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

It’s September again and another club year is coming to an end. This has already been a hard year. We’ve lost Russ Speiring, Howell Poe, Herb Traulson, Chandler Jones, and Rosemary Miller. All these folks were strangers to me eight years ago when Julie and I joined the club. Their passing saddens me, and everyone who knew them. Our hobby brings us together with common interests and the friendships you make here can last a lifetime. Enjoy these friendships while you can because nothing lasts forever.

The 27^th Annual New Mexico Mineral Symposium will take place at the Macy Center at New Mexico Tech in Socorro on November 11 and 12, 2006. The registration form is on the website of the same name (http://geoinfo.nmt.edu/museum/minsymp/home.html). I will have registration forms at the October meeting. There is a motel show on Friday the 10^th at the Super 8 motel at the north end of Socorro. The Super 8 was booked solid for the symposium weekend by the end of the 2005 symposium. Our club sponsors the silent auction on the 12^th at 1:00PM. There will be 24 tables with minerals offered by dealers and collectors. The tables are $20.00 each. Call me at 345-0520 for details.

We didn’t make it up to the Denver show this year but I hope someone who did go to Denver will write an article for the October issue of News Nuggets. We will have to wait till February for the Tucson shows to get our rock show fix. Last year we never even made it to the convention center for the main retail show. We spent all our time on the sideshows along Congress Blvd. and a wholesale show out at Electric Park.

If you have never been to the Tucson show in February or the Denver show in September, then do it!! Tucson has 100,000 show visitors in February and the weather is a nice break from Albuquerque winters. Book a room now if you have to get a motel. You may have to book rooms in nearby towns but it will be worth it. Karchner Caverns are located in Benson, which is about 40 miles east of Tucson.

Denver’s shows are much smaller than the Tucson shows and motels are readily available. Now this doesn’t mean you can just drive up and get something close to the show. Denver is a real mess when it comes to driving the freeways. One time through the ‘Mousetrap’ (kinda like our Big-I but about 10 times worse) will turn your hair white (warning you youngsters). The maps don’t help because they show thru streets where they don’t exist. Ha, Ha, Ha.

We prefer to drive up though Espanola and Buena Vista, CO. and Salida, CO. and then over Climax and down to I-70 to Denver. If you have the time next year, stop in Leadville and go through their wonderful mineral museum (fee $6.00). The trip on I-70 eastbound from Leadville is no fun either, if you hit it at 3-5PM on a weekday. It will keep you wide-eyed and awake.

Try to do at least one of these great shows in 2007!!!

- 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.

September’s AGMC field trip will be to the Zuni fluorite prospects near Grants. We will meet at the Malpias National Monument Visitor Center parking lot approximately 22 miles southwest of the Interstate 40 exit along NM Highway 53 on Saturday, Sept. 30, and will depart for the prospects promptly at 9 AM. Driving time to the meeting area is approximately 1:45 minutes from the Albuquerque Metro Area. From the parking area, we will make a short trek to a Forest Service road leading back to the prospects. Unless you have a very sturdy 4WD vehicle with high clearance, plan on walking the last half-mile to the prospects.

The deposits in the Zuni fluorite district have formed as 1-5 foot wide veins of mostly pure fluorite in steeply inclined shear-zones in pre-Cambrian granites and meta-volcanic rocks. While the mineralogy is quite simple (essentially only fluorite is found in these veins), the range of colors and crystal forms of the fluorite is astonishing, ranging from deep emerald green to dark blue to purple to yellow. The dark blue form also demonstrates a remarkable color shift, appearing dark purple in incandescent light. While the green fluorite tends to form octahedral crystals, the remaining color forms tend to be cubic. Facet-grade fluorite from these deposits is not unusual. This is certainly one of the most unique fluorite deposits in the entire Southwest.

This will likely be the final time anyone will be able to collect from this site, as reclamation activities have already begun. The reason for this reclamation effort will be quite apparent to those attending, as the open, mined out vein is largely open, running for almost a mile at depths exceeding 150 feet. While the dumps we will be collecting are safe, this is not a site to be taken lightly. Anyone considering bringing children along will need to ensure they are accounted for at all times, as wandering off may easily become fatal. The same recommendation needs to be followed by attending adults as well.

