The Bitterroot Conglomerate
Newsletter of the Bitterroot Gem & Mineral Society
Vol. XXVI issue 5
Presidents Column
Give yourself a pat on the back, the show was great. On behalf of the show committee we can’t thank you enough.
For myself, I learned to identify several new minerals. See how many you know:
Match number to letter:
1. Calcite A. Brazil
2. Blue Opal B. Green, Blue Grouse, Idaho
3. Amber C. Green, Ziear
4. Kyanite D. Bolivia, Tungsten
5. Cassiterite E. Utah, Beaver County, Golden
6. Ferberite F. Dominican Republic
7. Agate G. Lunar, Arizona
8. Malachite H. Eastern Montana
9. Honeycomb calcite I. Rubies & Sapphire, Montana
10. Tektite J. Purple, Montana
11. Ammonites K. Flo Red, Montana
12. Corundum L. South Africa
13. Crystal Amethyst M. Blue Grouse, Idaho
14. Cactus Quartz N. Bolivia – Tin
15. Azurite O. Butte, Montana
How did you do? For me, I really didn’t do to well. I’m brain-dead answering the questions. Answers on page 6.
See you at the meeting, Larry Jones
Editors Notes
Our Gem and Mineral Show is over. Many are relieved and some are still recovering. The majority of the show went well but we learned from the few things that could have been done differently. It would be well if we could write down our thoughts and observations while they are still fresh in our mind. If a show is proposed some time in the future they would be valuable to have available to those doing the planning. Maybe our “coach” will have an after game critique.
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Minutes of the Bitterroot Gem and Mineral Society April 10, 2007
The meeting was started at 7:30 pm by President Larry Jones, with a pledge to the flag of the USA. There were 32 members present. Larry then asked Steve Vieth to introduce our guest Ed Hanson, who was to give our program on Tektites and Gemstones. Steve said that Ed was referred to him by Bonnie Klein. Ed at one time owned a Rock Shop in San Diego, CA, and now lives on the West Fork Rd. south of Darby. He has experience in Cabochon making, Faceting, Silversmithing and Goldsmithing, and is a collector of meteorites and Tektites. Ed had a full table of Tektites, Meteorites, Cabochons, Faceted-stones, and mineral specimens to show to the club.
Ed started his talk with a discussion on the source of Tektites. He stated that they were produced by Meteorites or Asteroids striking the earth, which melted the earth’s surface and expelled melted globules into the atmosphere. These globules solidified to glass and then fell back to the earth in a pattern called a strew-field.
Ed mentioned that some scientist at the Jet Propulsion Lab (JPL) in CA proclaim that some Tektites may have come from the large Tycho Crater on the moon. This is based on the tektite chemistry, and their strew-field pattern. These moon Tektites were deposited in a “S” shape strew-field pattern as the earth turned. The moon Tektites are found across SE Asia, the Philippians, the South American Andes, South Africa, and Australia. Other Tektite strew-fields such as the Moldavites in the region of the south Czech Republic have associated earth meteorite craters. Ed passed around specimens of Tektites and Meteorites for the club to see. Ed had iron meteorite specimens collected from around the Canyon Diablo Crater in Arizona. This crater is 570 feet deep and 4000 feet across, and was made around 50,000 years ago. These meteorites show a sculptured feature called thumbprints. The site is now a park and collecting meteorites is no longer allowed. However, at one time collectors collected meteorites by dragging a magnet along the ground on a rope tied to their waist. Some still do illegally during the night. Ed said that one way to distinguish an iron meteorite is by the Widmanstätten pattern on a cut- polished-etched surface. He had examples to show. He also had some small thin slices of meteorite showing the Widmanstätten pattern, which had been gold-plated to make jewelry. (Ref. 1) Ed said that some meteorites have no iron and are not attracted to magnets. These are called stony meteorites. He has seen some good specimens from China recently. The stony meteorites are rarer than the iron meteorites and are very valuable. Ed has seen a ten inch, ¼ thick, slab sold for up to $10,000.00.
Ed also mentioned rocks coming to the earth from Mars, from asteroid hits on that planet. He said that we know they are from Mars, as bubbles of trapped gas in the rocks are the same as the atmospheric gas on Mars. Ed mentioned that since meteorite collecting on public lands is not allowed, many are stolen. One meteorite recently found in Australia weighed 3.2 tons. When the government went back to study it a few days later, it was gone. Someone had hauled it off on a truck.
