News Nuggets

Newsletter of the Albuquerque Gem & Mineral Club

Volume 52 Number 9

Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls, Children of all ages… The rumors are true! The rejuvenated Junior Club will hold it’s first meeting of the year on Monday, September 26^th at 6:30 PM! Bring the kids or grandkids! Parents are welcome to stay and learn, too!

The meeting dates for the rest of the year are as follows:

September 26^th

October 24^th

November 28^th

September’s kick-off meeting will feature Master flintknapper Luther Rivera! Mr. Rivera has been flintknapping for more than 20 years, and teaching for 8. Flintknapping is the art of making tools, arrowheads, and points from certain types of stone. Luther will give some background on making tools, have a display of tools he has made, and then demonstrate the art of flintknapping. He will then wrap-up the session by guiding the kids as they try knapping for themselves! Tool kits may be purchased afterwards for $20 each if they are available.

Junior Club meetings will be on the 4^th Monday of the month – the same day as the general meeting, and run from 6:30 PM to 7:30 PM so everyone can still attend the general meeting afterwards. The Junior Club will meet across 18^th Street from the Museum of Natural History in the Museum of Natural History’s Annex (north of Explora).

Sponsored by:

New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources

Albuquerque Gem and Mineral Club

Los Alamos Geological Society

New Mexico Geological Society

Chaparral Rock hounds

The New Mexico Mineral Symposium provides a forum for both professionals and amateurs interested in mineralogy. The meeting allows all to share their cumulative knowledge of mineral occurrences and provides stimulus for mineralogical studies and new mineral discoveries. In addition, the informal atmosphere allows for intimate discussions among all interested in mineralogy and associated fields.

This year’s symposium will consist of a day and a half of formal papers presented in 30-minute time blocks. Papers will focus on mineral occurrences from New Mexico and adjacent states, as well as Mexico. A few selected papers may be presented from other parts of the world. An informal pre-symposium social and tailgating session will be held at local motels beginning on Friday, November 11, 2005 and will last through the weekend. No formal field trips are planned.

A silent auction, sponsored by the Albuquerque Gem and Mineral Club for the benefit of the Mineral Museum, will be held on Sunday afternoon, November 13. The auction will be open to the public and all interested may buy or sell. All sellers are asked to donate $20 per table to the club. More information will be available at the symposium.

REGISTRATION

The general registration fee for the symposium is $25.00, the fee for seniors over 55 is $20.00, and the fee for students is $10.00 (with student ID). Registration includes a copy of the abstracts, two continental breakfasts, and coffee breaks. A cocktail hour and dinner will be held on Saturday, November 12, 2005. A cash bar will be available. The cost for the dinner is $16.00 for adults, $6.00 for children (2-12 years old). An auction to benefit the symposium will conclude the evening’s activities.

Rejoice! And again I say rejoice! The Albuquerque Gem and Mineral Club has a new Treasurer! Her name is Amy Penn and she even has bookkeeping experience! But wait there's more! Not only has she agreed to take over the job for this year, but she has also volunteered to be our Treasurer in 2006! Isn't it great to begin with good news?

Of course with the elections of our officers coming up, we do have some positions that nobody has volunteered for as of yet. We need someone to help out the Vice President of Membership...you know the person who collects membership dues which allows you to get a copy of the News Nuggets. Also because of his schedule, Ron Boyd needs somebody to alternate with the job of Vice President of Field Trips. Nominations will be taken from now until November 15^th. If you are interested in these or other positions please speak to me at the next meeting or give me a call at 323-1520.

Our slate of candidates for 2006 so far includes:

President

Orlando Garcia

Vice President of Programs

Kimberly Richie

& Mike Sanders

Vice President of Field Trips

Ron Boyd

& (Open)

Vice President of Membership

Kimberly Richie

& (Open)

Editor

Paul Napolitano

Secretary

Suzanne Seymour

Treasurer

Amy Penn

Junior Club

Paul Napolitano

& Suzanne Seymour

By the time you get this edition of the News Nuggets, the New Mexico State Fair will be in full swing. If you haven't already, check out our displays in the Creative Arts Building. A special thanks to Ray DeMark for help judging the display and for bringing in his own specimens so we would have a more balanced display. Another special thanks goes out to Rex Nelson for helping Ray by bringing in some of his own specimens for display. By the way, if you are one of the club's State Fair volunteers and have any questions about where to go and what to do, contact Orlando Garcia (his phone number is in the Officers section).

