News Nuggets

Newsletter of the Albuquerque Gem & Mineral Club

Volume 49 Number 9

State Fair and Beyond

There is one more weekend left at the fair this year but it already looks like our information table has been a tremendous success. Unless we’ve been giving away empty bags we’ve already given out about 1,000 specimens this year.

I want to thank everyone who brought specimens to the last general meeting and even to the fair on the day they had volunteered to man the table. There were a few glitches that we’ll improve on next year but that is always to be expected at the fair.

Our next big event is the New Mexico Mineral Symposium on November 9^th and 10^th, 2002. This event is held annually at the Macy Center on the New Mexico Tech campus in Socorro. If you’ve never been to the symposium it is really worth the time and effort to attend. Talks are 30 minutes long and the club runs the silent auction on Sunday afternoon. We will have more information and registration materials by the next general meeting on September 23^rd.

Our installation dinner and famous white elephant silent auction will be on Saturday December 7^th rather than on a Friday night this year. The board is hoping that a Saturday dinner will make it easier for more members to attend this function. This year’s party will be a little different but the board is still working out the details. More on this next month! 

Shows, Shows, Shows!!!

Oct. 4-6, Old Bisbee, AZ- Bisbee Mineral Show

Oct. 5-6, Topeka, KS- Topeka Gem & Mineral Society, 46^th annual show

Oct. 11-13, Longmont, CO- Flatirons Mineral Club, annual gem & mineral show

Oct. 19-20, Roswell, NM- Chaparral Rockhounds, annual show

Officers 2002

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

Past President- Jim Winchell; Home phone: 831-6135; Cell: 401-4111; e-mail: galleryofminerals@home.com

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

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

VP-Field Trips- Ray DeMark; Home phone: 822-8715; e-mail: RayDeMark@msn.com

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

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

Treasurer- Lloyd Keller; Home phone: 889-9357; Ad Hoc Board- Paul Hlava

Show Chairman; Home phone: 255-5478; e-mail: hpf1@quest.net

Membership- Gwen Poe; Home phone: 247-1533; e-mail: gwenpoe@swcp.com

Club Historian: Tom Katonak; Home phone: 898-5592; e-mail: tkatonak@macconnect.com

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

The Club Newsletter; News Nuggets exists to assist the membership in communications and to provide information on club activities. Contributions from all members are welcome on any information that will promote club activities or that would be of interest to club members. News Nuggets is scheduled to be mailed prior to the monthly meeting. Mail news, articles or comments to: Orlando Garcia 1028 Solar Rd. NW, Albuquerque, NM 87107. 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. The general meeting is held on the 4^th Monday of the month at 7:30 pm The Junior Club meets at 6:45pm prior to the general meeting. The public is welcome to both meetings. Board of Directors meetings are held at 7:30 pm on the first Monday of each month. (Call for location).

All memberships are family memberships and can include all members of the household. Dues are $20. Send checks to the AGMC, P.O. Box 13718, Albuquerque, NM 87192 or pay the Membership Chair at the monthly meeting.

President’s Message

Whew!! The Denver shows, Leadville mine dumps, home, and now the newsletter all in the last 7 days. The worst of it all was being stuck on I-25 between Colorado Springs and Denver for 2½ hours on Thursday (12^th) night. But then there was also the two men running up the stairs with a sledgehammer at 2AM in our motel on Friday night (another story).

The News Nuggets took 1^st place in the Rocky Mountain Federation’s Editor’s Contest for 2002. I was supposed to meet Carolyn Tunnicliff (RMFMS Publications Chair) at the Denver show to get the plaque but she didn’t take it with her. The NN also won 10^th place at the American Federation of Mineralogical Societies National Editor’s contest as well. Many thanks to everyone who put up with my hounding them for their articles every month. Special thanks to Kimberly Richie, Ray DeMark, Paul Hlava, and Dave Moats.

We need about 30-40 specimens for the silent auction at the mineral symposium in November. Please bring one good specimen to the October or November general meeting. The best specimens will be used at the symposium and the others will be used at the 2003 show in March for those auctions. There will be empty flats for your donations at the next 3 general meetings. Please be selective and generous.

AGMC General Meeting

Monday, 26Aug02

Orlando began tonight’s meeting by having our guests introduce themselves, one of which was Tom and Linda Katonak’s friend from the Ukraine. Another interesting guest, introduced by John Scully, was an unusually large polished dino bone accompanied by petrified wood on the same specimen (about one foot by one foot) that he brought for our viewing enjoyment and obtained at the Buena Vista Contintail Show earlier this month. We thank those that brought the many flats of mineral specimens for the State Fair to be handed out to interested people and potential members. It was noted that we will be needing thirty to forty nice specimens for the Silent Auction at the Symposium in November so if you have some extras bring them to the September and October meetings. Hank Miller discussed preparations for the State Fair.

