Volume55Number12December1, 2014
Welookforwardtoseeingyouat ourChristmasDinnerat6:30p.m.December1st.This isinlieuofaregularbusinessmeetingandiswhenwe enjoythegiftexchangesessionof“RottenSanta”.Ifyouhaven’tbeentoameetinginawhile,pleasecomeenjoythefunandfellowshipandbringyoursignificantother. Asignupemailforadishtoshareisgoingaround. Let usknowyourchoicesowehaveagreatassortment.
Inthe meantime, wehopeyouenjoyasafeandHappyThanksgiving withfamily.
KBMontgomeryPresident
Websiteofthemonth: Gear,books,mapsand giftideasfor rockhounds,geologistsandstudents.
************************************************************************************ Weare sad toannouncethelongtermmember /friendDr.CharlesAlmyPassed awayNovem-
ber9,2014 atBeaconPlace HospiceHomein Greensboro.Dr.Almy was79.
Dr.Almywasa memberofChristUnitedMethodistChurch andaprofessoratGuilfordCollegefrom1972—2003.Marring the loveofhis life,AuroraPaganMirandaAlmy onMarch 2,1963led themon thejourney ofraising a wonderfulfamily.
Should anyonewish tomakea memorialcontributionto TheGeologyDepartmentinmemoryofDr.CharlesAlmy Jr.,Office ofAdvancement,Guilford College5800 W.Friendly Ave.,Greensboro,NC27410.
BoardMeetingof11/3/2014:
ThePresidentopened themeeting at6:40PM.
ThosepresentwereSteveSmith’14,CharlieFinch’14,EdDeckert’14,DebraLivingstone’15,JoeMaguire’15,JohnHiller’15,GaryParker’16,ShaunShelton’16andDawnHealy’16. Aquorum beingpresent themeetingstarted.
Therewasonlyoneitemforbusiness.TheTreasurer researched thecostofmembership andmembership dues.TheClubpaysduesto the SEFMS (Southeast Federation ofMineralogicalSocieties,Inc.)andClubliabilityinsurance.Forexample,where wehaveourmeetingscost$50.00 permonthandwehavetheFederation liabilitycertificateonfilewithNewGarden FriendsMeeting.Aswitheverythingelse, thesecostswillincreaseovertime.
TheTreasurersuggested that webring ourduesinlinewithotherclubs.Therewere severaldis-cussionsconcerning thissubject.Allthisboiled downtothefollowing rate structure:
Class1(voting)Adults13andolder$20.00/yearClass2 (nonvoting)householdmember
orchildren 12 andunder$5.00/yearNewslettere-mailnoadditionalcost
Hardcopynewslettermailing fee$5.00/year(Theactualcosttoprintand
stampsformailisover$1.75/month, wehave 7membersreceiving mail.)
TheBoardunanimouslypassed theplanandpresented thisitemtomembershipwhich also ap-proved theplan.
Respectfullysubmitted,JosephP.Maguire,Jr.,Secretary GGMCI.
MeetingNotations:
ThePresidentstartedthemeeting at7:15 PM.There are30 membersand attendees.
Kathie presentedthe duesplan tomembership.Afterdiscussions,the membershipapproved theplan.
Doorprizes: RobertNash;quartzfromProspectPark,NJ.
Ed Deckert;fluorite/bartteCaldwellquarry,Danville,BoyleCo,Kentucky.Shaun wassuggestinga fieldtriptoPomonaquarry 11/15/14.Now itwillbein2015.
Hospitality wasprovided bytheMontgomeryfamilyand consisted of:Great choppedBBQ(wonderfulseasoning) withbiscuits
Hummus; Fruitbowl; Pumpkinbread;Brownies;Peanut brittle;andTriscuits
Membersarereminded thatthe next meeting willbeourholiday carry-in.
GaryParkerreportedthatthefamilyofprevious member,Dr.LeonBernard,was sellingLeon’swonderfulmuseum gradespecimens.(I’ve seenthiscollectionanditwasworldclass).Unfortunatelythetime wastoo shorttonotifymembers.
Gary suggestedwehavean auctionforselling 50%GGMC-50%owner.Joe suggested thatwe would
havetohaveotherClubsorthegeneralpublic involved— since pricesmentionedexceeded$30,000to
$40,000.
