News Nuggets

Newsletter of the Albuquerque Gem & Mineral Club

Scott Wilson and Hank Miller are in the process of forming a slate of officers to present to the general membership. If you are willing to serve as an officer of the club, please get in contact with either one of them. The following positions are still open:

PRESIDENT: (Grant Kuck has graciously agreed to serve for one more term.)

VICE PRESIDENT/DIRECTOR OF PROGRAMS: The Vice President and Director of Programs shall, in cooperation with the AGMC Board of Directors, plan and secure suitable programs for the regular meetings of the corporation members.

VICE PRESIDENT/DIRECTOR OF FIELD TRIPS: The Vice President and Director of Field Trips shall, in cooperation with the AGMC Board of Directors, secure and schedule field trips of suitable interest for the corporation members.

SECRETARY: The Secretary shall keep minutes of all meetings of the AGMC. The Secretary shall also incorporate, in full, all amendments to the Constitution and By-laws in the minutes of the meeting at which they were adopted, maintain an accurate, up-to-date copy of the Constitution and By-laws as amended, and shall furnish the Presidents and Vice Presidents with copies of the same.

TREASURER: The Treasurer shall have custody of all monies of the AGMC and shall receive all funds, giving a receipt for same. After approval of bills by the Board of Directors, the Treasurer shall pay same by check. The Treasurer shall notify members of delinquent dues in advance of the due date. The Treasurer shall keep an itemized record, in a permanent file, of all receipts and expenditures and shall give a report of the same at the first meeting of each month. The Treasurer shall submit all records to an auditing committee at least ten days prior to the annual meeting, or at any other time as requested by the Board of Directors.

NEWS EDITOR: The News Editor shall edit and publish a newsletter concerning matters of interest to all members and mail same to all members prior to each meeting.

REFRESHMENT COORDINATOR: The Refreshment Coordinator shall be responsible for insuring that refreshments are available at every meeting by securing volunteers from the general membership to bring the food.

President - Grant Kuck; Home phone: 323-1520; E-mail: gkuck@flc.org

VP-Speakers - Ray DeMark; Home phone: 822-8715; E-mail: RayDeMark@msn.com

VP-Membership - Kimberly Richie; Home phone: 296-8847; E-mail: cattrax55@wmconnect.com

VP – Field Trips – Open

Secretary – Scott Wilson; Home phone – 792-0951;E-mail: swilson@copper.net

Treasurer - Stephanie Melof; Home phone: 281-7192; E-mail: stephbell22@yahoo.com

Historian - Dave Moats; Home phone: 892-8163; E-mail: beepbeep59@hotmail.com

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

Special Events - Orlando Garcia; Home phone: 345-0520; E-mail: jabog02@msn.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.

So how much is the Albuquerque Gem and Mineral Club worth to you?  Obviously it's worth at least about 6 cents a day.  And since a membership of 6 cents a day, or 20 dollars a year covers your entire family it actually comes out to much less than that.  Is the club worth the price of a cup of coffee or a soda each day?  Would you still be a member if the dues went up 5, 10, or 15 dollars?  Ultimately you are the only one who can put a value on the club...how much is the AGMC worth to you?

No, the board is not about to raise the membership dues, but there is something your club needs more than money.  The AGMC needs you, your time and your involvement.  This year the board operated without some positions being filled.  One example is the Vice President of Field Trips.  Normally we have more field trips but we did the best we could in the absence of that volunteer position.  (That is why there is no September field trip).  Now while the board may function in the absence of one or two jobs, it cannot continue operating with more and more openings going unfilled.

This next year we have openings for an Editor, Refreshment Coordinator, Secretary, Vice President of Field Trips and Vice President of Programming.  There are also a couple of ad hoc positions on the board that are open.  Obviously our club cannot function without our dues.  And it is equally true that it cannot exist without membership involvement.  It all comes back to the question: How much is the AGMC worth to you?

