The Lake George Gem and Mineral Club - Club Monthly

Lake George Gem and Mineral Club November, 2013

The Lake George Gem and Mineral Club - Club Monthly Meeting, November, 2013

Regular Meeting of the Lake George Gem & Mineral Club

Saturday, November 9, at 10:00AM Lake George Community Center

Reminder! Starting in November, each year, Club me etings start at 10AM.

ANNUAL LGGMC "TOWEL SHOW" ANNUAL LGGMC "TOWEL SHOW" ANNUAL LGGMC "TOWEL SHOW" ANNUAL LGGMC "TOWEL SHOW" &&&& POTPOTPOTPOT----LUCKLUCKLUCKLUCK

Welcome our new Officers, at the Annual "towel show "

Bring mineral, fossil, and "curiosity" specimens an d a towel to put them on, and we'll all check out each others' new finds for the year.

Please bring along enough servings of finger food t o share. Coming Events

Denver Area Mineral Dealers P ublic Show , Jefferson Co. fairgrounds, 6th Ave. frontage road and Indiana St.; free admission and parking.

Lost Miner! Mine Health, Safety, and Rescue , lecture at Western Museum of Mining and Industry; please RSVP to [email protected]

Columbine Gem & Mineral Society , monthly meeting, 6:30PM, Shavano Manor, 525 W. 16th St. (at J St.), Salida. Friends of Mineralogy, Colorado Chapter , "The Alkaline Pegmatites of the Golden Horn Batholith, Washington", by Markus Raschke; 7:30PM, VIP Room, DMNS.

Littleton Gem & Mineral Club Silent Auction , 12 noon, Columbine Hills Church, 9700 Old Coal Mine Ave., Littleton.

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Nov. 1-3 Nov. 7

Nov. 13

Nov. 14

Nov. 16

Colorado Springs Mineralogical Society , monthly meeting, 7PM, Colorado Springs Senior Center, 1514 N. Hancock, Colorado Springs. Pueblo Rockhounds , Monthly meeting, 7:30PM, Westminster Presbyterian Church, 10 University Circle, Pueblo.

The Joys of Mapping Northwest Colorado Geology , by Peter Barkmann, Colorado Scientific Society, 7PM, Shepherd of the Hills, 11500 W. 20th Ave., Lakewood.

Flatiron Mineral Club Rock & Mineral Show , Boulder Co. Fairgrounds, Main Exhibit Bldg., Hover & Nelson Rds., Longmont; admission charge; go to httm://bcn.boulder.co.us/community/fmc/fmcshow.htm for info.

Exploring Areas of Natural Acid Rock Drainage in Co lorado , by Matthew Sares, Colorado Scientific Society Presidential Address, 7PM, Shepherd of the Hills, 11500 W. 20th Ave., Lakewood.

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Nov. 21

Nov. 21

Nov. 21

Dec. 13-15

Dec. 19


Club News

�� At the October meeting, the following officers and committee chairs were elected for 2014:

President: Suz Core Vice President: Jo Beckwith

Treasurer: Wayne Johnston (we are still looking for a replacement now!) Secretary: Norma Engleburg

Newsletter Editor: Bob Carnein (final year) Membership/Badges: Jerolynn Kawamoto

Field-Trip Coordinator: Todd Mattson Gem Show Manager: Dan Alfrey (final year)

We still Do Not have permission from the Forest Ser vice to visit the Club claim

*** DO NOT go to the Club claim until further noti ce! ***

� The new series of "Prospectors" shows are now on the Weather Channel on Sunday evenings.

Earth-Science Scholars/Pebble Pups Corner

Here's the schedule for this year's Pebble Pups/Earth-Science Scholars classes and activities: Nov. : Sedimentary Rocks (John Rakowski ) Dec.: Florissant Fossil Beds (Steve Veatch) Jan. : Metamorphic Rocks (Bob Carnein ) Field Trip to DMNS to meet Dr. Ian Miller and tour paleontology and mineral halls Feb. World of fossils (Steve Veatch ) Family Geology Day at WMMI Science writing and research (Steve Veatch; Zach Sepulveda ) March : Amazing world of garnets (Steve Veatch; Jenna Salvat ) Field trip: Cave of the Winds April : Colorado-Wyoming diamond area (Steve Veatch; Gavin Noller ) National Poetry Month May: Orienteering (Dan Alfrey )

Earth-Science Scholars and Pebble Pups meet from September through May on the third Tuesday of each month at 6PM in the Lake George Com munity Center . Please Contact Steve Veatch at [email protected] for details and updates Remember , new students and their parents are always welcome; Earth-Science Scholars and Pebble Pups are welcome on LGGM Club field trips.


