News Nuggets

Newsletter of the Albuquerque Gem & Mineral Club

Volume 50 Number 10

It’s only a few more weeks before the start of one of my favorite events of the year, The New Mexico Mineral Symposium. Tom Schmierer kindly sent me a package of registration brochures with a list of this year’s speakers. If you haven’t received your registration packet yet you can call me (345-0520) or e-mail me (jabog02@msn.com) and I will send you a brochure.

The symposium begins at 8:30AM on Saturday, November 8 at the Sweeny Center on the New Mexico Tech campus in Socorro. However, if you go to the Super 8 Motel on Friday night, November 7, you will find mineral dealers with their doors open to avid collectors till late into the evening. The evening has the atmosphere of a hotel show at either Tucson or Denver but without the crowds or sales atmosphere.

After a day and a half of 30-minute talks on everything from ‘Amethyst from the Ladron Mountains’ to ‘Wulfenite Occurrences in Colorado’ the pace changes on Sunday afternoon. The now famous silent auction will take place in the Sweeney Center lobby with up to 26 tables of minerals and related items for sale. This year we will be running the auction a little differently from past years. Instead of charging 10% of total sales the AGMC Board of Directors has decided to charge a flat fee of $20.00 per table. Hopefully this will allow more time for people to look and buy between table closings. The $20.00 will be due during the registration for the auction on Sunday morning.

-Orlando

We almost have a full slate of volunteers for the 2004 AGMC Board of Directors.

President: Grant Kuck

VP Speakers: Ray DeMark

VP Field Trips open (2 maybes)

VP Membership:  Kimberly Richie

Editor:  Darlene Nelson

Secretary:  Scott Wilson

Treasurer:  Stephanie Bell

Historian:   Dave Moats

Special Events:   Hank Miller

Anyone else interested in running for office must be nominated at the October general meeting. No nominations will be accepted at the November meeting.

President - Orlando Garcia; home phone: 345-0520; e-mail: jabog02@msn.com

VP-Programs - Grant Kuck; home phone: 323-1520

VP-Field Trips - Kimberly Richie; home phone: 296-8847

VP-Special Events - Hank Miller; home phone: 255-7218; e-mail: rgmhgm2@msn.net

Secretary/Historian - Dave Moats; home phone: 892-8163; e-mail: beepbeep59@hotmail.com

Treasurer - Stephanie Bell; Home phone: 281-7192; e-mail: stephbell22@yahoo.com

Editor - Darlene Nelson; Home phone: 271-4694; e-mail: agmcnews@aol.com

Show Chair - Paul Hlava; home phone: 255-5478; e-mail: hpf1@quest.net

Membership - Donna Scott; Home phone: 934-6564; e-mail: dutchessofalb@aol.com

Jr. Club - Carl Johnson; home phone: 344-3178

The Club Newsletter; News Nuggets exists to assist the membership in communications and to provide information on club activities. Contributions from all members are welcome on any information that will promote club activities or that would be of interest to club members. News Nuggets is scheduled to be mailed approximately one week prior to the monthly meeting. Mail news, articles or comments to: Darlene Nelson, Editor, 817 Sagebrush Trail, Albuquerque, NM 87123, or email to agmcnews@aol.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 6:45 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.

Paul Hlava, our mineralogist at large, is recovering from an operation to remove a bone spur and reattach his Achilles tendon. Here’s to a speedy recovery, Paul.

During our field trip to the Chino mine outside of Silver City last year Ray Demark took a picture of our group inside the bucket of one of the huge shovels. I have his slide and I am going to have a 4"x6" photo made. If anyone else wants a copy please call me. They’re going to be $1.00 each through Costco.

The club will have one or two tables at the symposium’s silent auction in November. We need about 30 specimens per table. Please check your collection and see if there is just one nice specimen you can donate for this event. Last year just 2 or 3 members donated most of the specimens. You can bring your specimen to the October 27 general meeting. If there are too many specimens for the allotted table space at the symposium then those specimens will be used at the silent auction at the installation dinner on December 6.

-Orlando

November and December are renewal months for your AGMC memberships. Twenty bucks per household for a year of field trips, speakers, a picnic and 2 dinners. It’s a real deal, folks.

