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Mineralogical Society of Arizona
April 2012 - Volume 78, Issue 4
T h e
R o c k h o u n d
R e c o r d
MEETING LOCATION: Church of the Beatitudes, 555 W. Glendale Ave., Phoenix, AZ, 85021
ADDITIONAL PARKING - NW CORNER OF 7TH AVE. & GLENDALE AVE.
ACROSS THE STREET FROM THE CHURCH
www.mineralogicalsocietyarizona.org
UPCOMING PROGRAM - Thursday, April 12, 2012 - 7:00 p.m.
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE - by Ray Grant
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Our speaker this month will be Stefan Nicolescu, Collection Manager, Division of Mineralogy, Peabody Museum of Natural History, Yale University. His topic is “From Transylvania, with love (for minerals)” and is about minerals from Transylvania and surrounding lands. Stefan has a Ph.D. from the University of Göteborg, Sweden, and has also studied in Romania, England, and the United States. Be sure not to miss this interesting speaker and talk.
We have filled a couple of committee positions. Chris Whitney-Smith has agreed to be membership chairman. He has already redesigned the membership application and is working on a couple of other projects. I hope that we can continue to add new members.
Maria Nichols has volunteered to be the refreshments chairperson. Please see her at the meeting and volunteer to bring some refreshments. We need two people for each meeting. The Board has voted to have some drinks at the meetings. The club will pay for the drinks, and the members need to bring the goodies. We have the nice kitchen and people need to grab some refreshments from the kitchen, and then that gives us a chance to socialize.
I have been told that some nights parking is a problem. There is extra parking on the northwest corner of 7th Avenue and Glendale (the church is on the southeast corner).
We are really fortunate to have a very special speaker this month. He is here to give a talk at the Minerals of Arizona Symposium and agreed to talk to our club. Please see the meeting details and invite your friends to attend.
Relating to the Symposium, there is still time to register, see last month’s bulletin for the information. We will have 15 dealers in the Clarion Motel rooms and everyone is welcome on Friday night to come and take a look. You do NOT have to attend the symposium to come visit the dealers on Friday evening. They will be open from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m.
We owe Bill Gardner special thanks for organizing a great visit to the Purple Passion mine for our last field trip. Also, Dick Zimmerman for allowing us to visit the Amethyst Hill location.
The Rockhound Record - April 2012 – Page 2
2012 Officers and Committees
PRESIDENT - Ray Grant (480) 814-9086 [email protected]
VICE PRESIDENT - Ed Nichols (480) 636-1251
TREASURER - Lynne Dyer (480) 396-2393
SECRETARY - Mary Parsons (602) 502-6702
NEWSLETTER EDITOR - Lois Splendoria [email protected]
COALITION FIELD TRIPS - Betty Deming (602) 242-1553
CLUB FIELD TRIPS - OPEN
MINERAL CURATOR / DOOR PRIZES /
HOSPITALITY - Bob Holm (623) 247-1325
MEMBERSHIP - Chris Whitney-Smith
(602) 405-1502 [email protected]
REFRESHMENTS - Maria Nichols (480) 636-1251
STATUTORY AGENT - Terry Dyer (480) 396-2393
WEBMASTER - Patti Polk [email protected]
BOARD OF GOVERNORS Lois Splendoria (2012) Terry Dyer (2012) Bob Holm (2013) David Lay (2013)
Chris Whitney-Smith (2014) Charles Krog (2014)
Roger Deming (Past President)
In Memory of Rudy Pavlik
1921 - 2011
Rudy Pavlik, one of our Life Members, passed away in December of 2011. He belonged to the MSA micro mount group. He is survived by his wife, Sarah, who is also a Life Member of the MSA.