Boy, I tell you the fun never stops! Don't forget the 26^th Annual New Mexico Mineral Symposium will be November 12^th & 13^th at the Macey Center of the New Mexico Institute of Mining & Technology in Socorro, New Mexico. The Symposium begins unofficially Friday Night with a tailgating party at the Super 8 in Socorro. You can go from room to room shopping for rocks, gems, minerals, etc. to your heart's content. On Saturday there will be some wonderful talks in the morning and afternoon, followed by a dinner and an auction to wrap up the evening on Saturday. If you want to skip the dinner and auction, you can always do more shopping or "urban rock hounding" at Motel 8. Then on Sunday morning there will be more wonderful talks followed by a break for lunch and a silent auction sponsored by your very own club. See the announcement in this issue for more details or go to www.agmc.info and click on "26^th New Mexico Mineral Symposium." Well that's more than enough fun for this issue of the News Nuggets.

Till the next meeting, keep looking down!

President -- Grant Kuck

Home phone: 323-1520

E-mail: gkuck@flc.org

VP-Membership & VP-Programs --

Kimberly Richie

Home phone: 296-8847

E-mail: cattrax55@wmconnect.com

VP-Field Trips -- Ron Boyd

Home phone: 262-0053

Email: RGB417@aol.com

Secretary -- Suzanne Seymour

Home phone: 877-3621

Email: suzannerox5@aol.com

Treasurer -- Amy Penn

Home phone: Coming Soon!

Email: el.chivo.Viejo@earthlink.com

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: hpf1@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

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 6:45 p.m. prior to the general meeting. Board of Directors meetings is 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.

30-2 — PRESCOTT VALLEY, ARIZONA: Annual show and sale; Prescott Gem & Mineral Club; Coors Event Bldg., Yavapai County Fair Grounds, 10401 N. Hwy. 89A; Fri. 10-6, Sat. 10-6, Sun. 10-4; adults $2, children 12 and under free with adult; contact Larry Jackson. P.O. Box 345, Chino Valley, AZ 86323, (928) 636-9188; e-mail: lpjack65@cableone.net.

30-2 — SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH: Show; Gem Faire; Utah State Fair Park, 155 N 1000 W; Fri. 12-7, Sat. 10-7, Sun. 10-5; $5 weekend pass; gem show; contact Gem Faire, (503) 252-8300; e-mail: info@gemfaire.com; Web site: www.gemfaire.com.

8-9 — PAYSON, AZ: 8th Annual Payson Rimstones Gem & Mineral Show Tonto Apache Reservation Recreation Center. Highway 87 (mile marker 251) by the Mazatzal Casino. Hours: Saturday 9-5, Sunday 9-4, General Admission $3, children under 12 free. Discount coupons available at Chamber of Commerce at intersection of Hwy 87 and Main Street. Display and Sale of Hand Crafted Jewelry, Gems, Minerals, Fossils, Lapidary Supplies, etc. Show Contact: Bruce Berman, 928-468-9532, Rimstones85547@aol.com

31^st Annual Show of Huachuca Mineral & Gem Club Held at Elks Lodge #2065, 1 Elks Lane (on W. Wilcox Dr., one block east of Buffalo Soldier Trail), Sierra Vista, AZ. Sat. 9-6, Sun. 9-4. Free admission and parking. Jewelry, gems, rocks, minerals, lapidary equipment and materials, books, tools, demonstrations, field trips, hourly prizes. Contact Larry Nelson, P.O. Box 1596, Sierra Vista, AZ 85636, 520-459-5211, email: lnansv@c2i2.com or Bill Jaeger, P.O. Box 1596, Sierra Vista, AZ 85636, 520-803-6590 billjaeger@hotmail.com.

15-16 — AMARILLO, TEXAS: 45^th annual show; Golden Spead Gem & Mineral Society; Amarillo Civic Center; Sat. 10-6, Sun. 10-5; contact Dee Hawkins, 108 S. Polk St., Amarillo, TX 79101, (806) 372-3949; e-mail: dhawks@nts-online.net.

15-16 — SIERRA VISTA, ARIZONA: 31^st annual show; Huachuca Mineral & Gem Club; Elks Lodge #2065, 1 Elks Ln.; Sat. 9-6, Sun. 9-4; free admission; gems, jewelry, rocks, minerals, lapidary materials and equipment, books, tools, demonstrations, field trips, hourly prizes; contact Larry Nelson, P.O. Box 1596, Sierra Vista, AZ 85636, (520) 459-5211; email: e-mail: lnansv@c2i2.com; or Bill Jaeger, P.O. Box 1596, Sierra Vista, AZ 85636, (520) 803-6590; e-mail: billjaeger@hotmail.com.