After Orlando introduced tonight’s three guests to the sixty-three in attendance, Hank gave a big THANK YOU to those who so generously gave of their time and efforts to man our club table at the just ended State Fair. We had lots of volunteers and the table was well covered. We appreciate your support. Next year we will consider scheduling our table on Dollar Day. Apparently this year’s Dollar Day had the Fair’s highest attendance in their history! We were also reminded of the November 8^th and 9^th Symposium in Socorro. You can pick up the flyers from Hank Miller or get the information off the Internet. The talks are mostly geared to the amateur so you will be able to follow the speaker without having a degree in Geology. In addition there are mineral sales taking place in the local motels and a silent auction on Sunday afternoon where, within a span of about two hours, $5000 worth of minerals were sold last year.

Ray and Kimberly gave us the particulars concerning our upcoming trip to the Section 27 and 21 mines south of Grants. We can expect to find fluorite that was mined there in the 30’s and 40’s and helped to make New Mexico’s reputation as the richest western state in fluorite production. We will be lead into the Nacimiento mine near Cuba on October 25^th and in November into one of the Blanchard mines.

Orlando reminded everyone that we are holding our Club’s Officers’ election in November so the October meeting is your last chance to get your name in the hat. We need your HELP as that is the only way the club can function.

December 6^th we have our meeting room scheduled for our yearly Christmas/ Officer inauguration party.

Grant noted that in October we will hear Tom, Mike and Dave present us with their adventure into the Juanita mine and in November John Scully will tell us all about his mineral purchasing trip to Brazil.

We were then introduced to Dr. Paul Bradley, tonight’s speaker. He would be talking about his "Geological Observations of the Truchas Peaks."

Dr. Bradley, besides being the President of the Los Alamos Geological Society, has a B.S. degree in Chemical Engineering from Texas A&M University in 1984; a M.S in Physics, also from Texas A&M in 1987; and a Ph.D. in Astronomy, from the University of Texas in 1993! He has had two phases of interest in geology, and especially mineralogy. The first phase was as a kid, where he bought cheap rocks and seashells. He rediscovered his interest through his ex-wife in the mid-1980’s and has continued with the hobby since then. He has not had any geology courses, but has studied on his own a fair amount of mineralogy over the years, and that is his strongest geological interest. Paul grew up in Texas and spent the first 31 years there. He moved to Los Alamos, NM , as a postdoc in 1993 and is presently a staff member in X-2 (Thermonuclear Applications). His present work involves computational modeling of a number of different things, including inertial confinement fusion capsules.

His interest was piqued after reading the "Trail Guide to Geology of the Upper Pecos", #6 of the Scenic Trip to the Geologic Past published by the New Mexico Bureau of Mines & Mineral Resources in 1975. Paul’s interest in mountain climbing, backed up by his excellent conditioning (he jogs 3 to 5 miles every day at an elevation of 7200+), combined with his intellectual curiosity concerning mineralogy and geology was a perfect match. He was inspired after reading Trip #5 and Trip #15 of this publication which describes the trails to reach South Truchas Peak and its environs. After three attempts over several years to summit (the first attempt in July of 1997 he was turned back by too much snow) he finally was successful. In solo day hikes he hiked from the Jacks Creek trailhead at about 8800 feet to the Truchas peaks. What he was looking for, mineralogically speaking, were garnets. Paul had with him tonight several maps of the area showing a geologically complicated picture. The Jicarilla and Pecos-Picuris faults were shown just to the west of Trail Riders Wall but upon a cursory inspection didn’t seem to have any outward geographical expression. They separate the Precambrian quartzite that make up both Pecos Baldy and Truchas Peaks from the Pennsylvanian shale, sandstone, and limestones. Pictures and Paul’s sketch showed the stratigraphy as steeply pitching, near vertical rock formations in the area. Precambrian quartzite forms the high peaks with mica schists cutting through them. A picture showed the east side of Santa Fe Baldy as much steeper than its west face caused by a glacial cirque now home to Lake Katherine. Pictures from Pecos Baldy peak looking down the precipitous east face to its namesake lake below (about 11,440 feet in elevation) were beautiful. This is also a cirque. A picture from the same peak showed the near vertical stratigraphy of Pennsylvanian gray shales in the saddle just north of the Pecos Baldy Lake which is also the southern end of Trail Rider’s Wall. Amphibolite schist was noted on the way up Little Truchas. A picture taken on South Truchas at 13,100 feet looking west showed the chevron colored rock mica schist formation where the garnets are found. He noted the changing rock colors with the changing rock types in the area. We were also treated to several other beautiful and spectacular panoramas of North Truchas and other peaks with Truchas Lakes below. We saw a picture of a U shaped valley sculpted by glaciers. Paul brought in many specimens he had collected there. They are yellow garnets found in a bright silver sheen mica schist. These are apparently manganese rich spessartine garnets formed by regional metamorphic processes. Paul got this information from a thesis paper he referred to and verified by Virgil Lueth. Paul Hlava stated that "only a very little iron takes the yellow away pretty quickly." Apparently after forming these garnets were distorted and flattened. Although some as large as ½ inch were found the smaller they were the less distorted they were. The smaller ones (3 to 5mm) showed nice faces. Paul thinks he may have also found kyanite, piedmontite, and hornblende in the area as well as fossils on Trail Riders Wall.