MEMBER NEWS
In Memory of Cecilia C. Flores
Cecilia Flores passed away on Saturday, March 10, 2012, after a serious illness. She was the editor of The Rockhound Record in 1996 and 1997 and placed in the top three in the Rocky Mountain Federation’s Bulletin Contest for 1996 in the New Editor Division. She and her husband, Gilbert Flores, Sr. worked tirelessly at many of MSA’s shows and other events over the years. Cecilia also created some beautiful ceramics for our club’s silent auctions at our shows and also for an annual silent auction program.
Cecilia, Gilbert, Jr., and I worked together to put in several mineral displays at the Glendale Public Library during the 1990’s. The Flores family helped me assemble The Rockhound Record in 1995 during my first year as editor. We had a lot of fun and fellowship while doing this and also enjoyed some tasty treats around their dining room table. One of my favorites was the maraschino cherries dipped in Cool Whip. Cecilia and Gilbert, Sr., who passed away in June of 2010, were Life Members who joined MSA in 1975, along with their sons, Gilbert, Jr., and Paul, who have been in the MSA since they were Juniors.
Cecilia will be greatly missed, as her husband, Gilbert, has been greatly missed. We were fortunate to have known them.
Lois Splendoria
The Rockhound Record - April 2012 – Page 3
MINERAL OF THE MONTH
We are starting something new – the mineral of the month. This will take the place of the show and tell that we started two months ago. Members are invited to bring a sample from their collection of the mineral of the month and give a brief story about where they collected it or something about the specimen. Unknown minerals for identification can still be brought to the meetings.
Mineral of the Month for April is Calcite. We are starting with a fairly common mineral, but one that has lots of variation.
Calcite is calcium carbonate and the major component of the sedimentary rock limestone, the metamorphic rock marble, and the caliche that forms here in the desert soil. Some animals such as coral and mollusks make skeletons or shells from calcite. We find limestone, marble, and lots of calcite in the vein deposits in Arizona.
Calcite can be white, black, or any other color. The color is due mainly to inclusions of other minerals as pure calcite would be colorless. The most sought after Arizona specimens are the bright red calcites with cuprite inclusions from Ajo, and the bright green ones with malachite inclusions from Bisbee. A few more calcite facts: it is hexagonal in crystal form and commonly forms good crystals, it has a hardness of 3 on the hardness scale, it has good rhombohedral cleavage, and the easiest way to identify it is with a drop of hydrochloric acid to which it reacts vigorously.
Calcite - Naica Mine, Chihuahua, Mexico Calcite with Fluorite - Hesson Mine
La Paz County, AZ
Calcite - San Antonio Mine
Santa Eulalia, Chihuahua, Mexico
Calcite with Quartz - Bor Pit
Dalnegorsk, Russia
The Rockhound Record - April 2012 – Page 4
CORRECTION TO “NEW MEMBER” WELCOME IN MARCH NEWSLETTER Wendy Wonderley - Joined February 2012
Carleton Moore (left), a new member & Bob Jones (right), a Life Member, at the Flagg Show
Photo by Genie Howell, Flagg Mineral Foundation
We have a celebrity in the world of meteorites as a club member. The Center for Meteorite Studies at ASU has named its meteorite collection after Carleton Moore. Carleton was director of the Center for Meteorite Studies for 40 years until his retirement. You can bring your meteorite samples to a meeting when Carleton is there and have one of the world’s leading experts look at them.
JUNIOR LEADER NEEDED
We still need a junior leader for the club. My idea is that we need a person to collect all the names of the juniors and their contact information and also contact the other local clubs to see how many juniors they have. Then sometime in the future we can have a junior’s day maybe at Mesa Community College with activities related to minerals. Juniors are the future. Thanks, Ray Grant.
BOARD OF GOVERNORS MEETING - THURSDAY, APRIL 12, 2012
The next MSA Board of Governors meeting will be held Thursday, April 12, at 6 p.m. in the Church Lounge before the general meeting at 7 p.m. Please wait until the board meeting has been adjourned before coming in for the general meeting. Thank you.