18-20 — ALBUQUERQUE, NEW MEXICO: 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, ancient, vintage, contemporary, and designer beads, buttons, jewelry, tools, books; contact J&J Promotions LLC, P.O. Box 420, Williamsburg, NM 87942, (505) 894-1293; e-mail: info@beadshow.com; Web site: www.beadshow.com.

Theme: Topaz - A Texas Star

*** New Date & Location ***

November 19 & 20, 2005

Resistol Rodeo Arena Exhibition Hall

I-635 & Military Pkwy (Exit 4) Mesquite, Texas

www.dallasgemandmineral.org

Rocks and Stuff along the Turquoise Trail

General Geology Field Trip Led by Paul Hlava

October 22^nd , 2005

This is a road trip with a lot of arm waving that will take us past a number of different kinds of rocks and mines. We’ll start with stops in Tijeras Canyon to look at Precambrian gneisses and granites, Permian redbeds, and younger lamprophyre dikes. Then up highway 14 past various sedimentary rock exposures and a stop at the old gypsum (alabaster) quarry. On past more sedimentary rocks and a number of igneous rock intrusive complexes, with stops here and there to look at and/or collect some rocks and more arm waving. One of my favorite stops is a few miles south of Madrid where we might see/collect some fossils (Inoceramus clams) in metamorphic rock! We will pass through Madrid and Cerrillos, doing some arm waving at various features (gold mines, angular unconformity, overturned bedding, etc). I plan a stop in Cerrillos at (club members) Todd & Pat Brown’s "Casa Grande Trading Post" were we can restock provisions, get a cabbing demo from Todd, use the out house, and purchase a few curiosities of natural or cultural interest. Going further north, we will turn off 14 onto 586 and take that short cut over to the La Cienega entrance to I-25. On 586 we will stop to look at a volcanic neck (dacite), a famous turquoise mine (the Tiffany Mine – but we can’t go in - SORRY), goggle at the movie ranch in the distance, and collect cobbles of limburgite from a lava flow. The trip officially ends at the limburgite but I will lead you to the Cienega intersection. From here you can go south and back home or north and tour a bit of Santa Fe and maybe have dinner there before returning.

We will meet at the Einstein’s Bagels/Starbucks area of Four Hills Shopping Center and plan to leave there at 9:00 AM. Take it easy on the coffee, as there are few, if any, potty stops. It would be nice to car pool, as some of the stops have limited parking. Besides, you can visit more. Bring reasonable clothing for the weather: we won’t be doing any clambering over rocks so casual street clothes are OK. You can even wear normal shoes. Water and light snacks will get you through the day. The trip will end about 2 to 3 PM. If the weather is bad, we will try on Oct. 29.

Questions?

hpf5@qwest.net or 255-5478

The August club meeting began when Paul Hlava commanded the attention of the lively crowd by relaying that he’d be in charge, as our President was out of town with "some babe". Conversations quieted as speculation on the nature of Grant’s prospecting began. Paul’s first order of business was a thank you to all who have brought refreshments during the year, and to Kathy Lawicki for coordinating it all throughout the year. Due to the absence of the minutes of the July club meeting from the News Nuggets, Hank and Rosemary Miller have not been properly lauded for their contributions in this area at the July meeting. Kudos kiddos! The welcome to new visitors and guests followed by the show of hands and introductions revealed a re-member last active in the 50’s, a seeker of staurolites, and the familiar story of "always a rock in the pocket". Welcome to all, and know you are among similarly addicted friends.

In the absence of Field Trip VP Ron Boyd, Dave Moats gave a rundown of the trip to the Calumet Mine and the Contin-tail show in Buena Vista. About 10 folks made the six-hour drive and climbed the steep pitch to the mine site. The weather Saturday was perfect and all had plenty of luck collecting the Epidote that this former iron mine is justifiably known for. Ray DeMark stood to report that a connection has been established with the new ownership of the MolyCorp Mine in Questa, and as a result, the September field trip has been rescheduled to this location. In years past, this event has included a highly informative classroom orientation (with handouts), a caravan tour of the operations, and a crack at the stockpile. This trip offers an unusual access to a working mine so ink it in your calendar.

Orlando has some final State Fair staffing needs, Sat. the 18^th and Sun. the 25^th I think. Give him a call if you can help.

Paul was asked from the floor why we hadn’t had our usual summer event in San Pedro and was obliged to explain this unfortunate series of events. The reason is that Jerry Simmons, the event’s host at the old Canon del Aqua mine, encountered a club member collecting there on the private property. This lead to pain and apprehension on his part, and as a result, he was disinclined to have us back. Imagine that. Paul went on to explain the Board’s inability to arrange a suitable substitute location on short notice. Collecting on private property is variously known as poaching, high grading, rustling, purloining, and theft. Prior permission will guarantee against the pecadillos that might result. Lastly, he proposed the addition of an assistant Show Chair and asked the membership to think about learning the ropes of successful show production management to provide continuity and in case of personal disaster. If you think you might have the interest, ability, or aptitude for this then talk with him to learn more.