We were treated so some close-up pictures of bighorn sheep that are quite fearless and brazenly will run right up to you and look for hand-outs. They’ll eat right out of your hand! Paul says the month of June is a good month to go up here if it is not too muddy as there is a riot of color with the tiny alpine flowers in full regalia. Because of the short growing season they remain small but extraordinarily bright to attract the pollinating insects. He takes extra precautions to avoid stepping on these slow growing delicate plants in this fragile environment.

He noted that storms will come up very quickly in an hours time thus accounting for his early start time of 6 or 7 a.m. allowing him to be off the peaks by noon. Besides the danger of lightning he noted that rain makes the rock treacherous for hiking or climbing as one can easily slip or twist something and fall.

Of course he can accomplish this feat with the blistering pace he sets for himself from trailhead to Pecos Baldy Lakes (11,400’), which covers 7 ½ miles, and about a 2,600 foot altitude gain in 2 hours and 15 minutes. That leaves him only 4 1/2 more miles to traverse to get to South Truchas Peak for a total of about 12 miles one way! That makes for a five-hour one-way trip. He always tells someone his destination and route and when to expect him back. He does not carry a cell phone as it would work only on the peaks. He keeps himself well protected from the sun and carries at least one gallon of water as he doesn’t drink from the streams.

Paul Hlava is planning a special program for our club in conjunction with the New Mexico Facetors Guild on the Thursday after the Symposium. After a short break for refreshments and mineral purchases provided by members we had the door prize drawings. The Door Prizes were exceptional tonight and we can expect more of the same at the remaining two meetings of this year.

Secretary/Historian, David Moats

My father once told me, Don't say 'Goodbye'. Goodbye is permanent. Say so-long, because we will see each other again.

As the Kirkpatrick family leaves New Mexico and moves to Oregon, we say so-long. We also want to thank each of you for letting us be an active part of your lives and of the AGMC.

Many of you have been an active role in each of our children growing to adulthood, even though you may not be aware of the influence and guidance you gave them. Through teaching, membership, snacks and never refusing to let them participate in the meetings and other activities you have given each of us more than just rocks and rock information. So-long and the kettle's always on the stove.

Pat, Linda, Jeanna, Kari, Jon and Laura new address: Kirkpatrick's

PO Box 2266 Tualatin, OR 97062  temporary e-mail:khufu@swcp.com

We have a rare program opportunity coming up Nov. 13^th. Jack Thompson of Colorado Springs has volunteered to give a presentation on "Breckenridge and the Farncom Gold Collection" at the Denver Museum of Natural History to the New Mexico Facetors Guild. The NMFG president, Dr. Scott Wilson (yeah, the tall, lanky, cowboy dude with the door prize coupons) has arranged with the Museum to have the same room AGMC uses so we can accommodate a large crowd and he has invited all of us to join NMFG for this talk. For those of you who don’t know – Breckenridge gold specimens are crystallized in all kinds of wondrous shapes. Nuggets are OK but these crystallized specimens are superb!

See Ya There!

Paul Hlava

031011

Thirty eager souls gathered at 9:00 a.m. on the 27^th of September for a field trip to the Zuni Mountains southwest of Grants. We met at the Bandera Volcano/El Malpais Visitor Center which was only a couple of miles from our first stop, the Section 21 mine. Although the mine is only a mile off the main road, it is a very rough mile requiring 4-wheel drive and high clearance. Consolidating vehicles before the rough stretch enable everybody to reach the mine area. Unfortunately, Hank Miller had a bit of a problem. His right front wheel dropped off the "road" above a collapsed adit. His battery also went dead simultaneously. A crew of workers came to the rescue, however, and by rebuilding the road with rocks and jacking up the vehicle, disaster was averted.

Fluorite specimens were abundant in the dump adjacent to the road, and with only a little digging, everybody was able to collect some nice specimens. The fluorite occurs in several forms. Green, banded and octahedral fluorite is probably the most common, but blue cubic fluorite was also readily collectible. This fluorite has a noteworthy color shift to purple under incandescent light. Some of the green fluorite has a very saturated emerald green color, and clear pieces would be suitable for faceting.

At 1:00 p.m. we started packing up and left for our next stop, the Section 27 mine is only about a mile or so away from the Section 21 mine. Fortunately, the road to this mine is much more user friendly, and except for some low-slung sedans, everybody was able to drive to the foot of the hill below the mine. Collecting was more limited at this location, but a thick (about 6") vein of banded green and white fluorite provided some nice chunks suitable for cutting/slabbing. Grant Kuck expended quite a bit of energy working on a vein exposed in one of the trenches and retrieved some crystallized fluorite. It was a beautiful day weather wise with lots of sunshine, and those who didn’t attend missed a great trip.

-Ray

Meeting Time: 10:00am at the parking area at the mine site. This is about ¼ up the hill from the gate.

Vehicle: @wheel drive vehicles. All paved roads till the turnoff to the mine. The last ½ mile a is dirt road but it is in very good condition.

Directions: From Albuquerque take I-25 north to NM 44 west at the second Bernalillo exit. Follow NM 44 northwest to Cuba, NM. At the intersection of NM 126 turn right (east) and head east for 5-6 miles to the mine road (just past the national forest boundary) on the north side of the road (approximately at mile marker 5).

There are areas of the property that are dangerous and should be avoided: any old structures or plumbing equipment, and the lake at the bottom, which is very acidic.

Collection possibilities: Azurite nodules, calcite-lined concretions, Fossilized wood with malachite and azurite replacement, and pyrite balls.

The elevation is over 7,500 feet. The weather has cooled enough to be comfortable but deceiving so bring plenty of water, lunch, and maybe a chair to take a break. This is an open area with very little shade around the edges of the pit. The closest bathroom facilities are in Cuba.

The last trip of the year will be to the Blanchard claims at Bingham, NM. This trip is scheduled for November 25. Details will be in next month’s News Nuggets.

map is not to scale

Coming up this October it’s a trip of anticlimactic proportions as Mike Potts, Tom Katonak, and Dave Moats talk about their underground adventures in the Magdalenas in places so dark and deep you’ll want to know more about them. Come to the October 27^th meeting for their latest presentation.

-Grant Kuck

Mystery Mineral

For September, 2003

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.

This Month’s Mystery Mineral is—

An uncommon, orthorhombic, secondary, lead mineral that looks a lot like barite and comes from weathered lead deposits. It is colorless, white, gray, yellow, green, or blue with a white streak. Hardness – 2.5 to 3, Density 6.3, Cleavage – 3, one good and a distinct pair perpendicular to first, Luster is adamantine.

What is the name of the mineral?

What is the origin of the name?

What is the mineral used for?

What minerals might it be associated with?

Localities – (Just list the famous ones)

--NM –

--USA –

--World –

What is the name of the mineral? Altaite

What is the origin of the name? Type locality Ziryanovsk in the Altai Mountains of Siberia.

What is the mineral used for? Ore of Tellurium.

What minerals might it be associated with? Native tellurium, galena, pyrite, chalcopyrite, gold and silver and their tellurides.

Localities – (Just list the famous ones)

--NM – Hilltop mine, Organ Mountains, Dona Ana County, New Mexico

--USA – Ritchie Creek Deposit, Price County, WI; the Stanislaus Mine, Calaveras County; Sawmill Flat, Tuolumne County and the Providence Mine, Nevada County, CA; Campbell Mine, Cochise County, AZ

--World – Zyrianovsk, Kazakhstan; Jewel Lake, Greenwood, British Columbia and Mattagami Lake Mine, Quebec, Canada; Sacaramb (Nagyag), Transylvania, Romania; Pribram, Czech Republic; Koch-Bulak Gold deposit, Kazakhstan; Moctezuma, Mexico and Coquimbo, Chile;

Paul Hlava 031009

Yes. I know. It has been MONTHS since I last reminded everyone about our show (how thoughtless of me). Next year’s Treasures of the Earth - Gem, Mineral, and Jewelry Show -– 2004 (TotE-2004 for short) will be held at the School Arts / Flower building, just like the last few years. One thing that has changed is the weekend. March 26-28, 2004 are the dates because the weekend before, which we preferred, was already tied up with a big mobile home extravaganza spread over the entire fairgrounds.

Orlando is heading up a committee to get new display cases built. And Judy DeMark is going to be in charge of promoting the show through Radio and Television coverage.

I have also asked three people to act as Co-chairs. They are Orlando Garcia, Mike Sanders, and Scott Wilson. Between the four of us we hope to keep the momentum going on this show. So you see that we have a strong effort going for TotE – 2004. This does not mean that YOU are locked out. Anyone who is interested in helping can join the group. We have not set a definite date for our next meeting so contact any of the four of us to throw your hat in the ring and get on the committee list!

Paul Hlava

031012

The issue with Dan McClennan is now over and we can begin anew. Dan was sentenced on Wednesday August 20, 2003. The judge gave him a one-year and one term in federal prison. He was told to pay restitution in the amount of $72,000. Plus the amount taken within the statute of limitations. We doubt very seriously that any amount of money will ever be forthcoming from Dan, but at least it's on the books.

Sincere thanks to LEWIS ELROD and ARLENE BURKHALTER for their continued efforts in this case. Arlene said that the judge might have reduced the sentence further if it had not been for the eloquent testimony of Lewis. He spoke before the judge telling him that Dan had embezzled the money from scholarships for students and that the scholarship fund was having a hard time now coming up with the money needed for the students. If it had not been for Arlene who worked closely with the banks and brokerage firms we might not have been able to get the documentation needed to prosecute. With the background Jon Spunaugle had he was able to get a handle on what monies had been taken. Three cheers for these hardworking volunteers, who spent many hours and days on this unpleasant task.

RMFMS has selected Wichita, Kansas, as the site for the 2004 RMFMS Convention, on April 23, 24 and 25, 2004. The convention is being hosted by the Wichita Gem and Mineral Society, and is being held in conjunction with the WGMS annual show. The show will be held in the Cessna Activity Center, located at 2744 George Washington Boulevard, which is on the southeast side of Wichita. Block motel accommodations will be arranged at a convenient motel.

The WGMS is excited to be hosting this special event. Although rock-hunting opportunities are limited in Kansas for large field trip groups, some field trip activities are being planned. The WGMS club members hope to see you next April.

Enclosed is your club membership form for 2003. Please include all the names to be included in your household membership. This information is required by the American Federation of Mineralogical Societies A.F.M.S. for insurance and dues purposes. Annual Dues are $20.00 per household and $10.00 per household for memberships from June 30, 2003-December 31, 2003.

Last Name_____________________________ Renewal from 2003? Y N

Senior Member Names: 1.___________________________

2.___________________________

Junior Member Names: 1.___________________age______

2.___________________age______

3.___________________age______

If this is a renewal, is the News Nuggets going to the proper address? Y N

Mailing Address: ______________________Apt. # ________

City:____________________ State: _______ ZIP + 4: _______-_____

Phone: (_____) _____-______ Please include. This is only for club use and not for any other purpose

e-mail Address: _____________________________

Annual Dues: Dues are $20.00 per family.

Send this form and check to: AGMC

PO Box 13718,

Mike Potts, Tom Katonak & Dave Moats