WELCOME, NEW MEMBERS JOINING MARCH 2012
Kent Greenes Green Valley, AZ
Glenn Hoffman Fountain Hills, AZ
Travis & Kai Kroodsma Phoenix, AZ
Carleton & Diane Moore Mesa, AZ
Phil Richardson Phoenix, AZ
Dana & Brenda Slaughter San Tan Valley, AZ
Roger & Mary Tresler Sun City West, AZ
Bill Yedowitz Scottsdale, AZ
The Rockhound Record - April 2012 – Page 5
A R I Z O N A M I N E R A L
C O L L E C T O R
NUMBER 147
By Dr. Raymond Grant
After the great field trip to the Purple Passion mine, I thought that this month I would say something about Arizona fluorescent minerals. At the Purple Passion there were four different fluorescent minerals: fluorite (fl. blue), willemite (fl. green), aragonite (fl. white) and calcite (fl. red and orange). The coarse calcite in the vein fluoresces red and the later caliche type calcite fluoresces orange. These minerals are common at many localities around Arizona, and they are usually fluorescent. But as Bill Gardner pointed out on the trip, not all calcite is fluorescent. It must have a certain manganese or other trace element content to be fluorescent.
Another very common fluorescent mineral in Arizona is chalcedony (fine-grained quartz). Most of the desert roses and masses of chalcedony found in volcanic rocks here are fluorescent. Here a trace amount of uranium causes the yellow-green fluorescent color. Many uranium minerals found in Arizona, such as autunite, torbernite, uranophane, and zippeite, are also fluorescent.
There are some minerals that are always fluorescent, but not as common as the ones above. Hydrozincite that forms as a secondary mineral in zinc deposits like the 79 mine always fluoresces a blue. Scheelite mined in the past in Arizona as a tungsten ore always fluoresces either a blue, white, or yellow depending on the exact composition. You can prospect for scheelite at night with a UV light.
Some rare minerals are also usually fluorescent. Wickenburgite fluoresces orange and eucryptite fluoresces red to red-orange. We will have a field trip to the Midnight Owl mine in cooler weather to collect eucryptite.
Most sphalerite is not fluorescent, but sphalerite from Bisbee is fluorescent an orange color, but even better it is triboluminescent. But that is another story.
ROCK SHOWS - APRIL 2012
April 14-15 - KINGMAN, ARIZONA: Annual show; Mohave County Gemstoners; Kingman Academy of Learning; 3420 N. Burbank St.; Sat. 9-5, Sun. 9-4; free admission; educational displays, kids' activities, raffle, door prizes, silent auction, dealers, demonstrations, rough rock, slabs, minerals, jewelry, silver- and goldsmithing, fire agates, artwork; contact Mary Gann, P.O. Box 3992, Kingman, AZ, 86402, (928) 757-8121; e-mail: [email protected]; Web site: www.gemstoners.org
The Rockhound Record - April 2012 – Page 6
Meeting Minutes - Board of Governors - March 3, 2012 By Mary Parsons, Secretary
The meeting was called to order by president Ray Grant at 1:24 p.m. In attendance were Ed Nichols, Lynne Dyer, Terry Dyer, Dave Lay, Bob Holm, Lois Splendoria, and Mary Parsons. Chris Whitney-Smith and Charles Krog were unable to attend. Treasurer’s Report Signors have been updated on the bank account. Added Lynne Dyer, Ray Grant and Mary Parsons. Publishing financials – many clubs publish full financial reports in newsletters. MSA bylaws require that we give “regular” reports to the members, but does not define “regular”. It was decided that a full quarterly report will be provided. Monthly Expenses:
• Postage – Ed Nichols spends less than $25/mo on postage. It was decided to give Ed $100 at a time instead of writing a small check every month.
• Rent
• Storage locker – needs to be close to MCC for Flagg Show. Will make one more attempt at General meeting to get someone to volunteer/donate. If no response, approved renting a space. Guest speakers – currently pay $50. Discussed paying more for those who are out of town. It was approved, and differing amounts will be determined on a case by case basis. Dues: not sure that they are sufficient to cover expenses. Some field trips cost, and it would be nice if the club could sponsor. Will publish membership form in our newsletter. Will look at graduated fee structure for those who join midyear.