Do you have a couple hours a month you could give?  Maybe it will cost you something.  Giving up Monday Night

Football once a month or maybe eating fast food because there is not enough time to squeeze in a sit down dinner between work and the board meetings.  The price you pay is according to how much you value the club.  As long as there are those who pay the price and volunteer the club will exist and the more members who volunteer the more the club will grow and flourish.

This November you will have an opportunity to serve the club by volunteering your time.  Many positions on the board are open and we really need to fill them.  That is if we want the AGMC to continue to be a success.  If you are interested please see Scott Wilson or in his absence any member on the board.  Also during the September and October meetings you have an opportunity to nominate yourself from the floor for any position you would like.  Remember all positions are open...that's why we have an election.  By the way, if you don't want to nominate yourself from the floor you can have somebody else do it or let me know and I'll be happy to do it for you.

A special thank you for John Scully who volunteered to lead our last field trip.  Your time and effort John are very much appreciated. (And I can't wait to see some of your moonstones!)  And another thank you to Kathy Lawicki for bringing all those refreshments they really add to the social nature of our club and taste pretty good to.  And one last thank you to all those club members who work behind the scenes to make the AGMC the great club it has been.

The 2004 New Mexico State Fair was shinning with the brightness of the minerals entered by several AGMC members, and visitors were in awe as they look at the outstanding displays.

Winners for this year are:

1^st Place/Youth: Selenite/Desert Rose, submitted by Michael and John Reinert

1^st Place/General: Selenite, submitted by Alan McKenney

3^rd Place: Fire Opal, submitted by Rex Nelson

1^st Place: Nacimiento Treasures, submitted by Rex Nelson

2^nd Place: Crystal Art, submitted by Michelle Brown

Participation: Gene Leitka

1^st Place: Cretacious Sea Floor, submitted by Mike Petrofes

2^nd Place; Maclurites, submitted by Mike Petrofes

1^st Place: Pennsylvanian Fossils of Socorro, submitted by Cait Petrofes

1^st Place: Turquoise of S.W. New Mexico, submitted by Rex Nelson

2^nd Place: Cabachons, submitted by Bob Enders

3^rd Place: Our Turquoise Mine, "The Little Chalchihitl", submitted by Todd Brown

BEST OF SHOW: Nacimiento Treasures (A collection of typical specimens found during AGMC field trips), submitted by Rex Nelson

Starting time: 7:39PM

Grant Kuck, AGMC President presiding

Visitors: We had 3 visitors today! Welcome to our club!

Field Trips: John Scully  will lead a trip to the Rabb Canyon moonstone locality over Aug 28/29. Details on where to meet, what to bring, timing, and how to collect are in the newsletter. Bring a GPS if you have one; it's easy to get lost! Collecting is mostly surface digging in soft dirt and streambeds. It's a fair hike in, with some steep, rocky terrain. You will definitely need sturdy hiking boots.

State Fair: Orlando reports that there are still a number of time slots open for the State Fair.  The basic duty is to man the AGMC booth, answer questions about the club, and give away nice (fully labeled) specimens to interested parties. Get a free parking pass!

Editor prepares and distributes our monthly newsletter. All of these officers together form the Board of Directors. Please help out your club by volunteering for one of these positions; it’s a rewarding experience - and a treat to work with fine people in our hobby. Please contact any officer for more information about the positions. Scott Wilson and Hank Miller will be forming a slate of candidates for the elections. Feel free to come to any board meeting (they are open to all members) to see the inner workings (meetings are 1st Monday of the month, at the Museum, 7:30PM) and see how easy it is to handle these positions.

Membership list: Gwen Poe inquired about a membership list. A number of members spoke up that they do not want to be on a published list. There have been rules established by the Board about how this type of information is to be made available; please see Grant for details.

Name badges: See Kimberly to get a name tag They are available for a small charge and take a few weeks for delivery.