Some meteorites explode above the ground, such as the Tunguska which fell in Russia in 1908, and only leave micro fragments. Ed also talked about using metal detectors for finding both iron meteorites and gold nuggets, and mentioned that a large 156 ounce gold nugget was found with a metal detector in the southern California desert completely away from any gold district.
Ed talked about the Chicxulub crater in the Mexico Yucatan, which was believed to be caused by an asteroid that hit that area 65 million years ago and was responsible for wiping out the dinosaurs. The reason it was classified as a asteroid crater, rather than a volcanic caldera such as the Yellowstone Caldera, was because drilling revealed shocked quartz at depth. Shocked quartz leaves a spider web pattern of fractures in the quartz.
Someone from the club asked how often the earth is hit by meteors. Ed said that the Leonids are a meteor shower that occur every year and hit our atmosphere with millions of micro meteors that burn up in the atmosphere, causing what we refer to as shooting stars. There are also many other meteor showers with other periods of occurrence.
Ed talked about mineral and rock enhancement and told everyone to be vigilant for fakes. Howlite can be made to look like spider-web turquoise by soaking it in water with blue tidy-bowl cleaner. He said it looks just like Kingman spider-web turquoise. He talked about giving clear quartz, or topaz, a rainbow of colors by diffusing various metals into the surface by ion bombardment. One example is called Green-Mystic-Topaz. Other fakes are simply misnamed, such as Smoky-Topaz, which is really Smoky-Quartz. Some gemstones are exposed to radiation to change their color. Ed said that some years ago some buyers of star Chrysoberyl from India were getting blisters from wearing their rings, and later found out they had been made into star types by nuclear radiation, and they were radioactive. Wayne Farley told Ed that only neutron bombardment will make gemstones radioactive. Those bombarded by gamma radiation will not be radioactive. Ed ended his program with the statement: In order to be safe, and to get genuine gemstones, always buy from a reputable dealer.
Ref. 1: The Widmanstatten pattern was first identified by an Italian by the name of William Thompson, in 1804. In 1808 Austrian metallurgist - Count Alois von Widmanstatten, who was the director of the Imperial Porcelain Works identified the crystalline pattern which now bears his name.
Break for Coffee and Goodies:
Bussiness Meeting:
The business meeting was started at 8:30 by Larry Jones. Larry first asked for the treasurer’s report from Betty Hodge, and it was given...
The treasurer’s report was approved by the club.
Larry stated that our focus on this and the next club meeting would be on preparations for the BGMS show. Larry mentioned that he had purchased some field guide books for the club library, and they were available for loan to club members. Jo Farley is the club librarian and keeps the books at her home, when they are not out on loan. Jo will bring some books to each meeting for club members to check out.
Margaret Sharp, show chairperson, gave a report on show preparations. She said that she has a book with assignments for various tasks at the show. If anyone has not yet volunteered for a task, please contact her. Publicity is pretty much done. Programs are pretty much done. Display cases have been arranged for. Wayne Farley is in charge of the black-light display. Steve Vieth still needs more rocks-fossils-minerals for the silent auction. We still need more volunteers to man the club table, and we still need more tumbled stones for the grab bags.. We have five prizes for the show raffle, and that’s probably adequate, however more prizes are still welcome. On Friday before the show we will have our Pot-Luck at 5:30 for the dealers and club members. Members should bring their own plates and utensils. Dealers will be furnished with paper plates and plastic utensils. Security has been arranged. Members will stay at the show overnight on Friday and Saturday. A uniformed guard will be circulating around the show during open hours of the show. Harvey Sharp is in charge of table set up for the dealers, and other tables for show cases and other uses. The senior center lunch is usually over about 1:30 pm and Harvey will have the tables set up for the show by 2:30 pm. The next club meeting at 7:30 pm on April 24 will be strictly for show preparation.
Larry called for volunteers to bring snacks for the first club meeting in May and was successful. Jo Farley asked to make a comment about snack policy. She said that six years ago the policy was to only have cookies and coffee, and in her opinion things have gotten out of hand, and now people are expecting a buffet. She suggested that we go back to only cookies and coffee. Larry Jones and Don Tibbs and others thought that we should stay the same for now, and that seems to be the consensus. No official vote was taken.