Elections - The board discussed the following: Nominating Committee chooses candidates in September. Slate of Officers is published in October newsletter. New officers elected during December meeting. Bylaws need to be amended. Will review bylaws of other clubs. May contact Ron Ginn for advice. He is in old roster. Need to determine future election cycles so that all members are not up for election each year.
Action Item: Amend Bylaws - Persons Responsible: Ray & Lois - Deadline: None Given Meetings
• Next Board meeting will be held on April 12 at 6 p.m. at the Lounge in the Church.
• Betty suggested holding future Board meetings at Hibachi Grill at 7th Ave & Osborn on the NE corner. They have a meeting room there, just need to buy meal.
• It was suggested that if we’re able to get a good speaker and the topic may interest other groups, to invite Coalition members. Larger meeting space will be needed though.
• Church has larger rooms available: Patio room – smells rather musty. May be a health concern for those with compromising health conditions. Youth Center – may be a possibility
• Parking – may be a concern at the Church, especially if Church is having activities on same night. However, there is an overflow parking lot on the NW corner of 7th & Glendale. If there is concern on a specific night, the Church publishes a calendar of events on their website, or we can reach Church employees from 9am-2pm. There is one Church employee who works until 5, but doors are locked.
• It was suggested to update website home page to showcase the upcoming speaker, including pictures of speaker and/or specimens.
Action Item: Ask Church about larger meeting rooms
Continued on Page 7
The Rockhound Record - April 2012 – Page 7
Board Meeting Minutes - Continued from Page 6
Field Trips MSA has Coalition trip in May. Heat and gas prices are a concern. Trip suggestions include:
• Ashfork – last year was hot. Didn’t see any footprints last year. Flagstone mining going on. Didn’t see any private property signs. Jeff Langland has some specimens and maybe could take us.
• Jacob Lake – would be an overnight trip. Has scenery, geodes, fossils. Not sure about fossil interest.
• Houser Geode beds – just south of Blythe. Has campgrounds. Open grounds, less chance for rattlesnake bites.
• Camp Verde – Verde Salt Mine for pseudomorphs & glauberites It was decided we would go to Ashfork. Camp Verde will be the backup plan. How to cancel if it’s too hot? Betty is our Coalition delegate. 03/10/12 – Purple Passion Mine for fluorescents and Amethyst Hill – need high clearance for last part. Can drive up and park then catch a ride. Ray has a field trip release that everyone will sign and he will collect the fee. Other possible future trips
• Blanchard Mine in NM (owned by Ray Demark) for blue fluorite. Is close to Socorro. Will be at least a weekend trip. Last year Ray took 5 days and explored several mines in the area. Ray will see if there’s enough interest to plan a trip.
• Ray Mine – need to have signups. Can only take a certain number of people
• Wakefield Mine
• Rosemont Mine
• St. David – gypsum
• Hidden Treasure Mine During hot months may plan trips to museums and shorter local trips. May pan for gold at the Vulture Mine in April. Ray will contact the Coalition to see if we can move MSA trip to first weekend in May.
Action Item: Discuss Ashfork trip with Jeff Langland - Person Responsible: Ray Grant Other Business
• Bylaws require that past President remain on the Board. Ray will notify Roger Deming that he is still on the Board of Governors and will be included in future correspondence.
• Library Books – Ed and Lynn have some of the books. Will use some of the lower-value books on the Flagg wheel. Ray has gone through them and found some more valuable ones. Dana Slaughter has an eBay account and is willing to sell them for us. May give some of the geology textbooks to Junior MSA members.
• Minerals – Lynne & Terry, Ed, and Betty all have a portion. Need to schedule a work day to label/inventory. Will print labels on regular paper and cut. Ed has had some break-ins and folks have stolen copper. He doesn’t believe that any of the minerals were touched. Will move everything to the storage unit once we have one.