ToTE 2005 show: A show committee meeting was held at Paul Hlavas house to get the ball rolling for the Mar 18-20, 2005 ToTE show. This is back to our original time slot and will coincide with the Home Builders Showcase. The theme mineral will be "Fluorite: New Mexico's Rainbow Mineral". Admission will be $3. There will likely be around 37-39 dealers (they are already calling from all across the country to get in). Most of the last meeting was involved with publicity and getting the flyers ready to go (should be available to hand out at the Denver show in September).

Fluorite specimens for the theme mineral showcase can be from any locality, not just New Mexico.  Show minerals will be in locked cases. Armed guards will be present during operating

hours, and we'll have overnight security as well.

Program: Ray DeMark presented a spectacular program on "Wulfenite Occurrences in New Mexico."  Wulfenite is a very popular collectors mineral, usually

associated with Arizona localities such as the Red Cloud Mine and the Globe Mine. In New Mexico, the most significant locality is the Stephenson-Bennett Mine near Las Cruces.  This mine opened in 1847 as a lead-silver mine during the Civil War. Around the 1920s it was nearly closed. Wulfenite was so abundant that it was part of the ore. Wulfenite (PbMoO4) was mined for its molybdenum content. Many nice specimens were crushed as ore. Some noteworthy specimens came out of this locality and are now at Harvard. A very fine V-twinned cerussite crystal (8" long) is among the fabulous specimens found around the turn of the century. Museums in London and Paris still have the best New Mexico wulfenite specimens, most of them acquired in the 20s.

Another significant locale is the Denver Shaft near Vanadium, NM (on the west flank of the Chino Pit, part of the Groundhog Mine) which produced around the turn of the century. In 1975 the Denver shaft produced some very nice specimens under the care of Bob Evelith. The Lucky Bill mine is on the same vein and produced some fine specimens as well (Michigan Tech has some of them). Near Hillsboro, the Macy and the Petroglyph Mines produced wulfenite specimens. The dumps are pretty well cleaned out and the shafts are dangerous. These are mostly smaller wulfenites.

Lead tungstate (stolzite, PbWO4) is part of a chemical series with wulfenite as

the molybdenum-rich end member. Stolzite is the tungsten-rich end member and looks almost identical to wulfenite.  The wulfenite from the Hillsboro area is very nearly stolzite by chemistry (meaning it carries a lot of tungsten), but still qualifies as wulfenite.

Ray presented an exquisite slide show. There are quite a few localities, mostly in the southwest corner of the state. Wulfenite is produced by the oxidation of galena, so areas that show heavy galena presence often show some wulfenite as well (including the Galena King in the Tijeras district), the Carnahan Mine near San Pedro, and the Apache #1 in Petaca (as a rare pegmatite occurrence). An unusual deposit near Artesia (Red Lake) is a redbed deposit.

In 1965, the Bureau of Mines reported 17 localities for wulfenite in New Mexico. Since then more localities have been reported, mostly by collectors. In 1988 there were 55 known occurrences; today there are 78 known localities for wulfenite in New Mexico and more are being found each year!

The Stephenson-Bennett mine is on the west flank of the Organ Mountains near Las Cruces. Most of the dumps have been hauled away for road gravel, and the area is becoming a housing development. It is effectively inaccessible at this point and may soon disappear beneath the pavement. Photographs of some specimens from this mine were exhibited, showing nice cubic bright yellow crystals. Other more common crystal habits are include tabular, butterscotch colored forms. Bright orange crystals are also sometimes seen.

The Denver Shaft at the Groundhog Mine produced fine wulfenites. This area is on Asarco property and has been completely and permanently closed. Denver Shaft wulfenites included large butterscotch, tabular clusters found at the first level in fault gouge. Microcrystals are quite gemmy. Lucky Bill (near the Groundhog) specimens are typically composed of smaller, more yellowish tabular clusters.  Some show quite a bit of zoning, which is somewhat unusual for wulfenite.