At last he got to the get-to of the evening. Paul introduced Dr. Larry Crumpler, lead scientist for the MER (Mars Exploration Rover) project, who gave an up to the moment presentation about the mission of the rover Spirit on it’s 582^nd Martian sol. Given that the Martian year is composed of 650 sols, Spirit is well on it’s way to completing a year of exploration on Mars. The data still being gathered far exceeds wildest dreams for the team who gave a life expectancy of 90 sols to the little rover. Thanks to our brand new PowerPoint projection system, Dr. Crumpler was able to share nearly real time images of Spirit’s ascent to the summit of the Columbia Hills, Navcam images (gathered in 360^o from atop the rover’s mast), and data collected by the micro imager and cameras on the RAT. The chronology oriented by map and illustrated by scenic overview images and site appropriate close-ups and even a short movie segment reveal Mars to be one dusty place. There the dust devils can be as large as a couple of hundred meters and they dance across the planet’s surface. Dust obscured the solar collection panels enough to seriously compromise power output at one point (until another blow cleared them off) and nearly mired our intrepid rover for keeps. Sometimes Spirit even had to drive backwards into the teeth of a windstorm to protect the instruments on board. Undaunted, the mission to find evidence of past climates favorable to life, specifically fluvial deposits, soldiered on from the landing point at Gustav Crater to report the now infamous "blueberries", do a little forensic work on a heat shield component, chance upon an unusual nickel iron meteorite, RAT a lot of samples, and generally achieve several extraterrestrial firsts. Straight-faced and with no detectable irony, Dr. Crumpler showed a sample of gas bubbles frozen in basalt the team dubbed Dagwood after the type locality documented in an early to late 20^th century comic strip. Clearly good science is not incompatible with good fun. Anyway, back to those elusive fluvial deposits. To date the only promising encounter was with an angular unconformity that could be of fluvial or aeolian origin. Stay tuned; Spirit has weathered a Martian winter where the only atmospheric water is in the form of water ice clouds, the challenge of one third earth gravity, and the ubiquitous dust, and continues to send home data to keep us all busy interpreting for some time to come. A huge thanks to Larry for giving us front row seats on the Mars tour. It was awesome!

Refreshments were courtesy of new member Amy Penn, who obviously likes us and wasted no time in contributing to our common effort and gustatory pleasure. Thanks Amy we like you too!

The closing door prize claiming affair continues to delight the lucky. My personal losing streak continues. And that Junior collection is looking real good.

– Suzanne Seymore

Pseudomorphs

It was four months ago that I did a Terms article on crystallographic –morphs. I said I was going to do one on pseudomorphs in May, but all kinds of stuff got in the way. So now I am finally ready to get on with it.

The term pseudomorph means false form and pseudomorphs are "mineral" specimens that have the form of some other species. The chemistry and/or internal crystallography don’t match the outward crystal form. One of the most abundant pseudomorphs is limonite after pyrite. Note the correct way to label a pseudomorph is – mineral y after mineral x (x is first and y is later). Pseudomorphs form because the original mineral or other material becomes unstable under new conditions and changes to attempt equilibrium with the new environment. There are a number of different types of pseudomorphs. Let’s look at a few.

Some of the most common pseudomorphs are caused by alteration. That means that something is removed and something else may be added. Examples include limonite after pyrite, malachite after azurite, kaolinite after orthoclase, copper after azurite, etc. A subset of this category is pseudomorphs caused by metamictization (loss of internal crystallinity due to radiation). The prime example is zircon. By the way, the metamictization also causes the zircon to turn green.

Some pseudomorphs are caused by infiltration. The most common example used is petrified wood where silica has infiltrated the cellular structure. Many (all?) examples of petrified wood still retain woody tissue, which can be exposed by dissolving the silica in hydrofluoric acid (very dangerous stuff!). In NM we have wood petrified by chalcocite (Nacimiento mine near Cuba). Many fossil dinosaur bones are permineralized by silica just like the wood. A better mineral example is gypsum after anhydrite.

Some pseudomorphs are caused by substitution. Yep, that means nothing of the original material is left behind. Examples are copper after aragonite, fluorite after quartz, and others.