Businessbeing completed, thepresident introduced thegentlemen forourpresentation.
MarkRandallandJamieHillconcerning “Hiddenite”.
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Presentation:
MarkRandall,DiggerEmeritus,us “OnHiddenite”.
JamieHill,founderofNorth AmericanEmeraldMines, Inc,
Wethankthese gentleman forspendingtime withus.
Therewereseveralconversationsgoing on.Thiswasaninformalpresentationfulldata,specimens, dig-ging detailsandcouldfillthisnewsletter.So,wewilllistvariousitemsrelativetothe presentation.
Considering that cut,faceted,andpolished stonescan sellforover$3,000/ct,therewassome seriousdis-cussion.
The North American Emerald Mineislocated intheHiddenite District,AlexanderCo,NC.
Thisarea has producedthelargestemeralds sincethelate1800’s. thelargestemeraldwasfoundby
Jamie Hillin2003 atthemine.It measured inat1,869ct.
Thepropertyhas produced10ofNorthAmerica’s 20 largestemeralds.
Wehave listed the10below:
Rank1. / crt
1869 / mine
NAEM / year
2003
2. / 1686 / NAEM / 1984
4. / 1438 / NAEM / 1969
5. / 1400 / NAEM / 2007
7. / 1270 / NAEM / 1886
9. / 1215 / NAEM / 1970
10. / 965 / NAEM / 2006
13. / 858 / NAEM / 1998
14. / 817.5 / NAEM / 1971
TheHiddeniteareaisalsofamousforrare Spodumeneand Siderite.
The name mine wasformally the RistMine andisnowownedbyNAEM.In2003Jamiediscovered
asingle crystalof1,869 carats,thecrystalisdeep greenwellformedhexagonalon matrix.Itis valuedover$1 million andisnowpart oftheHoustonmuseumofnaturalhistorysciencecollection.
Thrhostrocksexposed inthenamepitare migmatitic biotitegneisswhichwas formedfromsiltstoneand mineralquartzite thoughtaccumulated in ashallsea and metamorphosed to upperamphibolitesgrade whilebeingaccreted tothenorth Americancraton aspart oftheinnerpiedmontterrane.
Thebiotitegneiss,fresh unweatheredcountry rockMetasediments.
Thisrockiscovered by8to10feet ofSaprolite,in-place weatheredrock.
Again weappreciate these gentleman toshare theirdiscoveriesandthebeautifulspecimens.
DecemberBirthstone:BlueTopaz
Ascooland invitingasabluelake on a blisteringsummerday,December'sbirthstone isderivedfromtheSanskritword"tapas,"meaning fire.Thisisbecause Blue Topazwasconsidered by ancientcivilizationstohavecoolingproperties. Notonly wasitbelieved to coolboiling waterwhen thrown intothe pot,buttocalm hottempersas well! This gemstone wascreditedwithmanyotherhealingpowers,among themthe abilityto cure insanity,asthma,weakvision andinsomnia.TheBlue Topazwaseventhoughttohavemagicalpropertiesinitsabilitytomake itswearerinvisiblein a threatening situation.
BlueTopazisthe hardest ofthesilicateminerals.While pure Topaziscolorless,minorchangesofelementswithinthestone resultinavariety ofothercolors,such asblue,palegreen,red,yellow andpink.
The blue hueiscreatedwhen Topazisheated,whetherthe heatsource isnaturalorengineeredby man.The three shadesofBlue Topazare Sky,SwissandLondonBlue.Thelatteristhedeepestblueand isoftenusedasaless expensive substitute forSapphire.
Topazisfound primarily inBrazil,Nigeria,SriLanka,Mexico,Pakistan,China,andtheUnited States.AgiftofBlue Topazissymbolic ofloveand fidelity. Luckily,thiscoolblue gemstone hasno leg-
endary powerto putouttheburningflameoflove!
An alternate birthstoneforDecemberistheTurquoise. So namedbecauseitwasinitiallybroughttoEurope byway of Turkey,this stoneisone of thefirstgemstobe usedinjewelry. Tur-quoisewasconsidered byancientstobeasacred stone,protectiveagainstallmannersofevilandillhealth. Thisbeautifulgemstone ismined inIran andthesouthwesternUnitedStates.A giftofTur-quoiserepresentsfriendshipandluck.