The meeting was ended with drawings for the 50/50 raffle and door prize. Larry Jones won the raffle of ½ of $23.00 taken in, and donated his winnings of $11.50 to the club scholarship fund. Pat Tibbs won the door prize contributed by Yvonne Fox, the previous winner. The prize was a polished black & white jasp-agate rock egg.
Wayne Farley, Secretary
End of Minutes
Answers: 1 – K, 2 – M, 3 – F, 4 – A, 5 – N, 6 – D, 7 – B, 8 – C, 9 – E, 10 – G, 11 – H, 12 – I,
13 – J, 14 – L, 15 – O
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For Sale. An ore car from a mine in Nevada. In good shape. $500.00. Contact Posey at 961-4116
Wanted. A Faceting Machine. Please contact Mildred at 363-5224 or Cathy at 777-2598
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Article VII. Code of Ethics
The code of ethics for the conduct of field trips presented by the American
Federation of Mineralogical Societies, as indicated below, shall be adopted by the BGMS;
with the addition proviso, that in the interest of safety, no person shall carry a
firearm on any field trip without the expressed consent of the field trip leader
AFMS Code of Ethics
* I will respect both private and public property and will do no collecting on privately owned land without the
owner’s permission.
* I will keep informed on all laws, regulations of rules governing collecting on public lands and observe them.
* I will to the best of my ability, ascertain the boundary lines of property on which I plan to collect.
* I will use no firearms or blasting materials in collecting areas.
* I will cause no willful damage to property of any kind - fences, signs, buildings.
* I will leave all gates as found.
* I will build fires in designated or safe places only and will be certain they are completely extinguished before
leaving the area.
* I will discard no burning material - matches, cigarettes, etc.
* I will fill all excavations holes which may be dangerous to livestock.
* I will not contaminate wells, creeks, or other water supply.
* I will cause no willful damage to collecting material and will take home only what I can reasonably use.
* I will practice conservation and undertake to utilize fully and well the materials I have collected and will
recycle my surplus for the pleasure and benefit of others.
* I will support the rockhound project H.E.L.P. (Help Eliminate Litter Please) and will leave all collecting areas
devoid of litter, regardless of how found.
* I will cooperate with field trip leaders and those in designated authority in all collecting areas.
* I will report to my Club or Federation officers, Bureau of Land Management or other authorities, any deposit
of petrified wood or other materials on public lands which should be protected for the enjoyment of future
generations for public education and scientific purposes.
* I will appreciate and protect our heritage of natural resources.
* I will observe the Golden Rule, will use Good Outdoor Manners and will at all times conduct myself in a manner
which will add to the stature and Public Image of rockhounds everywhere.
SAVE POSTAGE STAMPS FOR CANCER REASERCH!!!
GIVE A HOOT – DON’T POLLUTE! KEEP MONTANA GREEN
BGMS 2007 FIELD TRIPS & SPECIAL EVENTS |
|
|
|
Apl 28-29
Sat-Sun |
BGMS Show, Hamilton Senior Center, 400 S. 4th St.; Sat. 10-6, Sun. 10-5 |
Margaret Sharp, (406) 363-1590; e-mail: sharp_margaret@msn.com. |
Apl 28-29
Sat-Sun |
234 mi to Billings, MT Gem & Mineral Show, Sat. 10-6, Sun. 10-5 |
Tom Stacheff |
May 5
Sat |
Field Trip with Hellgate Club to Deer Creek, 5 miles E. of Missoula - Selenite Roses (fluorescent tan with shortwave UV light), Meet at East Gate Shopping Center in Missoula at 10:00 AM |
Mick Mees
Hellgate Club
406-258-5294 |
May 12-13
Sat-Sun |
Bozeman 48th Annual Show; Bozeman Gem & Mineral Club; Gallatin Co. Fair Grounds, Black St. and Tamarack St.; Sat. 10-6, Sun. 10-4, MT Council Spring Meeting |
Dan Carter, (406) 763-5034, or Doug Ellis, (406) 266-4452; e-mail: opalcrusher@hotmail.com. |
May 12 |
Open for a field trip |
|
May 19-20
Sat-Sun |
Field Trip to BGMS Blue Grouse Claim, 110 mi to 10 miles S. of Salmon, Idaho. Blue or white common opal, fire opal (if you are lucky), and chalcedony-agate (fluorescent green opal & agate with shortwave UV light. |
Ralph Luther
406-961-3663
lazya@luther.myrf.net |
May 26 |
Open for a field trip |
|
June 2 |
Open for a field trip |
|
June 9-10
Sat & Sun |
Challis, Idaho to collect agate and jasper at Lime Creek and Spar Canyon. Fluorescent-green agate at Spar Canyon. |
Wayne Farley
408-375-1341
wfarley@far.myrf.net |
June 16 |
Open for a field trip. |
|
June 23 |
Open for a field trip |
|
June 30 - July 1 Sat & Sun |
Montana Council State Fossil/Mineral Hunt
Sat. - Field Trip to Snowbird Mine, 70 mi to Lolo Pass. Collect Parasite (Ce), Quarts Crystals, Scapolite, Rutile, Annabergite, Fluorite. Meet at Lolo Hot Springs at 9:00 am, Collect 12 to 4 PM.
