The Bitterroot Conglomerate
Newsletter of the Bitterroot Gem & Mineral Society
Vol. XXVIII issue 11
Presidents Column
The Club is planning a Show next year on May 15th & 16th. These are the dates that are available instead of the 22nd and 23rd as was reported last month.
Next March 13th the bus trip to the Spokane Show will cost $25.00 per person. We have been asked to share the bus expense with the Missoula Rock Club, we need to vote on this soon.
Jo Farley
Editors Notes
Please note that the dues are expected to be paid by the December potluck or mailed to either the Club address or Wayne Farley before the end of December.
I will need reports from the Chairperson of the various Committees during the 1st week of each month so they can be included in the newsletter.
The Editor is not responsible for the accuracy of articles accepted, items for sale, nor are the opinions expressed therein necessarily those of the Club Officers, members and/or the Club Editor. -- Ralph
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BGMS Minutes October 13, 2009
The meeting was called to order by President, Jo Farley. The turnout was a little short with only 15 Members in attendance. Soooooo, we had the Program first.
PROGRAM: Most of the Members brought rocks to discuss and pass around. There was a wonderful variety of items. I took careful notes to list each member’s name and what they brought. And…now cannot find that portion of the meeting. I am truly sorry. It was a very good program and I think enjoyed by all in attend Nance.
MEETING: After some yummy crackers, cookies, and drinks, we again Thanked Sharlene for doing all the work. It is greatly appreciated.
Correspondence: There was a letter about out claim that Wayne, Ralph and Harvey wll be looking into.
Treasurer’s Report:
Apple Days: Cancelled due to a phone poll and freezing cold weather. We lost the $45 deposit, but all figured it was well worth NOT having to go down.
Show for 2010: Steve Vieth announced it will need to be May 15th and 16th with the Pot Luck Dinner on Friday nite the 14th. There was a conflict with the Gun Show on the next week-end. He said there would be a total of 13 Dealers and he is working on making sure to get all different ones so as not to have any conflicts. Also, he said we would not man the kitchen for serving food ad BJ’s Restaurant and others are pretty close. Mary Ann Scanland will do the Admission and Raffle again this year. Don Tibbs made a motion and 2nd by Wayne to HAVE a Show in 2010. Passed it had previously been discussed and assumed we would have it, but not the formal vote. Now we are legal. Steve will again be the overall Show Chairman and Jo Farley will head up the show cases.
New Business: Don Tibbs seemed to remember many years ago of there being some Kits available with Montana Gems and Minerals that could be taken to the schools, etc. He will look into finding them (if possible).
Christmas Party will try for December 12th. Don volunteered Pat to cook the Turkey. Mary Ann Scanland will cook the Ham.
Nominating Committee will consist of Margaret Sharp and Penny Luther. All volunteers who would like to be an Officer or Council member, please contact one of them. They will present a slate of nominees for the Offices – followed by volunteers or nominations from the floor at the first meeting in November. Voted on and will be installed at the Christmas Party.
Scholarships: Ton Tibbs reported he sends written letters with the Application Forms to each High School in Ravalli County. The Scholarship is for $500 and goes to a senior who is pursuing a degree in the Earth Science Field. Nola reminded all that earth sciences are taught in ALL Valley schools from Grammar School to High School.
Discussion of the Anaconda Rest Stop has a display placed there by their Club and interested people showing the various ores, minerals, rocks, gems, etc. found in the area.
Nola suggested we change our meetings to only once a month. This prompted reading the by-laws only to find it is OPEN…we can have only 1 or 2 or whatever number the members decide on among themselves. (Such as in the summer when we only do have one meeting and the Field Trips.) Nola then rescinded her suggestion. Ralph informed us the By-Laws have been updated and will be on the Web Site and also will be given out to all members present at the next meeting.
Mary Ann has an Uncle who for an inexpensive way to polish stones, used the steel plate from an old cook stove. He puts the primary grit directly on top and hand polishes the slab. Saves a lot of money.
There being no further business, Don T. make and Ralph L. seconded the motion to adjourn. Passed
Respectfully Submitted,
Dianne Ayres, Secretary
BGMS Minutes Oct. 27, 2009
The meeting was called to order by President, Jo Farley. We had 18 Members and 0 Guests in attendance. The Pledge of Allegiance was given and the can for the 50/50 Raffle was passed around. A rousing thank you was given to our “Refreshment Lady” Sharlene Farley.
ILLNESS:
Nola Edgar (our Program for tonight) has taken a fall and broken her back. Don Contra man was in CA visiting his Mother when he was in a Very Bad Car accident. His Mother was killed and Don has a crushed foot. Both will appreciate cards and calls.
COMMITTEE REPORTS:
The Christmas Party will be held here at the Church in Corvallis on 12/12/09 at 12 Noon. Pot Luck with the Club furnishing the Ham and Turkey. All Members and Guests are to bring the other goodies so we can all Eat – Eat – Eat.