This month’s field trip is on schedule for Ray’s Small Fry Claim

near Abiquiu where we can expect a Geology Talk by Jessie Kline and we may want to stop at the zeolite location near there as well. In September we are tentatively going to the Old Priest Mine which is northeast of Santa Fe accessed by about 7 ½ miles of bad road necessitating 4-wheel drive and high clearance vehicles to get us where we can expect to find schorl, green beryl, and mica. Be prepared for hot weather and no facilities. Ray says this is a classic location for oxides that came out of there in the l950’s.

Grant introduced tonight’s speaker, Dr. Jerry Simmons. If you attended our Club’s picnic/field trip to the San Pedro Mine this year he doesn’t need any further introduction. As a long time member and past President of our club as well as Caretaker of the San Pedro Mine, Jerry, tonight would give a slide presentation on Sierra Blanca and its famous or some might say infamous smokey quartz crystal collecting site. He wanted to share his experiences and pictures of the geology and family members he brought along on many of his trips, starting in l988, to this location describing the experiences as awesome and breathtaking. Sierra Blanca, at over 12,000 feet, is unique in being the State’s highest southern peak. Jerry’s talk focused mostly on this mineral occurrence and its

history. Sierra Blanca and the Capitans to the north, famous for its Japanese Twins, are both igneous intrusions of big stocks and laccoliths with extrusive igneous rocks above them. Sometimes he would find these two types together which Jerry stated is rather unusual.

The earliest record that can be found of these smokey quartz crystals go back to l938. It was a resort area at that time when an "old timer" would go up there and collect samples, from an undisclosed location, to give to kids and some of this eventually got into the New Mexico Military Institute’s collection. Around l985 some people began to venture into the area and located the Smoky Quartz. The crystals are found in mirolitic vugs at about 10,500 feet in altitude in a saddle on the West face, high above the Tularosa basin. This hike requires lots of endurance and strength as one is required to hike at least 3 miles or as many as 6 miles, depending on the trail used, up the steep, rugged western face ascending from the Three Rivers Campground. Soon after this time the government designated the area as a Wilderness Area thus denying any more digging. Things got pretty "hot" when the FBI got involved as people began staking out and claiming areas to mine which was illegal. Jerry, wanting to go up and just collect the few specimens that he could carry, called the FBI agent in charge to try and talk him into letting him go in but was told "its too hot, let it cool." So he did - for about two months! He then talked to someone at the Ranger Station about collecting only for his personal collection and promised to show them everything he brought out. He got an OK! Sixteen trips that year alone yielded many magnificent smokey quartz crystals and clusters of crystals! Of these 16 trips there were 3 perfect days and12 wet days with hail and lightning, etc. as any weather in the area hits Sierra Blanca. One other unique day they experienced on their way there was an ice storm in progress in the Encino/Vaughn area and everything around socked in with clouds. They were sure that the drive would be in vain, especially on top of the mountain. However after thinking about it for awhile Jerry remembered that cold air is heavier than warm air and as they neared the top of the mountain sure enough it cleared up and they saw below them the world covered in clouds while they basked in the warm rays of the sun. Hiking the trail in all different times of the year, except winter, herds of elk were observed along with deer and bear. Each time he made a trip he would try to get pictures of different aspects of nature some of which we were able to enjoy tonight such as colorful flowers, trees, bushes, cones, leaves, etc. On one trip up with students they thought they would try and take a shortcut to the trail above. Well, to go these few hundred yards ended up taking about 1 ½ hours of hard scrambling over downed trees and thick underbrush as dense as the Black Forest. The feldspar in the rocks is high in sodium and potassium with very little calcium. Some of the miarolitic cavities are so large that a person can climb into them and almost stand in others! Collecting one day he noticed a red root that looked particularly healthy that was observed growing into a crack in the face of a rock cliff. Calculating that the root had tapped into a cavity supplying lots of nutrients and water, he found a secure foot-hold on the high pitched slope and slowly began probing this fracture and enlarging it to the point where it was only large enough to reach an arm into. Jerry initially began to pull out two-inch crystals. Reaching further back he began finding 3 inch crystals then 6-inchers and finally as far back as he could reach extracted a quartz crystal nine inches long and 2 ½ inches in diameter! The largest smoky quartz crystal he showed us was one that looked like the Washington Monument, an obelisk twelve inches long and 3 inches wide at the base! The fastest hiking time to the collecting site was one hour and ten minutes. I’ll bet I could go faster if I knew I’d win that "Washington Monument" at the end of the race. The quartz crystals are coated with an iron oxide that can be cleaned with HCl but they are also coated with a ratty silica coating that can be cleaned effectively by soaking for 24 hours with the commercial product found at Wal-Mart called "Wink". He stated hydrofluoric acid would work but hasn’t used it on these crystals but has, with great effect, on the Bosque Draw pyrites. Some of the smoky quartz crystals have phantoms and some even an amethyst layer embedded in the smoky quartz. There were times when they could collect the crystals left behind by others just laying there begging to be picked up and taken to a good home. Some clusters looked to be six to eight inches long! Unfortunately, we can’t collect there anymore. Since l998, this area is again shut down to collectors due to those who had no regard for others or the environment and rolled large boulders down the mountain and generally tore up the place.