• Hostess – suggested giving the hostess $10/month toward meeting treats. Will still ask members to volunteer as well.
Continued on Page 8
The Rockhound Record - April 2012 – Page 8
Board Meeting Minutes - Continued from Page 7
Other Business: (continued)
• Old Members – It was decided that past members will not be dropped from mailing list unless they specifically ask to be dropped. There are only about 20 hard copies of newsletter that are mailed at this point, so it’s not a large expense.
• Show & Tell – need to be clear that it’s one specimen per person.
• Newsletters – We are looking for copies of the newsletters from the 1930’s-40’s. We have many from the late 40’s and later. Dennis and Deborah Long have most of the old newsletters and are scanning them all in for us. Ray will call and check on the status.
• Show Cases – Huachuca club lost everything in the Monument Fire. It was decided to donate to the club the showcases that we have left. Ed will contact the club and let them know that they can come pick up. Will ask them to help us coordinate a field trip in their area.
• Flagg Show – purpose is to make contacts, not to raise money.
• Junior Leader Needed - Someone suggested asking Glen Porter. Would like to include a Junior activity section in newsletter.
• Scottsdale Boys & Girls club has a rock club. Ed will contact the club and invite them to our meetings.
• Silent Auction – used to have once a year. Will start doing again. Can put the library books in the auction.
• Education Events – An MSA member suggested having classes. Will mention during general meeting to gauge interest.
• Club Structure – MSA used to have several “divisions” such as a Fossil group, a Lapidary group, micro/macro mounts, etc.
• Facebook – Mike Williams does a facebook page for the Foundation. Ray will ask if he will set one up for MSA.
• BLM has proposed laws that will limit/change access to rockhounding areas. Meeting was held in Quartzite and had large turnout. BLM wants to have more meetings to hear from local rock clubs. May try to get BLM speaker to general meeting and invite other groups.
General Meeting Minutes - March 8, 2012
By Mary Parsons, Secretary
President Ray Grant called the meeting to order at 7 p.m. Bob Holm welcomed several visitors. Ray reminded members of March 10th field trip to the Purple Passion Mine and Amethyst Hill. He showed several fluorescent mineral samples with a black light. He also reminded members of 20th Minerals of Arizona Symposium on Saturday, April 14th. It will be at I-10 and Elliott. (Editor’s Note: Details of this event are published on Page 5 and 6 of the March 2012 Newsletter.). The next general meeting will be held on April 10th. The speaker will discuss minerals of Transylvania. Betty announced that the next coalition field trip will be on March 17th. Details are in the newsletter. Ray announced that a Junior Leader is needed. Gilbert Flores told everyone that his mother, Cecilia, was very ill and not expected to live much longer. At the time of reporting, she was in John C. Lincoln Hospital. He handed out a few copies of his mineral word search puzzle. Show & Tell was held, and then Jeff Scovil presented a slide program of Arizona Minerals. Bob Holm conducted the mineral raffle, and the meeting was adjourned.
The Rockhound Record - April 2012 – Page 9
COALITION FIELD TRIP - SATURDAY, APRIL 21, 2012
HOST - SEDONA GEM AND MINERAL CLUB
Saturday April 21, 2012, Sedona Gem and Mineral club will be sponsoring a field trip to the DoBell Ranch outside of Holbrook for colorful petrified wood. We will meet at Jim Gray's Rock Shop on Hwy 180 in Holbrook at 9 a.m., sign waivers and proceed 12 miles east on 180 to the turnoff to the ranch. Another 2.5 miles north on a paved road, and we will be there. From Flagstaff take exit 286 in Holbrook, make a right and proceed through town, over the railroad tracks and then about 1/2 mile further to HWY 180. Make a left and Jim Gray's will be on the right hand corner. Bring 5 gal. buckets, shovel, rock hammer or mattox and CASH. It will be $28.00 for a full 5 gal. bucket. We will be greeted by owners Tonya and Gordon DoBell and given instructions. There is also a must see museum on the site of the original entrance to the PETRIFIED FOREST. Take some time to go through that. Should be a great day. Ranch is open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. Darryl Berghorn, Sedona Field Trip Leader (949) 939-3375 (Verizon cell) [email protected]
MSA FIELD TRIP
SATURDAY, APRIL 21, 2012
The April field trip will be to an area west of Phoenix for fluorite, barite, gypsum, and possible other minerals. Meet at the parking area by the small café across the street from the Tonopah Shell Station at exit 94 (411th Avenue) on Interstate 10. We will meet there at 8 a.m. and then drive about 30 miles to the localities. Bring collecting tools, water, lunch and protection from the sun.