Notes from the Notes from the Notes from the Notes from the

EditorEditorEditorEditor

Bob Carnein, Editor

[email protected]

719-687-2739

Two new Lake George Pebble Pups/Earth-Science Scholars, brothers Nathan and Jerrod Gallup , submitted haiku, which are included below.

Celestine By Nathan Gallup

Haiku: Gully of crystals

Created magically It is so awesome

Some Quick Facts About Celestine:

Formula: SRSO4 sometimes contains minor calcium and/or barium.

Crystal system: Orthorhombic

Color: colorless, white, pale blue, pink, pale green, pale brown and black

Celestine crystals . Photo © by Nathan Gallup, 2013


Crystal habit: tabular to pyramidal crystals

Mohs hardness scale: 3-3.5

Luster: vitreous, pearly

Streak: white

Notes: I got this celestine crystal at the first Pebble Pups meeting I attended. I belong to the Lake George Gem and Mineral Club. About the Author:

Nathan Gallup (age 9) Third Grade, Columbine Elementary School Woodland Park, CO October 14, 2013

References

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celestine_(mineral)

SELENITE By Jerrod Gallup

Haiku: An orange crystal

Formed by nature’s loving hands In the soft brown ground


Some Quick Facts About Selenite: Formula: CaSO4 2H2O Category: Sulfate mineral Crystal system: Monoclinic Mohs hardness scale : 2 Luster: Pearly Streak: white Color: can be green, brownish, yellow, greenish, gray green and gray white.

Selenite crystals are found in: Mexico and Oklahoma.

Notes: I got this selenite crystal at the first Pebble Pups meeting I attended. I belong to the Lake George Gem and Mineral Club. I researched this crystal and found lots of interesting facts. I found out that it was very unique. This crystal was found in Oklahoma in 1970. You can go to Oklahoma and find selenite crystals in the salt plains there. The hourglass shaped Selenite crystals are only found on these plains. It is also the Oklahoma State Crystal. About the Author: Jerrod Gallup (Age 9) Third Grade, Columbine Elementary School Woodland Park, CO October 14, 2013

Selenite crystal form Oklahoma. Image ©by Jerrod Gallup, 2013


References

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selenite_(mineral) http://www.statesymbolsusa.org/Oklahoma/stateCrystalOklahoma.html You may remember that I've been trying to complete a series of articles about the minerals of the Mohs Hardness Scale . Here's the latest, which covers corundum.

Cool Corundum by Bob Carnein

Introduction. Corundum, which is number 9 on the Mohs hardness scale, is composed of aluminum oxide (Al2O3). Mineralogists classify it as a member of the hematite group, which also includes hematite (Fe2O3) and ilmenite (FeTiO3). All three minerals have similar crystal structures (they're hexagonal) and habits. The bonds holding these minerals together are strongly ionic, making them relatively hard and stable, compared to most ionic compounds. Physical Properties. Measured in absolute terms, corundum is twice as hard as topaz (number 8 on the Mohs scale) and 400 times as hard as talc (no. 1). Because corundum sometimes alters to soft micas, one must be careful to use fresh crystals for hardness testing. Similarly, the luster of altered corundum may be dull or greasy, while fresh samples have a glassy or adamantine (diamond-like) luster. Combined with its hardness, corundum's high luster makes transparent varieties especially valuable as gemstones. Although it has no cleavage, corundum commonly exhibits closely spaced, planar fractures called parting. One common type of parting produces breaks parallel to the hexagonal cross sections of the crystals. Another results in triangular markings that are commonly seen on the hexagonal cross sections. This property can be very helpful for identification.