The Macy Mine near Hillsboro shows tabular yellow, tungsten-rich microcrystals. The Petroglyph Mine shows an unusual arrangement of intergrown willemite crystals. The crystals are usually a few mm across. The Anita Mine near Lordsburg has produced some wulfenite; it has also been produced at the 85 Mine.  These are sharp, yellow tabular crystals, 2-3 mm across, often gemmy, and often on a drusy quartz matrix. Very pretty. The 85 Mine produced wulfenite crystals of a more blocky habit.

The Memphis Mine near San Agustin Pass (Dona Ana County) produces some small yellow tabular wulfenites from the dumps.

Bromargyrite (AgCl) is seen in association with wulfenite from the Commercial Mine near Georgetown (east of Silver City).

Pyramidal wulfenite crystals have been found in the Mason Tunnel near Hanover, often coated with grenockite (CdS) as a drusy coating.

The Uncle Sam Mine near White Signal (south of Silver City) produced some wulfenite from mines on a prominent silicified ridge. This area is now a housing development.  Crystals were small, gemmy tabular. Torbernite (a radioactive uranium-bearing mineral) was also produced in this area for its dubious health properties.

The Tyrone Pit produced some colorless wulfenite in a gemmy pyramidal form. Very nice. This is a distinctive form for wulfenite.

The Confidence Mine (in the Cuchillo Negro , near Winston) is a hike to get into and is small, but produced some nice blocky and tabular crystals, in bright orange color, about 5mm long. Some pyramidal crystals in clusters have been found there.

The Blanchard Mine (Sunshine #6 - closed in 1979 due to a dangerous stope) produced some wulfenite. Spectacular pyramidal bright orange clusters from the Sunshine #6 were found. The Portales Mine also produced wulfenite in orange pyramidal forms on typical Blanchard mineral assemblages. An unusual wulfenite occurrence at the Blanchard is composed of galena crystals that are completed oxidized, and replaced by plattnerite, hemimorphite, and wulfenite crystals.  Across from the Portales ore bin are found small orange rice-grain sized wulfenite crystals grown on fluorite.

The Mex-Tex produced some of best wulfenites in the Hansonburg district. The Hickey #1 was also a good producer. Specimens are bright yellow gemmy clusters, the Ora Tunnel being a well-known source.

The Gallinas district (Buckhorn Mine) produced some wulfenites. This area has been reclaimed and is no longer accessible.

All of the dumps were bulldozed down the shafts by the government. Here, the wulfenite was found with unusual arsenate minerals.

The Rio Tinto area in the Gallinas Mountains produced wulfenite; this occurrence was discovered by Ray DeMark. The crystals are nice yellow pyramidal forms with well formed pedions and slight intergrowths of a mineral believed to bemimetite.

The Lynchburg Mine near Kelly produced some wulfenite specimens. The Lynchburg was nearly completely destroyed by explosives testing. Specimens are nice yellow blocky forms, around 3-4 mm, and are quite gemmy. The Kelly Mine produced some spectacular and beautiful small pyramidal crystals on azurite!

The Anchor Mine, in the Magdalena district (above the Kelley Mine) produced some tabular, yellow translucent crystals, sometimes in pyramidal form.

The Mayflower Mine near Socorro (a recent AGMC field trip site) produced some bright orange tabular wulfenite crystals, often associated with vanadinite and motromite. Some of the crystals from this locality are quite gemmy.

The Woods Tunnel (also called the Socorro Tunnel) on Socorro Peak goes in 1200 feet. It's hot in there due to magmatic heat. Small yellow crystals of wulfenite can be found in the tunnel, which makes it worthwhile (usually).

The Carnahan Mine produced wulfenite as well. This area is now closed, and the dumps are have been hauled away or used to backfill the vertical shafts. The tunnel went down about 1/2 mile on a decline. The wulfenite was at the bottom near the water level, showing as yellow, blocky crystals. Quite rare.

Wulfenites from the Petaca pegmatite area tends to be yellow and blocky. It is very rare for wulfenite to occur in this type of deposit.

The Lemitar Mountains produced bright red pyramidal wulfenite crystals. Some were

found on surface outcrops, as small (but awesome deep red) 3-4mm pyramidal forms.