2010 SHOW:
Steve reported work on it is progressing. More at the next meeting.
NOMINATING COMMITTEE:
Margaret Sharp said they were working well on getting a slate of both New and Old Members. Also Next meeting when we will proceed.
OLD BUSINESS:
None
NEW BUSINESS:
In the year of 2008 – 2009 we joined the Bitterroot Valley Chamber of Commerce. It has given us great exposure and we are constantly passing our Our Club Brochures. It is now time to renew our membership. Cost will be $125.00 for the new 2009 – 2010 year. All were in favor.
Also, it is time to again donate to the Church for allowing us to meet here. A check for $200 will be given to them in December.
Jo went to an Institution in Butte where most of the children (ages 4 to 18) are wards of the State. They are in this place because most have no family and have had drugs, etc. which led to their problems. Jo asked all to consider making a donation to them to provide a Christmas Dinner. They are in a complete lock-down with schooling, medical, room, board, etc. provided.
Harvey suggested we invite the Church Pastor and his Family to join us at our Christmas Party.
Wayne brought 4 items in to show and tell. A copper Nugget (really heavy) wrapped with malachite. A Medicate (looked like heavy gold piece). A Copper and Silver piece which was mostly (90%) silver, and a piece of Datolite. Everyone got to see during our break.
Margaret Sharp with a second by John Simonds was made to adjourn the meeting. Passed
There was NO door prize because Harvey Sharp forgot to bring one. He will bring it next meeting.
Respectfully Submitted,
Dianne Ayres, Secretary
Field Trip or Show Report
None
Member Field Trip Reports
None
Mining Committee Report
Nothing new this month. We should think about getting the excavator into our Opal Claim next spring to reclaim some areas and open others. It will be expensive but if we plan to keep and use the Claim it may be worth it.
MT Council Report
None
N. W. Federation Report Nothing to report this month.
Sunshine Committee
Nola Edgar is home now recovering from a ruptured disc which at first was thought to be a broken back. We are certainly praying for a rapid recovery for you Nola.
Don Contraman is home recovering from a severely mangled foot which was received in a very severe auto accident that occurred in California. And Don, we wish you a rapid and complete recovery also.
Programs
Fossil Evolution Program
By Wayne G. Farley
(continued from last newsletter)
2. Geologists study fossils, in order to create a geological time scale of rock formation; and to determine the evolution of rock movement on earth. This rock movement is called plate tectonics, and is the prime cause for earthquakes. See “The Earth Through Time” by Harold L. Levin, 2003.
3. Paleontologist study fossils in order to classify the fossils; which thus enables them to understand the evolution of life on earth. See “Cradle of Life” by J. William Schope,1999.
4. Climatologist study fossils, in order to postulate past paleontological climates. See “Heaven & Earth” by Ian Plimer, 2009.
What caused Cambrian Explosion of Lifeforms 550-500 Bya?
1. Increased Phosphorus from Meteorites
2. DNA in cell nucleus
3. Sexual Reproduction
4. Increased atmospheric oxygen
5. Eyesight (Andrew Parker, 2003)
6. End of Snowball Earth
1.0 Phosphorus is central to life. It forms the backbone of DNA and RNA because it connects these molecules' genetic bases into long chains. It is vital to metabolism because it is linked with life's fundamental fuel, adenosine triphosphate (ATP), the energy that powers growth and movement. And phosphorus is part of living architecture – it is in the phospholipids that make up cell walls and in the bones of vertebrates.
“In terms of mass, phosphorus is the fifth most important biologic element, after carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen," said Matthew A. Pasek, a doctoral candidate in UA's planetary sciences department and Lunar and Planetary Laboratory.
"Meteorites have several different minerals that contain phosphorus," Pasek said. "The most important one, which we've worked with most recently, is iron-nickel phosphide, known as schreibersite. Schreibersite is a metallic compound that is extremely rare on Earth. But it is ubiquitous in meteorites, especially iron meteorites, which are peppered with schreibersite grains or slivered with pinkish-colored schreibersite veins. Schreibersite was found in the Seymchan-Pallasite meteorite discovered in Magadan, Russia in 1967. I have a sample of this meteorite.
2.0 DNA: The transfer of DNA in primitive bacteria into a cell nucleus billions of years age enabled sexual reproduction, and the more rapid evolution of lifeforms. Did you know that there are fossil genes in our DNA? The human genome contains about 25,000 genes, but not all genes are used. It’s the same in other species. Birds which are believed to have evolved from small dinosaur may still retain some dinosaur fossil genes. Recently scientist activated some of those fossil genes on a chicken embryo, and produced an embryo with teeth. Jack Horner, a Paleontologist at Montana State thinks it may be possible to recreate small dinosaurs from birds by manipulations of fossil genes.