(Left) Platy "ruby" corundum crystal, 6.2 cm across , from Mysore, India (note triangular markings due to parting); (right) Typical corundum crystal, 2.1 cm tall. Carnein collection and photos. Colored Gem Varieties & Synthetics. Color is a tricky property to use in mineral identification. Corundum occurs in almost every color of the rainbow (although green is uncommon). Typically, the color is some shade of gray, but bluish, pinkish, and brownish shades are common. Gem corundum may be red (ruby; colored by chromium) or any other color (collectively called sapphire; colored by various impurities). Although many people think of sapphire as blue, the most valuable sapphires are a lively, hard to describe orange-pink color (the stones are called padparadscha), and other colors are common.

Padparadscha sapphire (left: AJS Gems.com; right: weddingbee.com) Ruby and sapphire are two of the four traditional precious gemstones (the others being emerald and diamond). Because of their high value, much work has been done both to synthesize them and to modify their colors. In the late 19th century, the French chemist A.V. Verneuil developed a commercial process for producing synthetic ruby. Still in use today, the Verneuil process produces ruby (and sapphire) boules (single crystals shaped like tapering rods) for gemstones, lasers, and other uses. These are very cheap, compared with the natural stones. Other processes are used to synthesize gem crystals that are difficult to distinguish from the real thing (these are sometimes mixed in with natural crystals being sold in lots, especially in


(Left) Synthetic corundum boules (gia.edu); (right) synthetic ruby crystals (gia.edu) Vietnam). Much Sri Lankan gem sapphire starts out with a very pale translucent blue or whitish color (geuda). In the 1970s, researchers discovered that heating of some geuda to about 1800 degrees Celsius causes the color to change to blue and the transparency to improve. Nowadays, much Sri Lankan sapphire is treated geuda. Another treatment, developed in the early 2000s, is beryllium diffusion. At temperatures around 1800 degrees Celsius, beryllium diffuses into corundum to produce various colors, including a pinkish orange color similar to that of padparadscha. Beryllium diffusion is difficult to detect, even to a professional gemologist. Asterism is a relatively common property of corundum. It results from scattering of light by minute needly inclusions of rutile (TiO2) that have grown along preferred crystallographic directions in the host crystal. A moving, 6-pointed star appears when the crystal is cut as a cabochon across the c-axis (usually the long axis of a corundum crystal). Historically, star ruby and sapphire have been among the rarest and most valuable of gemstones. Attempts to synthesize them succeeded when Linde Air Products made the first manufactured star corundum in 1947. The synthetic stones are nearly identical to natural star ruby and sapphire, and are available for relatively low prices.

(Left) Star sapphire (www.gemselect.com); (right) s tar ruby (jewelry-blog.internetstones.com)


Occurrence. Most corundum occurs in metamorphic rocks, including marble, slate, mica schist, and gneiss. Light colored igneous rocks (syenite, nepheline syenite, pegmatite) that have anonymously low silica contents and abundant alumina are another important source. In such rocks, there is not enough silica to use all of the magma's aluminum to make feldspars and other Al-silicates. The excess aluminum may form corundum, instead. Corundum may also occur in iron- and magnesium-rich igneous rocks, including basalt and lamprophyre. Because of its high hardness, high specific gravity (3.9-4.1), and toughness, corundum commonly becomes concentrated in placer deposits. Valuable deposits of sapphire and ruby occur in placers in Sri Lanka, Cambodia, and Thailand. The famous rubies of Myanmar and Vietnam occur in marble, as do some Indian rubies. Montana's Yogo sapphires occur in a lamprophyre (an odd, dark colored, porphyritic igneous rock).

(Left) Pale "geuda" sapphire with schorl, 3 cm. hig h, Ratnapura, Sri Lanka (note abrasion from tumbling in a stream); (right) "twisted" sapphire c rystal, 4 cm high, Ratnapura, Sri Lanka. Carnein photos and collection. Emery is a rock containing granular corundum with magnetite or hematite. Before synthetic corundum largely replaced it, emery was mined in Greece, Asia Minor, and Massachusetts for use as an abrasive. Although corundum is widespread on Earth, it is relatively rare in Colorado. If you want to collect some, your best bet is the Calumet mine, in Chaffee County. The writer collected abundant, razor thin, bluish-gray hexagonal plates in a metamorphic rock on a field trip in 2012. Some of the crystals have a slightly chatoyant, "milky" cast and may contain rutile inclusions.