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HolidayDinner12/1/2014-6:30PM,NewGardenFriendsMeeting, FriendshipHall.
Kathiehasbeencirculating ane-mailthatlistscovered dishvolunteercategories.Therewillbeavery shortbusinessportion.
Afterthe dinner,we willdo a quickclean up and Joewilldo thedishes.
Eachpersondesiringtoplay“DirtyRottenSanta”shouldbringasmall wrappedgiftand placeitonthecentertable andyou willreceive a ticket.Some folksbring an extragiftforthosewhowanttoplay butdon’t,forsomereason,have agift. Giftsshouldnotbeexpensive-$5to$15range.
fun!
Also,weusually have children inthe game sogiftsshould be appropriate.Thisgame is somuch
Thefirstpersonwill selectagift.Thesecondpersonwilldecidetotakethefirstperson’sgiftor
selectfromthe centertable;andsogoesthe3rd,4th,etc.person.A giftcanonly bestolenthree times.Pleasecome and enjoythefun.
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JewelryBenchTipsbyBradSmith
Withthe holidayseasonquickly uponus,I'dliketowishyouand yourfamily the best.
Warmwishes,
-Brad
TAKEBETTERPHOTOS
Mostdigitalcamerasthese dayshavetheability totake agoodpicture ofyoursmalljewelryitems,but set-up isimportant.There arefourmajoritemsto control-background,lighting,cameramotion and focuscontrol.
Lightly colored papersfromanartstoremakereasonablestarterbackgrounds.Try experiment-ing withotherproductslaterlike glassorcoloredplastics.Avoidfabricsbecause the weave canoften bedistractingathighmagnification.
Outsidelightingisthe easiest.Infactforclose-ups,flash neverworkswell.Turnoffyourcam-era'sflash.Choose a brightbutovercastday ora lightlyshadedareawhen the sun isfull.Forinsideuse,two gooseneckdesklampscanbe usedwith75wattbulbs.Whateveryouuse,besure toset thecamerato match thetypeoflightingyou use orelse the colorwillbeoff.
You'llbe shootingup close,soturn ontheMacromode.Nowatthis range,ifthecameramoveseven a littlebitduring theshot,thepicture willbeblurry,so it'sessentialto use a tripod.Usedonesareavailableinexpensively fromeBay,yardsalesorsome camerashops.Andevenwithatripod,Iputthecamera on the self-timer mode so thatanyvibrationfrom when you clickthebuttonsettlesdown beforethe cameratakesa picture.
Inordertogetthelargestpartofyourjewelry infocus,youhavetoclose thelensdowntotheminimumaperture (highestF-Stopnumber).Thisisdonebytakingthecamera offof"Auto"mode andselecting Aperture Priority,usuallydenoted by"Av" andthensettingtheaperture to the largestnum-ber,whichisF-8onmycamera.You'llprobably have togetoutthebookorgobacktothestore toaskaboutthis,butit's reallyworth it.
That'sit.Inrecap,here are the camera settingsIuse:Setthelens toMacro fora close-upshot.
Movethecamera inclose enough fortheitemtocoveratleast¾oftheframe.
Lookforadversereflectionsfromthe jewelry surface.
Tryto minimizereflectionswith changesoflightposition, camera angleorwhitebackground paper.
Carefullycheckforany fingerprintsordustthatmightbeonthepiece.
Makeanyfinaltweakswith light and arrangement.
Turnthecamera’sflashoff.
Select "Av" foraperturepriority mode.
Setthe lensopeningtothe highestnumberformaxdepth of field.
Setthe lightingtomatchwhatyou're using(daylight,overcast, lightbulb, fluorescent,etc).
Setthetimerto delayedshooting,either2 secondsor10 seconds,
to avoidcamera movement.The delayalso givesyou time tohold upa pieceofwhitepapertoreduce any finalreflections.
Takethe shot.