Some pseudomorphs are caused by encrustation. OK, that’s where one mineral covers the other. The coating should be complete. If the original mineral is still there and the coating is and relatively thin it could be called an epimorph. Prime examples of epimorphs are quartz on fluorite like some from the Hansonberg district and other places. If the original mineral is gone we might call it a perimorph, although some folks don’t like that term because it almost sounds like the last pseudomorph type described below. I have some perimorphs of quartz after apophyllite from NM. I guess the casts of calcite scalenohedra in the cores of some of my chalcedony nodules from Turrieta Lake, NM also qualify.

The last pseudomorph type is called a paramorph. These are pseudomorphs with the right chemistry but the internal crystal structure doesn’t match the external shape. Prime examples are acanthite after argentite, calcite after aragonite, low-quartz after high- or beta-quartz, and pyrite after marcasite. In order to have a paramorph, the original and replacing minerals have to be polymorphs. The unstable form changes to the more stable form (calcite after aragonite and pyrite after marcasite) or the high temperature form converts to the low temperature form (acanthite after argentite at 179 ºC and low-quartz after high- or beta-quartz at 573 ºC).

Talking about fossils and pseudomorphs reminds me of some coprolites in my collection that are double pseudomorphs or z after y after x. Maybe I’ll describe and discuss this phenomenon next time.

– Paul Hlava 050812

This month we've been invited up to the MolyCorp mine at Questa, New Mexico. Bruce Walker is the mine geologist and is going to be our host. He has kindly agreed to give us a talk about the geology, history and I'm sure a lot more that I haven't written. He enjoys the club visits, in part, because we ask questions. So lets do our job!

After his talk we will head out to some areas to do some collecting. What can we find? Hopefully, Molybdenite, biotite, pyrite, fluorite. If we happen to be there at the right time, we may find other minerals, which include calcite, anhydrite, dolomite, beryl quartz, microcline and possibly fluorapatite.

WHEN: September 24^th, 2005.

WHERE TO MEET: Adm. bldg. parking lot of the mine, at 9 AM.

THE DRIVE TIME: is about 3 hours from Albuquerque. Ouch, this means an early departure!

TOOLS: we will be surface collecting, so a good hammer, chisel and of course, the bucket!

VEHICLE: 4-wheel/high clearance for the road to the collecting area otherwise a car will be great.

SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS: we will be required to wear LONG PANTS and BOOTS! We'll also be required to wear hard hats and safety glasses on the mine site. The mine will supply these, but if you have your own please bring them!

AGE REQUIREMENTS: from previous trip reports, there is a minimum age of nine. I assume that this is still the rule.

OTHER INFO: be sure to bring along a lunch and water. Also remember this will be late September and it maybe cold, so bring coats etc.

HOW TO GET THERE: take I-25 north to exit 276 north- route 599 bypass. Turn north at the intersection of highway 84-285. Go thru Espanola. The road changes to highway 68 in Taos, where it changes again to highway 522. Continue on highway 522 into Questa, (approx. 20 miles). Turn right in Questa onto route 38 towards Red River. Your next turn is at 3.5 miles. There are not any identifying signs there, but this left hand turn is across from Goathill Campground. Follow the road uphill 1/2 mile or so. The administration building is on your left.

If you plan on heading up there on Friday, there are 4 or 5 campgrounds in the area.

I hope you can make the trip, I think it should be a good one!

Thanks go to Kimberly for the above info!

At least 10 club members ventured up to Colorado for the Contin-Tail show/Calumet mine trip in mid August. We all gathered on a beautiful Saturday morning at the show. There we headed towards the calumet mine. Once at the mine site, we got our selves orientated and climbed the hillside to the dumps, where all was able to collect some fine examples of epidote, uralite (actinolite pseudo after diopside), quartz, calcite, pyrite, and magnetite. After several hours of collecting, the group headed out to what we were hoping would be a sapphire locality. That didn't pan out, but nevertheless it was interesting to look at the contact metamorphism in the area.

We weren't the only mineral club up at the mine. The Flat Iron mineral club, out of Boulder Colorado was there also. Their trip leader kindly showed us some pretty good collecting areas, thanks!

From what I've cleaned and from what I heard from others, we all had a very successful day of collecting.

This wasn't the only collecting that was done; I think we all had some pretty good silver picking at the show. And several members made some interesting side trips, Wolf Creek pass agates, turquoise from?, and I also heard about a wild 4-wheel drive trip (Mt Antero?).

One other part of the trip that was really enjoyable was the camping! What a beautiful country that area is!

Tom Loveland

Our speaker for the September 26^th meeting will be Tom Loveland, a friend of club member Todd Brown. He will tell us about the Salinas Salt Lakes in the Estancia basin, his Masters thesis field area. Additional details about Tom's background and the talk were not available at press time, and will be announced at the meeting.