So concluded a very entertaining and enlightening presentation for the 69 people in attendance tonight. As was described and pictured, collecting minerals is not only an intellectual and pleasurable endeavor but can also entail much trial and tribulation and physical effort for the not faint of heart.

We then took a 20 minute break where we all enjoyed the delicious home baked cookies that Darlene and Rex Nelson so generously brought for us tonight. We reconvened for a short time to draw the 12 great door prizes that Mike Potts had selected for us and then Orlando sounded the gavel calling the August 2002 General Meeting of the AGMC concluded.

Dave Moats, Secretary

Small Fry Prospect

Field Trip Report

Forty-five AGMC club members met by the Chama River on Saturday the 31^st of August for a visit to the Small Fry prospect in Rio Arriba County. Sunny and warm would probably best describe the weather conditions but the heat did not deter most of our hardy members. Jesse Kline gave an excellent overview of the local geology before everyone dispersed to look for the fluorite, calcite, barite and zeolites which occur in the area. Most everybody was picking up fluorite specimens from the surface immediately upon arrival in the collecting area. Sylvia Westmoreland walked right into an area (the glory hole) containing some very nice specimens and, of course, was soon accompanied by other enthusiastic collectors. John Korbin and Mikie Reinert gravitated west to a spot where small analcime crystals and ‘poker chip’ calcite xtals occurred and proceeded to conduct a small excavation. Grant Kuck, focused as always, concentrated on fluorite veins high up on the prospect and seemed to be having a great time. Several club members worked on a fluorite vein high up on the side of a ridge at the east end of the prospect. While removing muck to get at the fluorite vein, they discovered a water bottle (with water!) and a plastic bag containing a couple hundred pieces of fluorite! These were left by Brian Huntsman to mark the vein over a year ago. I’m sure Brian will be glad to know That these fluorite pieces will be given out to eager kids At this year’s New Mexico State Fair. By 3:00PM most everybody had departed or was getting ready to leave. Dan Sisneros and Kimberly and Paul stopped at the Rio del Oso zeolite collection on the way out on Hwy 84 and some collectors stopped on the way in with quite a bit of success. By the way, Dan Sisneros picked up one of the nicest pieces of fluorite that I saw during the day. Barite xtals were pretty sparse but ample fluorite specimens seemed to compensate for most collectors.

Ray 

Field Trip

September 28, 2002

Old Priest Mine

Tecolote District, San Miguel Co., NM

Our September field trip will be to the Old Priest mine pegmatite north of Ribera, NM. The Old Priest pegmatite was located in 1950. Twenty-four tons of beryl, 1,000 pounds of columbite and about fifteen tons of scrap mica were mined by the Onega Corporation of Uniontown, PA which obtained a lease on the property in 1954 or 1955.¹ The pegmatite is predominantly quartz and microcline (pink) with substantial muscovite (books up to 4"). The microcline appears to be perthitic. Schorl tourmaline xtals are common in some areas of the pegmatite and small spessartine garnets are also common. Rough crystals which may be topaz (to be determined) can be found in the quarry as well as euxenite and columbite xtals. Hard rock tools (hammers, chisels, safety glasses, etc.) will be required to work the rock. 

To reach the mine a four-wheel drive vehicle will be required. he mine is 7 miles north of the highway and the road is extremely rocky. Once the mine is reached, there is adequate room adjacent to the quarry for parking and little walking is required. Getting there will not be half the fun.

To reach the meeting point, take I-25 east from Santa Fe to the Villanueva exit (#323) which is also the junction for NM 3. Go north from this exit for about .5 miles. We will meet at a pull off just west of the intersection of this road and an east-west feeder road. The meeting time will be 9:00 AM. Driving time to the meeting place is about two hours. The mine is about 7 miles north of the highway and this will take about .5 hour. There are no facilities at the mine. The elevation at the collecting area is about 7800’ and the area is heavily wooded. See you on the 28^th.