GIFTFORTHEHOLIDAYS
It'softendifficultto find a nicegiftfora friendwhomakesjewelry.The Bench Tipsbookhasearnedover25 FiveStarreviews,wasrankedNumberOnein Amazon'sTop 100list forJewelry,andnamed by Amazonasoneofthe BestBooksin 2014.Geta copyat
"Getall101 ofBrad'sbench tipsin"BenchTipsforJewelry Making" onAmazon "and ifyoupublishasa pdf,I'dappreciate Amazontobealive link to
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Putnisite:NewMineralDiscoveredinAustralia
Apr22,2014byNataliAnderson
Amultinationalgroup ofscientistsledby DrPeterElliottofSouthAustra-lianMuseumandtheUniversityofAdelaidehasdescribed a new mineralfromthePolarBearpeninsula,Southern LakeCowan,Australia.
Thenewmineralisnamed putnisite afterDrsChristineand Andrew PutnisfromtheUniversity ofMünster,Germany,fortheiroutstanding contributionstomineralogy.
Putnisite occursasisolatedpseudocubiccrystals,upto 0.5mmindiameter,and isassociated with quartzanda nearamorphousCrsilicate.
Itistranslucent,with apinkstreakandvitreouslustre.Itisbrittleand showsone excellentandtwogood cleavagesparallelto {100},{010}and{001}.
“Whatdefines amineralisits chemistryandcrystallography.Byx-raying asinglecrystalofmineralyouare abletodetermineitscrystalstructureandthis,inconjunctionwithchemicalanalysis,tellsyoueverythingyouneedtoknowaboutthemineral,”explained DrElliott,who,alongwithcolleagues,de-scribedputnisiteintheMineralogicalMagazine.
“Mostmineralsbelongtoafamily orsmallgroupofrelatedminerals,oriftheyaren’trelatedtoothermineralsthey oftenareto a syntheticcompound–butputnisiteis completely uniqueandunre-latedtoanything.”
Putnisitecombinestheelementsstrontium,calcium,chromium,sulfur,carbon,oxygenandhydrogen:
3+
SrCa4Cr8
(CO3)8SO4(OH)16•25H2O
The mineralhasa Mohs hardnessof1.5–2,ameasureddensity of2.20g/cm3 and acalculateddensityof
2.23 g/cm3.Itwasdiscovered during prospecting byamining company inWesternAustralia. “Natureseems tobefarclevereratdreamingupnewchemicals thananyresearcherinalaboratory,”DrElliottconcluded.
P.Elliottetal.2014.Putnisite,SrCa4Cr83+(CO3)8SO4(OH)16•25H2O,a newmineralfromWesternAus-tralia:description andcrystalstructure.Mineralogical Magazine,vol.78,no.1,pp.131-144;doi:10.1180/minmag.2014.078.1.10
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Bridgmanite:Earth’sMostAbundantMineral
NamedafterNobelPhysicist
Jun18, 2014 bySci-News.com
A newmineral,believedto be themostabundantonourplanet,hasbeennamed afterU.S.physicistPercyWilliamsBridgman (1882– 1961),whowonthe1946 NobelPrize forhisfundamentalcontributionsto high-pressurephysics.
High-pressureandtemperatureexperimentsstronglysuggest that(Mg,Fe)SiO3-perovskite, asilicatemineralwitha perovskitestructure, isthedominantmaterialinthelowermantleofEarth.
Although synthetic examplesofthismineralhave been wellstudied,no
naturallyoccurringsamples hadeverbeenfoundinarock ontheplanet’ssurface.
Thanksto theworkofmineralogistsDrChiMafromCaliforniaInstitute ofTechnology and ProfOliverTschaunerfromtheUniversity ofNevada-LasVegas,naturally occurring(Mg,Fe)SiO3-perovskitehasbeen found intheTenhammeteorite– afragmentofa larger,4.5 billion-year-oldmete-oritethat fellin Queensland,Australia, in 1879.
BecausetheTenhammeteoritehad survived high-energycollisionswithasteroidsin space,partsofitwere believedto have experienced the high-pressure conditionsfoundintheEarth’s mantle.That,scientiststhought,made it agoodcandidate forcontaining(Mg,Fe)SiO3-perovskite,nowsimplycalledbridgmanite.