A huge round of applause for Ray and this fine talk and slide show!

Q: Are there any occurrences of wulfenite known from the Zuni Mountains?

A: Not aware of any. Likely to be there if lead is present.

Q: What gives the darker, more vibrant colors?

A: (Paul Hlava) It's a bandgap color due to trace (part per million) amounts of various chromophores, A great field for research, but not much has been done on it. Cerrillos produces some black wulfenite, but there it's due to inclusions of unknown identity. Bandgap colors can be due to unusual trace elements. Requires serious measurements and analysis to sort it out.

Q; What makes it greenish-yellow? A: Part-per-million level impurities of some element. Might be inclusions or coatings as well.

Q: The Stephenson-Bennett Mine was recently in the news; it is claimed that the mine is polluting the water of the housing area due to sulfides.

A: Seems like the mine was there before the housing was! Lawsuits abound.

Q: Where would someone go now to find wulfenites, with many of the localities destroyed, closed, or paved?

A: The Lemitar mountains are open and accessible. The Blanchard still produces. Any mine with lead deposits is a good candidate.

Thanks again, Ray for an awesome talk!

Attendance: Attendance for tonight was 63.

Refreshments: Kathleen Lawicki provided the refreshments for tonight. Many thanks, Kathy! Kathy travels from Santa Fe to attend our meetings.

It would take the literary genius of Charles Dickens to portray the vibrant feeling the evening of February 13, 1967, presented. You will forgive me if I am not talented enough to give you a "vibrant feeling" when you read this…

In the beginning, a few persons, who had a common interest in minerals, thought it would be nice to get together and meet regularly. "Maybe we could talk the University out of a room." From a room to

the second floor of the Administration Bldg., this group grew to have courage enough to have membership in the Rocky Mt.? Federation of Mineralogical Societies in 1949 and host their convention in Albuquerque. From the regional organization they moved on to join the National Association, called, "American Society of Mineralogical Societies." After that, the Club successfully grew so big the crowds could hardly be accommodated in the single room and "Dr. Northrop allowed us to meet in this room " (Meaning the Lecture Room). The magic word was URANIUM, continued Mr. Wise. "All you had to say is ‘uranium’ and the room was filled. Some of us are still here and a lot of new people interested in the subject are still with us. We now have 80 members and nice crowd to take care of."

Started by John Beavers – "Let’s quit talking about it and do something" and we presented the first scholarship in 1960.

One of our attorney members, Mr. Byron Guse, in 1964, drew up Corporation papers. We are non-profit.

Our accumulation (of money) came about largely from things you see over here (Mr. Wise picked up a sack of minerals we call "grab bags".) These packages sell for twenty-five cents apiece. Our Club members contribute and make up these bags with a minimum of ten minerals per bag…

EDITOR’s NOTE: Our club has now grown to approximately 200 members. Our treasury currently has $15,000 in CD’s.

Calcite crystals, CaCO₃, carbonate - The organization of atoms in the mineral or atomic structure accounts for the gross form of a crystal and also accounts for other physical properties such as hardness, cleavage and fracture.

Calcite has a broad range of stability with respect to heat and pressure thus tells us very little about the geological history of the rock.

"Minerals in Illustrated Exploration of the Dynamic World of Minerals and their Properties", Robinson, 1994, p21.

Chrysocolla, derived from two Greek words meaning gold and glue, which was the name of a similar-appearing material used to solder gold.

"Dana’s Manual of Mineralogy", 17^th Edition, 1963, p429.

A tremendous variety of inclusions are found in the mineral quartz

because it often forms last and encloses earlier minerals.

"Mineralogy for Amateurs", Sinkankas, 1964, p81.

Al₂O₃ and Fe₂O₃ have the same type of hexagonal crystal structure but Al₂O₃ with a hardness of 9 is harder than Fe₂O₃, hematite, with a hardness of 6 owing to the small size of the Al ions compared to Fe. The mineral Al₂O₃ is corundum.