Sun. - Collect Fossils east of Missula |
Bob Riggs
Hellgate Club
406-543-3667 |
July 7 |
Open for a field trip. |
|
July 14 |
Open for a field trip. |
|
July 21-22
Sat-Sun |
Kalispell MT State Gem & Mineral Show
MT Council Summer Meeting |
Dana Anderson |
July 23
Mon |
Will try to get Kalispell Club to lead a field trip in their area associated with State Show. |
Wayne Farley
406-375-1341
wfarley@far.myrf.net |
July 28 |
Open for a field trip. |
|
Aug 3-5
Fri-Sun |
NWFM Show, Butte 67 Annual show, "Richest Hill on Earth"; Butte Mineral & Gem Club; Civic Center, 1340 Harrison Ave. (I-90, Harrison Ave. exit, turn north); Fri. 10-5, Sat. 10-5, Sun. 10-5 |
Pete Knudsen,
(406) 723-8524 |
Aug. 6-11 |
NFMS Field Trips from Dicky Bridge Capground
Includes: Calvert Hill, Crystal Park, Black Pine Mine, Lemhi Pass, Hi 274 Pass E. of Anaconda. |
Tim Hoff
406-782-6077 |
Aug. 18 |
Open for a field trip. |
|
Aug. 25 |
Open for a field trip. |
|
Sept. 1 |
Open for a field trip. |
|
Sept. 8-9
Sat-Sun |
Missoula Gem & Mineral Show
MT Council Fall Meeting |
Bob Riggs
Hellgate Club
406-543-3667 |
Sept. 15
Sat |
80 miles, 2 hours, to Henderson Creek Rd, South of Hall, North of Philipsburg, Collect Dendritic Jasper and Agate
Meet at Skalkaho-Y at 8:00 am |
Wayne G. Farley
406-375-1341
wfarley@far.myrf.net |
Sept. 22 |
Open for a field trip. |
|
Oct. |
All month Open for field trips. |
|
Dec. 15
Sat. |
Christmas Party: Potluck & Auction
Corvallis Community Church, 2nd and Church Streets
CE Build. behind church. 1:00 to 4:00 pm |
Jo Farley
406-961-0080 |
Anyone that would like to plan and lead a field trip on any of the open dates please call Wayne Farley to set it up and have it announced to the group and also put on the web-site for all to see.
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A fool and his money are soon elected.
Will Rogers
America is becoming so educated that ignorance will be a novelty. I will belong to the select few.
Will Rogers
BITTERROOT GEM & MINERAL SOCIETY is a member of the Montana State Council, Northwest Federation and American Federation. We support State and Federation projects and goals. We are guided by the AFMS code of ethics:
I will respect private property. No rockhounding without permission.
I will use no firearms or blasting material in rockhounding areas.
I will take all garbage home, or dispose of it in proper receptacles.
I will leave gates as found.
I will cause no willful damage to materials or take more than I can use.
I will build fires in designated or safe places only.
I will not contaminate wells, creeks or other water supplies.
I will appreciate and protect our heritage or natural resources and wildlife. I will always use good outdoor manners.
SAVE USED POSTAGE STAMPS FOR CANCER RESEARCH!
GIVE A HOOT - DON"T POLLUTE! KEEP MONTANA GREEN