Thescientistsused synchrotron X-ray diffraction mappingto findindicationsofthebridg-manite.They thenexaminedthemineralanditssurroundingswith ahigh-resolution scanning electronmicroscopeanddeterminedthecomposition ofthetiny bridgmanite crystalsusing an electron micro-probe.
In March 2014,theteamsubmittedaproposaltotheInternationalMineralogicalAssociationCommission on New Minerals,Nomenclature and Classification(CNMNC)withthesuggestednameofbridgmanite.On 2 June,CNMNCapproved themineralanditsname.
“Itis areallycooldiscovery.Ourfindingof naturalbridgmanitenotonlyprovidesnewinformationonshockconditionsand impactprocesseson small bodiesinthesolarsystem,butthetinybridgmanitefoundin ameteorite could also help investigationsofphasetransformationmechanismsin the deepEarth,”DrMasaid.JoAnnaWendel.2014. MineralNamedAfterNobelPhysicist.Eos,TransactionsAmericanGeophysicalUnion,vol.95,no.23,p.195;doi: 10.1002/2014EO230005
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Kuratite: New MineralDiscoveredinMeteorite
Mar 21,2014 bySergioProstak
ThestonymeteoriteD’Orbignyis thesourceofanewlydiscoveredmineral,kuratite.Itsname honorsDrGeroKurat(1938-2009),a world-renownedmeteoriteresearcherandlong-termheadoftheMineralogical-PetrographicalDepartment attheNaturalHistory Museumin Vienna, Austria.
The meteoriteD’Orbigny,a16.55-kgstonemostlycoveredwithdarkgrayfusioncrust,wasfound bya farmerplowing a cornfield inJuly
1979inBuenosAires,Argentina.The objectwasoriginally thoughttobeanIndianartifactand itre-mained onthefarmfornearly twodecadesbefore speculationarose that itmightin factbeameteorite.Confirmationofit’s extraterrestrialstatus was finallyachievedin2000afterasample wasanalyzedbyDrKurat and hiscolleagues.
Themeteoritewasdetermined tobeanexceedinglyrareachondriteknown asan angrite.It ischaracterizedbyprominent vesicleswhicharerarely seeninmeteorites.
In2004,DrKuratwithco-authorspublished apaperin thejournalGeochimica et Cosmochimica Acta,in whichthey alsoreported ontheoccurrence ofan unidentifiediron-aluminum-titanium-silicateinthemeteoriteD’Orbigny.
Thisunknownmineralphaseconsisted ofvery tinycrystalswith an average diameterofonlyabout0.01mm.
Becauseofthe smallsizeoftheavailablematerialitwasvery difficult todetermine all relevantchemical-physicalproperties,which arerequired fora mineralphasetobeacceptedasanewmineral.Ina new study,reportedat the45thLunarandPlanetaryConferencein Houston,Texas,scientistsledbyDrShyh-LungHwang ofthe NationalDong HwaUniversity inHualien,Taiwan,wereableto identifytheunknown mineralaskuratite.
Hwang SLetal.Kuratite (IMA 2013-109):The‘Unknown’Fe-Al-TiSilicate fromtheAngrite
D’Orbigny.45thLunarandPlanetaryScienceConference. LPIContributionno.1777,p.1818
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FunnyBone
Amotheraskedherdaughter,“Didyouthank Mrs.Porterforthelovelypartyshegave?”“No”thelittlegirlreplied.“Thegirlrightinfrontofmethankedherandshesail,‘Don’tmentionit.’soI didn’t.”
2015SCHEDULE
Jan. 6:MEMBERSHIPMEETINGDuesDueFeb.3:MEMBERSHIPMEETING
March3:MEMBERSHIPMEETINGBoard of Directors,membershiprolesupdated.April 7:MEMBERSHIPMEETING SpringAuction
May5:MEMBERSHIPMEETING
June2:MEMBERSHIPMEETING
July7:MEMBERSHIPMEETING
Aug. 4:MEMBERSHIPMEETINGBoard of DirectorsandNominationCommitteeSept.8:MEMBERSHIPMEETING
Oct.6MEMBERSHIPMEETING
Nov3:MEMBERSHIPMEETINGBallotinNewsletter,mailorbringtomeeting.