This is the same weekend as the coalition trip to collect petrified wood near Holbrook, so you have a choice of two different trips. - Ray Grant
FUTURE FIELD TRIPS
May Coalition Field Trip – Saturday May 12, 2012 - Verde Salt Mine – Meet at the mine site at 9 a.m. Details in May 2012 newsletter. MSA possible trip (check May newsletter) - Saturday, May 19, 2012 - Arizona Picture Sandstone, Snowflake, Arizona.
The Rockhound Record - April 2012 – Page 10
My thanks to Chris Whitney-Smith for sharing the following:
From: ApacheJRGC <[email protected]> Date: March 19, 2012 9:18:24 AM PDT Subject: Gem Silica and Drusy from Inspiration mine I have recently rejoined the AJ Rock & Gem Club (I was a member a couple of years ago). I am interested in selling some of my collection of Gem Silica and Drusy from the Inspiration mine in Miami, AZ. I asked for your email address and he gave me your e-mail address to see if you would kindly send this message to the membership about my interest in selling some of the stones I have (if possible). I would like to start around $100 per pound of rough stones (with matrix) and on up from there per pound. My father was an underground miner at Inspiration, and he used to bring out the gem silica and drusy in his lunchbox. Then they went to open pit mining and most all the material is being crushed for copper use now. (sad) Please contact me at my e-mail address, if possible. Respectfully, Ed Amador [email protected]
George Polman’s Fluorescent Exhibit
at the 2012 Tucson Gem & Mineral Show Photos by Ray Grant
The Rockhound Record - April 2012 – Page 11
PICTURES FROM THE MARCH 10, 2012, MSA FIELD TRIP
The Purple Passion Mine Photo by Ray Grant
Piles of Fluorescent Minerals Photo by Ray Grant
Black Tent with Fluorescent Lights To Check Samples - Photo by Ray Grant
Amethyst Hill
Photo by Chris
Whitney- Smith
Cerrusite on Barite discovered by Ray Grant at Amethyst Hill Photos by Chris Whitney-Smith
The Rockhound Record - April 2012 – Page 12
Purpose: To promote popular interest in the various Earth Sciences, and particularly the fields of Geology, Lapidary, Mineralogy, and related subjects. ID badges are available from the Treasurer. Meetings: 7:00 p.m. on the second Thursday of the month, September through June, at the Church of the Beatitudes, 555 West Glendale Avenue, Phoenix, AZ, 85021. Dues: Families & Couples - $20.00, Single Adults - $12.00, Juniors (18 yrs. and under) - $2.50. Please mail your dues to:
Lynne Dyer, Treasurer P.O. BOX 30031
Mesa, AZ 85275-0031 Newsletter: Reprinting permission granted with proper credit given. Unless otherwise noted, articles are written by the Editor.
Mineralogical Society of Arizona Founded 1935
A Non Profit Organization
LOIS SPLENDORIA, EDITOR MINERALOGICAL SOCIETY OF ARIZONA P.O. BOX 30031 Mesa, AZ 85275-0031 Address Correction Requested
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AFFILIATIONS
EXCHANGE EDITORS - PLEASE NOTE: New Return Address Listed Above.
www.rmfms.org www.amfed.org
Rocky Mountain Federation of
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