20 kHz ultrasonic waves, which meant more surfaces were exhibiting mechanoluminescence at any one time. But only the strength of the collisions could explain the presence of line emissions for helium or argon, which are much more difficult to ionise. "We learn more about the fracture of materials from this kind of study," said Suslick, who has been investigating acoustic cavitation for the past 30 years. "It's a tool for understanding chemistry at the interface between the mechanical world and the molecular world."

- PhysicsWeb.org

Tiffany Blue

By

Pat McCraw

Turquoise hunting has always been an adventure‚ and even more so in the early 1900’s when Charles L. Tiffany demanded a perfect blue stone for his jewelry. And where did he find it? Right here in New Mexico on the Turquoise Hill outside of Cerrillos. Author Pat McCraw will talk about turquoise mining at the turn of the century, when Tiffany, the Pinkertons, and an Irishman named James Patrick McNulty teamed up to find some of the best turuqoise in the world. She will bring turquoise samples mined at the time along with copies of the actual documents that detail the ENTIRE history of Tiffany's mining adventure from 1892 to 1912 approximately. This turquoise history is punctuated with midnight raids from nearby Pueblo Inidans, a crazy lady, and enough corrupt polticians to fill a history book. Books will be for sale at $20 and $4 of each book will go to programs supported by the Albuquerque Gem and Mineral society.