Hope to see you all there!

- Ron Boyd and Jeff Nekola

2-4--ARLINGTON, TEXAS: 49th annual show, "Art by Nature"; Arlington Gem & Mineral Club; Arlington Convention Center; Sat. 10-6, Sun. 10-5, Mon. 10-5; adults $6, children 6-12 $3; jewelry, gems, beads, fossils, minerals, rough; contact Kris Galbraith, P.O. Box 986, Arlington, TX 76011, (817) 277-2286; Web site: www.tses.org.

2-4--SILVER CITY, NEW MEXICO: 23rd annual show; Grant County Gem & Mineral Society; Silver City Recreation Center, 1016 N. Silver St.; Fri. 10-5, Sat. 10-5, Sun. 10-4; contact Judy Allen, GCG&MS, P.O. Box 1555, Silver City, NM 88062, (505) 388-4054; e-mail: judya@signalpeak.net

13-17--DENVER, COLORADO: Show, "Fall Colorado Mineral & Fossil Show"; Martin Zinn Expositions; Holiday Inn - Denver Central, 4849 Bannock St., intersection of I-25 and I-70; Wed. 10-6, Thu. 10-6, Fri. 10-6, Sat. 10-6, Sun. 10-5; free admission; 200 dealers from all over the world, free shuttle to shows at the Merchandise Mart; contact Martin Zinn Expositions, P.O. Box 665, Bernalillo, NM 87004-0665, fax (505) 867-0073; e-mail: MZ0955@aol.com; Web site: www.mzexpos.com.

14-17--DENVER, COLORADO: Show; The Bead Renaissance Shows; Ramada Plaza & Convention Center, I-25 and 120th Ave. (exit 223); Thu. 10-6, 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.

15-17--DENVER, COLORADO: Show; Greater Denver Area Gem & Mineral Council; Denver Merchandise Mart Expo Hall, 451 E. 58th Ave.; Fri. 9-6, Sat. 10-6, Sun. 10-5; contact Martin Hannu, (303) 233-2516; e-mail: info@denvermineralshow.com; Web site: www.denvermineralshow.com.

15-17--DENVER, COLORADO: Show, "Colorado Fossil Expo"; Martin Zinn Expositions; Denver Merchandise Mart Plaza Annex, 451 E. 58th Ave.; Fri. 9-6, Sat. 10-6, Sun. 10-5; adults $5, seniors and teens $3, good for both shows; 40 dealers, fossils, meteorites, petrified wood, amber, paleontological exhibits, part of the Denver Gem & Mineral Show; contact Martin Zinn Expositions, P.O. Box 665, Bernalillo, NM 87004-0665, fax (505) 867-0073; e-mail: MZ0955@aol.com; Web site: www.mzexpos.com.

21-24--McDERMITT, NEVADA: 3rd annual show, "Rockhound Rendezvous"; Community of McDermitt, Illyssa I. Fogel; Diamond A Motel, U.S. Hwy. 95; Thu. 9-4, Fri. 9-4, Sat. 9-4, Sun. 9-4; free admission; dealers, agates, jaspers, opals, petrified wood, jewelry, field trips; contact Illyssa I. Fogel, P.O. Box 437, McDermitt, NV 89421, (775) 532-8088; e-mail: lisa@diamondamotel.com; Web site: www. diamondamotel.com

- Ron Boyd and Jeff Nekola

September, 2006

From the devious mind of Paul Hlava

The Game Plan – I will describe a mineral and you have to guess/decipher/research the name of the mineral and the answers to the other questions asked about uses, history, notable facts, etc. I expect the Top Guns in the club to be able to guess the name off the top of their heads. The learners will need a reference book or two. You will benefit most if you do not ask others for the answers but work it out for yourselves. When you have decided on the name you can compare notes with others or wait for the answers to be announced at the meetings or published in the News Nuggets. Good luck and have fun.