Dec 1,Holidaydinner,“Dirty-Rotten-Santa”;Awards; Electionresults;
MeetingsareheldthefirstMondayofeachmonth(exceptholidays )at7:00PMatNewGardenFriendsMeetingFriendshipHall, 801NewGardenRoad,Greensboro,NC,.
Phone(336)288-7452 ore-mail .
How togettothemeeting:
GetoffInterstate 40(I-40)atGuilfordCollege exit, GonorthtowardsGreensboro.Youwillcrossrailroadtracks atMarketStreet;Continuenorthanother1.1miles tothe secondtraffic light,thisisFriendlyAvenue.The meeting is atthe next lightsogetintothe leftlane.Continuenorthonetenthofamileto thenexttraffic lightanddriveway entrance.Turnleftintothemeetingpropertyandpark inthe back.
HaveyourFamilyandFriends“Like”usonFacebook: GreensboroGemMineral Club
Seeusontheweb:
Year2014 Officers:
PresidentChairpersonVicePresidentTreasurerSecretaryProgramChair Charlie Finch Debbie Livingston JoeMaguireChiefExecutive c/oClubaddress c/oClubaddress c/oClubaddressKathie Montgomery charliefinch@ 336-288-7452
c/oClubaddressbellsouth.net
_
Board ofDirectorsfor 2014:
SteveSmith’14Debbie Livingston '15GaryParker‘16
CharlieFinch‘14JoeMaguire'15ShaunShelton’16
Ed Deckert‘14John Hiller'15DawnHealy‘16
HonoraryLife Members:
Dr.CyrilH.HarveyJudithW.HarveyJoeMeadowsSteve andGrace SmithJoePatMaguireSteveAdams LaurieAdams
Dr. JeanKevinBonebreakJoyce KellyPattonMacMarieAnderson-WhitehurstDr.Tim Elaine Biggart RussHolshouser Debra Livingston
Dr.JosephMaria MountjoyEdDeckertJohnHillerKathieandJimMontgomery
ProgramChair:Kathie MontgomeryHospitality:Kathie MontgomeryMembership:Debbie Livingston Editor: ClubSecretaryHistorian:JoeMaguire ClubSecretary ShowChair: Debbie LivingstonLibrarian: OPEN WebChair: ShaunShelton
Facetingeducation:John HillerTrip Chair:ShawnShelton/GaryParkerAuctioneers: SteveSmith / GaryParker Publicity: OPEN
Special events/Geodes:SteveSmithMcCreery Fund: Club Treasurer
HolidayDinnercoordinator:Debbie LivingstonWire wrapSilvereducation:DebraLivingstonShowHospitality: JoycePattonGrace Smith
Facebook:Kathie Montgomery
NovemberDates:Items ofinterest:(Somethinggoingon?Letusknow.)
******SFMSWorkShops: Please linktoforLapidary Workshopsinformation.
12-14—NORCROSS,GEORGIA:
20th AnnualShow;MammothRockShowsLLC,NorthAtlantaTradeCenter;1700 JeurgensCt.; Fri.10-6,Sat.10-6,Sun.10-6;adults$4for 3days,militaryandlawenforcementpersonnel,stu-dentsandchildren free; 50 dealers,minerals,fossils,roughrock,goldandsilver findings,toolsand lapi-dary equipment,beads,jewelry creations,looseand mountedpreciousstones, on-sitejewelryrepairs,drawings,granddoorprize;contactRichardHightower,78EmeraldHill,Franklin,NC28734,(800)720-9624; e-mail: ; Website:
13-14—FRANKLIN,TENNESSEE:
Annualshow;Mid-TennesseeGemMineralSociety, Williamson County AgExpoPark;4215Long Ln.;Sat.9-6,Sun.10-5;adults $4,students$1,childrenfree;demonstrations,exhibits,silentauc-tion,hourlydoorprizes,grandprize,more than30 dealers,beads,crystals,geodes,minerals,fossils,rough,cabochons,gemstones,finished jewelry,NativeAmerican jewelry,tools,supplies;contact JohnStanley,2828 DonnaHillDr.,Nashville,TN 37214,(615)885-8704;e-mail:;Website: