News Nuggets

Newsletter of the Albuquerque Gem & Mineral Club

President:    Suzanne Seymour

co-VP Programs:    Mike Sanders and Mark Price

co-VP Field Trips:    Rex Nelson and Grant Kuck

Secretary:    open

Treasurer:    Amy Penn

Membership Chair:    Kimberly Richie

Editor:    open

The slate of officers published in last month’s News Nuggets reflected the best efforts of the Nominating Committee to fill all positions. The individuals named in the various positions represent the current state of the selection of candidates; not the final word. Nominations from the floor of those who consent to run will be taken at the October club meeting for all positions. Of course, the two unfilled positions are a priority, but contenders for any position are entitled to run, provided they are members in good standing. This includes new members. There is no better way to get the most out the AGMC experience than by participating in the Board of Directors. The rewards are tremendous, and the duties when spread amongst the Board as a whole are no more than a couple of hours a week. Think seriously about helping to make our club the quality organization it is for all our members and the public alike.

Hello folks!!

My, how time flies when you’re having fun!!

I found out that Mama’s Minerals was having a crafts show on the 14^th and 15^th October. It was just in time to get a club booth courtesy of Mama’s Minerals. Thanks to Laura Randolph and Mama’s Minerals!! We also want to thank the following members for their help at the Mama’s Minerals craft show:

John & Mike Reinert

Carolyn Wood

Ray DeMark

Alvin Garcia & Robair Lobato

And Coordinator of the event: Suzanne Seymour

The New Mexico Mineral Symposium is the next event in which the club participates. The symposium begins at 8:30AM on November 11^th at the Macey Center on the New Mexico Tech campus in Socorro. There will be a number of 30 minute talks and plenty of snacks. The last talk is Sunday morning and ends when we break for lunch. The AGMC is the sponsor of the silent auction, which will take place in the foyer of the Macey Center beginning at 1:00 PM. There will be 23-25 tables available at $20.00 per table. Registration will take place on Saturday morning. All proceeds from the table rentals are donated to the mineral museum at Tech. The club keeps one table for donated mineral specimens. Look over your collection and see if you can donate one nice specimen for the club table.

If you can get down to Socorro on Friday night November 10 then come down to the Super 8 motel at the north end of town (take the frontage road at the stoplight). That’s where the dealers stay during symposium weekend and there are lots of minerals for sale that night. Things get started around 6-6:30PM and end around 10:00PM.  For more information including registration forms, see

27th New Mexico Mineral Symposium (Nov 11/12, 2006)

Next month we’ll talk about the December installation dinner.

- 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

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.

3-5--BLACK CANYON CITY, ARIZONA: Show, "Rock-A-Rama"; Braggin' Rock Club; Albins Civic Center, K-Mine Rd.; Fri. 9-4, Sat. 9-4, Sun. 9-4; free admission; gems, minerals, jewelry, arts, crafts; contact Don Ingalls, P.O. Box 1797, Black Canyon City, AZ 85324, (623) 374-5344.

3-5--TULSA, OKLAHOMA: Show; The Bead Renaissance Shows; Expo Square, Trade Center, 4145 S. 21st St.; Fri. 10-6, Sat. 10-6, Sun. 10-5; free admission; retail and wholesale dealers, ancient, vintage and contemporary beads, buttons, jewelry, tools, books; contact J&J Promotions, P.O. Box 420, Williamsburg, NM 87942, (505) 894-1293; e-mail: info@beadshow.com; Web site: www.beadshow.com.

4--TUCSON, ARIZONA: 5th annual silent auction; Old Pueblo Lapidary Club; 3118 N. Dale; Sat. 9-2; free admission; contact Danny Harmsen, (520) 323-9154.

11-12--LAKE HAVASU CITY, ARIZONA: 37th annual show; Lake Havasu Gem & Mineral Society; City Community (Aquatic) Center, 100 Park Ave.; free admission; Sat. 9-4, Sun. 9-4; exhibits, dealers, working demonstrations, meteorite presentation, micro mineral demonstration, handcrafted jewelry, raffle, hourly door prizes; contact Manny Frisch, (928) 855-9324.

17-19--ALBUQUERQUE, NEW MEXICO: Show; The Bead Renaissance Shows; New Mexico State Fairgrounds, 300 San Pedro; Fri. 10-6, Sat. 10-6, Sun. 10-5; free admission; retail and wholesale dealers, ancient, vintage and contemporary beads, buttons, jewelry, tools, books; contact J&J Promotions, P.O. Box 420, Williamsburg, NM 87942, (505) 894-1293; e-mail: info@beadshow.com; Web site: www.beadshow.com.

24-26--SCOTTSDALE, ARIZONA: Show; Gem Faire; WestWorld of Scottsdale, 16601 N. Pima Rd.; Fri. 12-7, Sat. 10-7, Sun. 10-5; $5 weekend pass; contact Yooy Nelson, (503) 252-8300; e-mail: info@gemfaire.com; Web site: www.gemfaire.com.

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.

October, 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 an isometric oxide of a common metal and it is found in the oxidized portion of ore deposits. It can be massive, nicely crystallized, or filiform. This mineral has imperfect, octahedral cleavage and a brittle, conchoidal fracture, adamantine luster, hardness of 3.5 to 4, and specific gravity of 6.1. Transparent to translucent, color is red, brown-red, purple-red, to black.

What is the name of the mineral?

What is the origin of the name?

What is the name of the filiform variety?

What is it used for?

What minerals is it associated with?

Where do most specimens come from?

Where is the type locality (place where it was first discovered)?

Name a NM locality.

Name some other US localities.

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

What is the name of the mineral? Cavansite

What is the origin of the name? It is a CA-lcium-VAN-adium SI-licate

What is it used for? No commercial uses other than mineral specimens.

What minerals is it associated with? Zeolites

Where do most specimens come from? India

Where is the type locality (place where it was first discovered)? Oregon

Name a NM locality. none

Name some other US localities. Oregon (2 sites)

Name some world-wide localities. India, New Zealand

Coming in to the meeting Monday night, the adults threaded their way through a group of excited Juniors getting a gold panning lesson from Jeff Nekola and Linda Fey who were working the final stages of some pay dirt brought in and dry washed outside on the front patio by "Gold Pan Jake" Jacobs. More than just a few edged up close to see what they could learn. President Garcia Called the meeting to order at 7:40 pm with a welcome to all and the introductions of new members, visitors and guests. He then asked for a show of hands from those who helped at the fair who received a thank you from him and some applause from the crowd. There were many visitors from our exposure at the State Fair and one of them stood to ask if someone of our group could give a lecture on geology to the staff at Coronado State Monument. Orlando apologized for the lateness of the News Nuggets. It will be published, later. He relayed information about the upcoming Symposium being held at NM Tech on Nov.11-12^th. He was eager also to say that the tailgating at the Super-8 motel on Friday night before the actual Symposia is not to be missed. Most of the presenters are there trading and selling specimens and stories. Real insider stuff open to all who wander through. Caroline Wood of the Nominating Committee stood to give an impassioned pitch to members regarding the state of the slate. Who could imagine it would be hard to find those who want to join the BOD fun? Alas it’s so, and thus we need an Editor and a Secretary for the year 2007. These jobs come with instructions and any one who stands up will have all the help they need to do what they need to do from the other Board members with experience.

Without further ado Orlando introduced the evening’s speaker Mike Spilde, Research Scientists with UNM. Mike is a Mineralogist who specializes in underground environments and biogenic minerals and he worked on the team that studied the fabulous river of calcite, dubbed the Snowy River, discovered in the Ft. Stanton Cave system.

Doubtless the Native American peoples knew of the cave, but word didn’t spread until the Rio Bonito was settled in 1855. Soldiers stationed at Ft. Stanton explored and mapped in 1861, even hauling in a boat for use on the lake inside the cave. Some thirty years ago John Corcoran, John McLean, Don Becker, and Lloyd Swartz responding to air flow near a rubble pile began exploration of what would eventually be known as the world’s longest speleothem. Over 2.5 miles and still more to be counted. Along the way they employed a team of various specialists like speleologists, mineralogists, radio communication people, microbiologists, hydrologists and geologists to document and study this rare find in a cave open to the public for more than a hundred years. The BLM has installed a gate so the area is not accessible to the public. Cave environments are ultra sensitive to airflow, temperature and humidity changes so these continue to be monitored though the digs are currently on a safety stand-down. On the way to the Snowy River they found gypsum crystals radiating like flat stars on surfaces, peach colored stalactites covered in cave velvet [calcite recrystalized in rhombohedral form], and gypsum needles so delicate they waved in the breeze of passing team members. Caves are such beautiful and delicate environments. After negotiating some 300 feet of narrow passages and wire rope ladders they donned Tyvek suits and clean aqua socks to tread on the calcite river [which is less fragile than it looks] in pursuit of scientific answers.

The radio communications experts found that ultra low frequency transmissions from below to above ground enabled them to map their progress. Mike, in collaboration with Penny Boston collected data on the geomicrobiology. They found lots of microbial activity. And further, that in the absence of sunlight energy the microbes actually digest rock, depositing manganese oxides as by-products. Nine species were found and experiments were conducted by inoculating the environment. Using lead thorium dating they found that the deposit is a mere 650 years old. Thickness of the river ranges from 31/2-4 inches with no known hydrothermals currently operating. When asked if there was a correlation of thickness and temperature Mike replied that thickness varied from basin to rim with no evidence of thermal variation. Another question addressed the possibility of changes due to recent flooding and heavy rains to which he replied that due to the stand-down no one has been in there to check on it. He further replied that much science needs to be done. Answers to the hydrology, dating of cave and river features, paleo climate, and potential for pharmaceuticals from geomicrobes remain.

Many thanks Mike for sharing knowledge of one of the wonderful and unique locations that make New Mexico such a super place to explore.

Just before releasing the crowd to assault the refreshments Orlando solicited volunteers to staff a table donated to us by Laura Randolph of Mama’s Minerals during their Arts and Crafts Sale the weekend of Oct. 14-15^th.

Once released the run was on to enjoy the goodies provided by Amy and Jay Penn. Thanks for the spread guys.

Congratulations to the 13 lucky door prize winners.

- Suzanne Seymour

October's AGMC field trip will revisit one of the favorite trips from 2005, the Small Fry fluorite claim near Abiquiu in southern Rio Arriba county. We last visited this site in July 2005, on what turned out to be the hottest day of that year. Temperatures rose to near 100 degrees by mid-morning, and all had fled by early afternoon. Given that the best material from this site is obtained by digging, and as that was out of the question in triple-digit heat, it seemed a return on a cool October day would be appreciated. As before, we can expect to collect botryoidal Fluorite, angel-wing Calcite, and facet-grade Analcime. This is perhaps the youngest fluorite deposit in the state, as the mineralization is found in the Lower Santa Fe formation (Tertiary), which is composed of gravels, sandstones and most importantly altered volcanics. Approximately 1000 tons of fluorite was shipped from the deposit to a mill in Los Lunas, New Mexico during WW II.

We will meet at 9:00 AM just west of the intersection of U.S. 84 and NM 554, which is about three miles east of Abiquiu. There is a small store at this intersection with a large parking lot in front. The driving time from Albuquerque to the meeting spot is a minimum of two hours. From there, we'll proceed north on NM 554 for 4.1 miles (from the Chama River bridge). To reach the prospect, we must cross a barbed wire fence and hike about 1/4 mile.

While fluorite and calcite can be found on the surface, a pick, shovel, and rock hammer will be of use to those wishing to dig for specimens. Remember also to bring wrapping material so that these fragile specimens will not be damaged on their trip home.

Hope to see you all!

- Jeff Nekola

For the month of November we have been kindly asked back to the Blanchard mine. We will meet at 9:30 on the dirt road just east of the rock shop on U.S. 380 in the "town" of Bingham.

There is one change that all of us need to be aware of this year: there will not be any collecting underground. However, Ray is going to conduct a tour underground for those who haven't had an opportunity to see the inside of the mine, i.e., new members, etc. So for the rest of us, it will present a great opportunity to check out some of the cuts and other prospects that we never seem to get to.

The equipment that you'll need for collecting are hammers, chisels, pry bars, etc. It is November, so dress according, as it just might be cold. This is a mine and as such there are plenty of dangerous areas on the surface, as well as underground. So folks bringing their kids, please keep a close eye on them!!

We will caravan to the base of the mine sight from the meeting point. There we'll carpool up to the mine. Anyone driving a car will have to get a ride at this point, as the road turns into a four wheel drive only road up to the mine. Also there is a limited amount of space to park at the mine.

The minerals produced at the Blanchard mine are world renown. We can expect to fine Fluorite, Linarite, Galena. Plus there are a number of rare minerals there.

To reach the mine, take I-25 south to U.S. 380 (8 miles south of Socorro), then east on U.S. 380 for approximately 30 miles to Bingham. Driving time from Albuquerque is about two hours.

Hope to see you there

- Ron Boyd and Jeff Nekola

Ray DeMark is going to talk about the Blanchard Mine near Socorro. There will be a field trip to this mine November 18. Ray is going to explain what minerals are there, their shapes, and how they were formed. We'll find out which minerals will fade in sunlight and which ones glow under fluorescent lights.

Then you'll get to collect them next month. What a treat!! There are lots of specimens to collect both inside and outside the mine.

Bring your notebooks to the Oct. 23 meeting.

Juniors must be accompanied by parent or guardian at all club events.

-Amy Penn

If you think you have seen the above headline somewhere before, then you probably have. In 1999, nuclear physicists at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in the US claimed to have produced three atoms of the super-heavy element with atomic number 118 -- the heaviest ever detected. But that claim was retracted three years later when it emerged that some of the data had been falsified.

This time, however, element 118 -- and its slightly lighter counterpart element 116 -- is here to stay, pushing back the boundaries of the periodic table and helping researchers to understand why some nuclei are more stable than others (Phys Rev C 74 044602).

The world is made up of about 90 naturally occurring elements, but since the 1940s physicists have been able to produce heavier, less stable elements. Such elements are vital for testing models of the nucleus, and to date researchers have amassed data on 29 "super-heavy" nuclei with atomic numbers between 104 and 118.

The definitive discovery of element 118, which is expected to be a noble gas that lies right below radon in the periodic table, was a collaborative effort between researchers at the Livermore lab and the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research (JINR) in Dubna, Russia. Based on data taken early last year in experiments at the JINR cyclotron, in which a target of californium (atomic number 98) is bombarded with a beam of calcium-48 ions, the team observed alpha decay chains that could only occur if element 118 exists. In these decay chains, previously observed element 116 is produced via the alpha decay of element 118.

"Element 118 is the last one in a series of superheavy elements produced in nuclear reactions with calcium-48," says Dubna team-leader Yuri Oganessian. "So far all the experimental data point to the existence of an 'island of stability' in the region of superheavy elements, as theory says it should."

As well as providing a clear ending to a rather unsavory chapter in physics, the discovery of element 118 brings to five the number of new superheavy elements discovered by the Livermore--Dubna collaboration (113, 114, 115, 116 and 118). Next year the team plans to look for element 120 by bombarding a plutonium target with iron isotopes.

- Physicsweb.org

Light Up Your Life

With UV!

Fluorescence in Minerals

Illuminating an aspect of mineral collecting

Presented by Mike Potts

With guest appearances by Paul Hlava and Ray DeMark.

Mike will discuss fluorescent minerals as one part of expanding the dimensions of our hobby, while Paul will probe the reasons why mineral fluoresce. Minerals from the Dictator mine (home of the "cave of fire") will be featured to illustrate this aspect of mineral collecting.