Last year I discussed minerals that are named for geographic localities. This year I thought I’d concentrate on minerals named for their chemistry.

This month’s MM is a hydrated silicate found as rounded, radial clusters of blue, orthorhombic crystals in large vesicles in basalt. This mineral has one good cleavage and a brittle fracture, vitreous luster, hardness of 3 to 4, and specific gravity of 2.21 - 2.31, Average = 2.25. Subtransparent, color is greenish blue to blue.

What is the name of the mineral?

What is the origin of the name?

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? Native sulfur

How would a Brit spell this name? Native sulphur

What is the origin of the name? Sanskrit, sulvere = "sulfur;" Latin sulphurium

What is it used for? Most important – sulfuric acid for all kinds of uses including manufacture of some fertilizers and polyamides, vulcanization of rubber, fungicide, fumigant, bleaching of paper, dried fruit, etc.

What unusual properties does this mineral have? Several – it burns, it has an extremely low coefficient of thermal conductivity AND a high coefficient of thermal expansion so a pristine, gem quality crystal may crack with a modest temperature change. Isn’t that right, Ray? It is one of the few molecular minerals. It is comprised of S₈ molecules.

Sulfur is found all over. So here are just a few.

Name a NM locality. Sulfur Springs in the Jemez.

Name some other US localities. Gulf Coast States TX, LA, every state with active volcanoes, MI, NV,

Name some world-wide, world-class specimen localities. Agrigento, Italy!, UK, Russia, Mexico, China, etc.

The August AGMC meeting was called to order by President Orlando Garcia at just about 7:40pm. Following a brief welcome to all Grant passed the mike around to guests, returning old friends and family, and new members. It appears our website continues to help new members find out about us. Thank you John Scully for continuing to keep it available! The membership was advised that the staffing needs for EXPO NM are nearly complete. Some time slots on the last weekend are still open, so the sign-up sheet went another round during the meeting. Members were reminded that the short stint as our club ambassador comes with FREE PARKING and ADMISSION, [and that right there is a sweet deal], but it’s also fun to talk to other curious and appreciative rock people.

Our Field Trip VP’s Ron and Jeff have been out to reconnoiter the location of our upcoming collecting trip scheduled for the 30^th. The Sec. 21 was mined for fluorite and consists of open pits and shafts and hundreds of feet of steep sided trenches in dense tree cover that are being staked for reclamation. The guys are rating this a XXX location. It is X-tremely dangerous [kids on leashes, and adults wear protective footwear and clothing], secondly it is certain to be X-tinct in the very near future, and thirdly it is X-ceptionally productive for fluorite ranging in color from bottle green to electric blue, light yellow and clear. Some material is facet grade An interesting mineralization sequence is presented as 1^st generation green octahedrons followed by blue cubes and then yellow cubes. Hubba hubba. How cool would it be to find all three in one chunk ? Maybe you’ll find out! The plan is to meet at 9:00am on Sat. Sept. 30^th at the Malpais Visitors Center 22 miles south of Grants on Hwy 53. Map and details will be in the News Nuggets.

Mike Sanders introduced the evenings speaker, an opal dealer recently returned to the States from en extended sojourn in Australia. He was pleased to be introduced as Danny the Yank, an appellation bestowed on him, as is customary, by his mates from his trading days "down under". Danny regaled us with stories about the uniqueness of all things Australian but alas had not brought a single opal for showing or for sale. What was he thinking? At any rate he had extraordinary tales to tell and for those of you who missed it I’ll see if I can hit some highlights for you.