-Ray______________

1 Redmon, D.E., 1961. Reconnaissance of selected Pegmatite District in North-central New Mexico. U.S. Dept. of the Interior, Bureau of Mines Information Circular 8013

Membership List

Anyone wanting a 2002 membership list can request one from Gwen Poe. Copies will also be available at the general meeting.

A NOTE FROM THE NOMINATING COMMITTEE

The Nominating Committee has been busy drafting the slate of the 2003 AGMC Officers for approval by the Board and membership.  The committee consists of Tom Katonak, Dave Moats and Orlando Garcia and is charged with finding volunteers to fill the positions of President, VP Programs, VP Field Trips, Treasurer, Membership Chairperson and Editor.  To date, we have a single volunteer candidate for each of the positions - EXCEPT for Treasurer.  We are hopeful that one of you out there with some bookkeeping skills will volunteer for this crucial job.  In addition, we seek additional volunteers for the other positions; the objective is to find the best match for each of the AGMC offices.  Call or email me or Dave Moats and tell us what you can do for our organization!

The slate will go to the Board of Directors at the October BOD meeting and the approved list will be announced at the October general membership meeting. , Nominations may be made from the floor at the October club meeting provided the nominees are members in good standing and have consented to be nominated.  The election of the officers will be held at the November general club meeting. No floor nominations will be allowed at the November general meeting.

Tom Katonak

 RAINBOW HEMATITE

Speakers

September’s speaker will be Adrian Hunt, the director of the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science. His talk will be on the current state of the museum.

Mr. Hunt was a past recipient of an AGMC scholarship while attending college.

Mystery Mineral

For September, 2002

From the devious mind of Paul Hlava

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

This Month’s Mystery Mineral is—

a carbonate of a common transition metal element. Large, minable deposits occur in some sedimentary formations. It can be formed by metal-bearing solutions acting on carbonate rocks. In its crysallized form, it is a common vein material associated with various metallic ores containing silver minerals, pyrite, chalcopyrite, tetrahedrite, and galena. The rhombohedral crystals have a perfect rhombohedral cleavage. Hardness = 3.5 - 4; Gravity = 3.96; Luster = vitreous; Color = usually light to dark brown but can be green or yellow; Transparent to translucent; Soluble in dilute HCl with effervescence.

Questions

What is the name of the mineral?

What is the chemistry of the mineral?  

What is the origin of the name?

What is the mineral used for?

Localities – (Just list the famous ones)

--NM –

--USA –

--World –

Answers to Last Month’s Questions

What is the name of the mineral? Witherite, barium carbonate

What is the origin of the name? Named for D. William Withering (1741-1799, English physician, botanist, and mineralogist who discovered and first analyzed the mineral

What is the mineral used for? Nothing

Localities – (Just list the famous ones)

--NM – none

--USA – Lexington, KY; large vein at El Portal, Yosemite Park, CA

--World – England - Hexham in Northumberland and Alston Moor in Cumberland; Leogang, in Salzburg, Austria

Paul Hlava 020915

Enclosed is your club membership form for 2003. Please include all the names to be included in your ‘Family" membership. This information is required by the American Federation of Mineralogical Societies A.F.M.S. for insurance and dues purposes. Annual Dues are $20.00 per family and $10.00 per family for memberships from June 30, 2002-December 31, 2002.

Albuquerque Gem & Mineral Club

Membership Form

Last Name_____________________________ Renewal from 2002? Y N

Senior Member Names: 1.___________________________

2.___________________________

 Junior Member Names: 1.___________________age______

2.___________________age______

3.___________________age______

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

Please fill in the following information

Mailing Address: ______________________Apt. # ________

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

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

e-mail Address: _____________________________

Annual Dues: Dues are $20.00 per family.

Send this form and check to: AGMC

PO Box 13718,

Albuquerque, NM 87192

September 23- Adrian Hunt will speak on the state of the New Mexico Museum of natural History and Science.

The Albuquerque Gem & Mineral Club meets on the 4^th Monday of every month (May’s meeting is on the 20^th due to Memorial Day falling on the 27^th) except December. All meetings are held at the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Sciences. The meeting begins at approximately 7:30 PM. There will be a short business meeting prior to the evening’s talk, which begins at approximately 8 PM.

Refreshments and door prizes will follow immediately after the talk. We have the room till 10:00 PM. 

 Albuquerque Gem & Mineral Club

Orlando Garcia, Editor

PO Box 13718

Albuquerque, NM 87192-3718