3.0 Sexual Reproduction: Before sexual reproduction, single cell bacteria reproduced by splitting of the genome, thus every pair was a clone. That inhibited evolution. After sexual reproduction came about, there was potential for slight diversity in the offspring. If that diversity was beneficial, then evolution progressed.
4.0 Increased atmospheric oxygen: Advanced lifeforms were not possible until there was adequate oxygen in the atmosphere. Why did it take so long when oxygen producing cyanobateria go back as 3.8 BYA, and advanced lifeforms don’t show up until about 550 Mya? The answer is believed to be that the early earth had much un-oxidized iron; and for a couple of billion years, all of the oxygen produced by cyanobacteria was used to oxidize the earth’s iron. The proof of this lies in the many huge beds of Precambrian iron formation on the earth.
5.0 Eyesight: Andrew Parker in his 2003 book, In the Blink of an Eye, believes that eyesight in both prey and predators in the early Cambrian enabled those species to have a better survival rate, thus advancing evolution. He gives as examples the animals fossils from the Burgess Shale in Canada.
6.0 End of Snowball Earth: Some geologist claim that they see signs of glacial deposition in Precambrian rocks everywhere in the world, therefore the entire world must have been completely covered by ice and snow during the last stages of the Precambrian. They say advanced lifeform evolution would have been suppressed until this snow and ice retreated from the tropics. Most geologists reject this theory as there would be no way for the earth to come out of such a state. The believers say that volcanic activity could have released greenhouse carbon dioxide greenhouse gas which could have warmed the earth. Resent research shows that is not possible.
Lagerstatten: A lagerstatten is a fossil deposit that exhibit extraordinary fossil richness and/or completeness. The following lagerstattens are described in the book “Fossil Ecosystems of North America” by John R. Nudds & Paul A. Selden, 2008.
1. Gunflint Chert, Precambrian, MN/Ontario
2. Mistaken Point, Precambrian, Greenland
3. Burgess Shale, Cambrian, BC, Canada
4. Beecher’s Trilobite Bed, Ordovician, NY
5. Bertie Waterlime, Ordovician, NY
6. Gilboa, Silurian, NY
7. Mazon Creek, Devonian, IL
8. Chinle Group, Permian, UT/CO/AZ/NM
9. Morrison For., Mesozoic, Rocky Mts.
10. Hell Creek For., Cretaceous, MT/ND/SD
11. Green River For. Cretaceous, WY/CO/UT
12. Floriessant, Eocene, CO
13. Dominican Amber, Oligocene-Miocene
14. Rancho La Brea, Quaternary, CA
Montana Lagerstättes:
Canyon Ferry Reservoir 2002: A diverse Oligocene insect and plant Lagerstätte has been identified recently from paper shales in a sequence of fine-grained deposits exposed on the west side of Canyon Ferry Reservoir, southeast of Helena, Montana. Limited excavation and preparation thus far has led to the discovery of at least 37 families of insects and more than 40 taxa of plants (leaves, seeds, and stems). Preservation of the insect fossils is outstanding, with color patterns, feeding and reproductive structures commonly present. Quality of the preservation compares favorably with that of other Tertiary insect and plant Lagerstätten, such as Green River, Florissant, and Republic.
Bear Gulch Limestone The Bear Gulch Limestone in the Mississippian of MT is a lagerstätten, a well-bedded sequence of limestone layers containing an extremely well-preserved assemblage of fossils. This deposit has yielded one of the most diverse and well preserved fossil fish assemblages in the world; with 130 species of fish recovered over the last 35 years. The site also contains well preserved arthropods, sponges, starfish, conulariids, worms, and other soft-bodied organisms, as well as brachiopods, bryozoans, and molluscs. http://www.sju.edu/research/bear_gulch/
Hell Creek Formation: An intensely-studied division of the Upper Cretaceous to lower Paleocene rocks in North America, named for exposures studied along Hell Creek, near Jordan, MT. The formation has produced impressive assemblages of invertebrates, plants, mammals, fish, reptiles, & amphibians. The most complete Hadrosaurid dinosaur ever found was retrieved in 2000 from the Hell Creek Formation and widely publicized in a National Geographic documentary aired in Dec. 2007. A few bird and pterosaur fossils have also been found. Teeth of sharks and rays are sometimes found in the riverine Hell Creek Formation, suggesting that some of these taxa were tolerant of fresh water then as now. From: Wikipedia Web-Site.
Fossils from 505 Mya Burgess Shale:
For Sale. An ore car from the Betty O’Neil Mine near Battle Mountain, Nevada. In good shape. $500.00. Contact Posey at 961-4116
Jim Rayner in Hamilton has a 12” Rock Saw for $500 and a Fram Tom Tock Grinder Set-up with 2 diamond wheels, and a 10” trim saw with new blade, new motor on a steel stand for $800. 375-0663
SAVE USED POSTAGE STAMPS FOR CANCER RESEARCH!
GIVE A HOOT - DON"T POLLUTE! KEEP MONTANA GREEN