However, although some corundum was produced at the Calumet for abrasives in the 1890s, the crystals are very small and much too unattractive to qualify as gemstones. Other occurrences are widespread in Chaffee Co., and smaller deposits are reported in Clear Creek, Custer, Fremont, Jefferson, Moffat, and Routt counties (Eckel, 1997) and in host rock of the gold deposits of the Cripple Creek district, Teller Co.

Platy corundum crystals in metamorphic rock from th e Calumet mine. (Left) field of view is about 4 cm high; (right) FOV is about 1 cm across; note t riangular striations. Carnein photos and collection. References. The following references were used to compile this article. Eckel, E.B., et al., 1997, Minerals of Colorado: Denver, Friends of Mineralogy—Colorado Chapter; Golden, Colorado, Fulcrum Publishing. Emmett, J.L., et al., 2003, Beryllium diffusion of ruby and sapphire: Gems & Gemology, vol. 39, no. 2, p. 84-135. Klein, C., 2002, The 22nd Edition of the Manual of Mineral Science (after James D. Dana): New York, John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Schumann, W., 1993, Handbook of Rocks, Minerals, and Gemstones: Boston, Houghton Mifflin Company.


Lake George Gem and Mineral Club P.O. Box 171

Lake George, Colorado 80827 www.LGGMclub.org

2013 MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION

Name(s) ______________________________________________________________

Address ________________________________City __________State __ Zip _______ Telephone ( ) ______ - _______________ E-mail _________________________________

Names and ages of dependent members: ___________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

Annual membership - dues Jan. 1 through Dec. 31 are as follows:

� Individual (18 and over) ………………………………………….. $15.00 � Family (Parents plus dependents under age 18) ………………. $25.00

Annual dues are due on January 1st. Members with unpaid dues will be dropped from the roster after March 31st. Any new member joining on/after August 30 shall pay one half the annual dues. I hereby agree to abide by the constitution and by-laws of this club.

Signed __________________________________ Date: ____/____/____ I have previously been a member of Lake George Gem & Mineral Club. Yes __ No ___ My interest areas include:

Minerals __ Fossils__ Lapidary __ Micromounts __ Other _____________________________________

I would be willing to demonstrate any of the above for a club program or educational activity? If yes, which: ____________________________ Please indicate which of the following activities you might be willing to help with: Writing ______ Editor ______ Mailing ______ Local shows ______ Club Officer ______ Programs ______ Field trips ______ Refreshments ______ Questions about the club or club activities? Conta ct Suze Core (719) 689-2092 Rev. April, 2013


Lake George Gem and Mineral Club P.O. Box 171

Lake George, CO 80827 The Lake George Gem and Mineral Club is a group of people interested in rocks and minerals, fossils, geography and history of the Pikes Peak/South Park area, Indian artifacts and the great outdoors. The club’s informational programs and field trips provide an opportunity to learn about earth sciences, rocks and minerals, lapidary work and jewelry making, and to share information and experiences with other members. Guests are welcome to attend, to see what we are about! The club is geared primarily to amateur collectors and artisans, with programs of interest both to beginners and serious amateurs. The club meets the second Saturday of each month at the Lake George Community Center, located on the north side of US Highway 24 on the east edge of town, sharing a building with the county highway shops. In the winter we meet at 10:00 AM. From April through October, we meet at 9:00 AM, to allow more time for our field trips. Our organization is incorporated under Colorado law as a nonprofit educational organization, and is a member of the Colorado, Rocky Mountain and American Federations of Mineralogical Societies. We also sponsor an annual Gem and Mineral show at Lake George, where collectors and others may purchase or sell rocks, minerals, fossils, gems or jewelry. Annual membership dues (Jan. 1 through Dec. 31) are $15.00 for an individual (18 and over), and $25.00 for a family (Parents plus dependents under age 18).

Our Officers for 2014 are:

Suz Core, President

PO Box 1154 Cripple Creek, CO 80813

719-689-2092 [email protected]

Jo Beckwith , Vice President

PO Box 275 Guffey, CO 80820


Wayne Johnston , Treasurer

207 Cooper Lake Drive Divide, CO 80814


Norma Engleburg , Secretary

C.R. (Bob) Carnein , Newsletter Editor, 507 Donzi Trail, Florissant, CO 80816

[email protected] ; 719-687-2739

The Lake George Gem and Mineral Club - Club Monthly

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