"The Illustrated Encyclopedia of the Mineral Kingdom", Wooley, 1978, p80.

Zinc arsenates are rare, and are usually associated with zones of oxidation of lead and zinc deposits in sedimentary gangues in arid climates.

Adamite is the commonest among them.

Cephalopods (head-foot) are also univalve, but they are radically different from snail shells.  Their shells have partitions, and the snails only lived in the outer most chamber.  They have a head, which is surrounded by

tentacles.  The tentacles were used to grasp food, to crawl and swim.  All were, and the few remaining are marine (ocean).  The group includes squid, octopus, and cuttlefish.  The kind we are interested in have shells: nautiloids, ammonites, belemnites, and baculites. 

Most of these had completely developed external shells.

Aragonite is a metastable mineral and transforms to calcite after about 60 million years.

"Introduction to Minerals & Rocks", Cepeda, 1994, p48.

Pyrite is the most common sulfide.

"Elements of Mineralogy", Mason & Berry, 1968, p258.

Stilbite is a low temperature hydrothermal mineral that commonly forms in gas pockets in basalt and in various metamorphic rocks.  It also forms as a hot spring deposit.

KCa₄Si₈O₂₀(F,OH).8H₂O, tetragonal

Zeolites is the name of a group of naturally occurring or synthetic hydrated aluminum silicates, also containing sodium, calcium, barium, strontium or potassium, in which water molecules are held in cavities in the crystal lattice. Apophyllite…while not

strictly a zeolite, (is) closely related to them in composition and method of occurrence.

"Chemistry in Action", Morgan, 1995, p47 & "Dana’s Textbook of Mineralogy", 4^th ed., W.E. Ford, p640, 642.

Perhaps the most remarkable kind of pseudomorphs are those in which one species is replaced by another completely unrelated species. This can occur when crystals embedded in rock or encrusted by other minerals are dissolved, leaving a cast or mold, which is later filled by a secondary species which mimics the form of the original. Strange specimens of quartz in the cubic shape

of fluorite crystals have been formed this way.

"Gemstones & Minerals", Martin Holden.

The 2^nd most abundant silicon-containing mineral in Earth’s crust is quartz.

"General College Chemistry", Wood & Keenan, 1957, p403 and

"Elements of Mineralogy", Mason & Berry, 1968, p396.

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.

one that forms from the weathering of ore deposits containing lead and tungsten. It occurs as tetragonal crystals that may look like wulfenite – e.g. – plates, tetragonal bipyamids, or blocky forms. Cleavage – too subtle to be mentioned. Transparent to translucent, Brittle, Luster – adamantine to resinous, Harness 2.5 - 3, Specific Gravity about 7.9 – 8.2!, Color – clear, gray, yellow to brown (can be yellowish-, reddish, or greenish-brown), fluorescent

What is the name of the mineral?

Who was the mineral named for?

Where is the type locality.

What is the mineral used for?

What are the major elements in the mineral?

What mineral does it form a solid solution series with?

What mineral is its dimoprh (same chemistry, different structure)?

Localities – (Just list the famous/important ones)

--NM –

--USA –

--World –

What is the name of the mineral? Holmquistite

Who was the mineral named for? Per Johan Holmquist (1866 – 1946) Swedish petrologist

What is the mineral used for? nothing

What are the major elements in the mineral? Holmquistite is an amphibole and therefore a hydrous silicate. The defining elements are lithium, magnesium, and aluminum.

What MINOR elements might you expect to find in this mineral? Mostly iron which is responsible for the color. (There is a ferroholmquistite with iron instead of magnesium.)

Localities – (Just list the famous/important ones)

--NM –

--USA –

--World –

A presentation on the marvelous dinosaur museum in Tucumcari, New Mexico. Craig and/or Axel will discuss the geology or eastern New Mexico and will bring with them "hands on" dinosaur casts and free fossil pelecypods. They will also discuss the Summer Dig program organized by museum personnel. This should be a program of great interest to all the amateur paleontologists (junior and senior) in our club.