The continent that is Australia has fostered a unique situation due to its’ separate and remote location in the world. Evolution has given rise to numerous extreme adaptions and according to Danny even the human population exhibits this tendency. He believes that the original immigrant seed population of the criminal and disenfranchised from the prisons of northern Europe who managed to survive the months long sea voyage under horrendous conditions has distilled into a race of big, tough guys with a taste and tolerance for the kinds of beverages that put mere mortals down under the table. Other critters are toxic too. The Red Backed spider, Brown Recluses, snakes, jellyfish, crocodiles, even a Duckbilled Platypus can put you six feet under. It is indeed a challenging place, and meeting the challenges has more often than not spawned environmental chaos. Rabbits imported as a meat source have no natural predators and have devastated millions of acres of grassland. Dingos brought in to control them unfortunately have acquired a taste for sheep and are responsible for serious predation on the sheep stations that are the economic backbone of much of the "Outback" of Queensland. Same story with cane toads imported as biological controls in sugar cane fields. The warmer waters offshore near the Great Barrier Reef make the sharks more aggressive and Danny was there when one bit a hole in the boat carrying him. Well, survive he did and thrive to make his way there, about which he relayed the following. Three minerals dominate the market there, though the lust for sapphire has led to long standing feuds and clan warfare ala Hatfield and McCoy it is not one of them. Western Australia sustained a gold rush centered in Kalgoorlie but they’re not major players on the world market and nowadays prospecting is done by metal detection with nuggets bringing the best of the pay values. Then you pay the taxes…Prospecting for either of the other two is problematic for reasons as different as the minerals themselves. Diamonds, the awesome pink Argyle Diamonds, occur in a type of pipe that does not ordinarily produce in other parts of the world. And where it does occur it occurs way down deep. Though 9 other pipes are known the exploration costs are daunting. Opal recovery methods reflect the fact that the deposition and distribution of opal is a rather quixotic business. The seems seldom exceed 3 inches, and miles of "podge", a white form with no crystal alignment that exhibits the play of color so highly prized, are processed for each kilo of good stuff. Reading the terrain with an eye to prospecting is very difficult and most mining efforts are conducted by bulldozing in proven areas. Scraping and sorting. "Walkers" follow behind the dozers and the material is hand picked. Some is gleaned from the tailings of closed down commercial mines by those known as "fossickers". This practice is also known as "noodling". Staking a claim, or "pegging" in local vernacular, is still possible, and there as well as here it behooves the claimant to work continuously to forestall claim jumpers. Dig it, they’ll come. Ninety-nine percent of opal sold in Australia is sold rough, cash and carry. Most of that goes to the Orient where it’s worked into gemstones.

Thanks to Danny the Yank for regaling us with stories of a wild and wondrous place that is Australia! But Danny next time bring some opals with you!

When it was time to break for goodies, it was Linda Neiser providing the spread tonight.

Fourteen specimens were up for winning during the Door Prize Xtravaganza including items donated by Richard and Barbara Mc Donough and Todd Brown. And wonder of all wonders, who should win again for the second time in 3 months? You guessed it. Moi! I was Xtatic.

Respectfully submitted,

- Suzanne Seymour

Snowy River, Ft. Stanton Cave, NM: A startling new discovery in an old cave

Presented by Mike Spilde, University of New Mexico, member of the BLM Cave Science Assessment Team.

Ft. Stanton Cave, northeast of the military’s old Fort Stanton, and east of Capitan, NM is an old and well-known cave system. The fort was established in 1855 and the cave was discovered soon after. In the 1970’s a group of dedicated cavers started excavating a rubble-filled passage through which a considerable volume of air moved in and out of the rubble. After digging off and on for over 30 years, the cavers broke through and entered a large section of pristine cave. They knew immediately that they had stumbled into something magnificent and stopped their progress after checking out only a small portion of the mysterious passages opening up before them. A year later, in July 2003, after careful consideration and planning with the cave owner, the Bureau of Land Management, a scientific assessment team entered the newly opened passage. On May 31, 2005, the world learned what a handful of people knew—the existence of what may be the longest continuous calcite formation in the world—Snowy River. Already mapped at more than two miles in length, Snowy River is likely to grow in acclaim as more of it is revealed. Senator Pete Domenici, together with Senator Jeff Bingaman, announced the introduction of a bill that establishes a Fort Stanton-Snowy River National Cave Conservation Area, the nation’s first National Cave Conservation Area.