Strata Gem

April 2005

 

President's Message

 

Our Vice President, Ruth Smith, is going to have back surgery on March 29th at Pioneer Valley Hospital in West Valley. Our thoughts are with you, Ruth.

The silent auction at our March meeting was a success: A big thanks to all the members for their participation. Our next field trip will be for Honey Onyx Mine near Nephi on April 23rd. Please be there if you can. It's always a lot of fun.  I went to the Gold Show in Spanish Fork on March 20th. Don Smith and Henry Chavez were there also. It seemed to be a successful show.

Don't forget that we have the Timpanogos gem show coming up on March 25th, 26th, and 27th in Spanish Fork. It is always a good show. Also the Cache Geological and Archeological show will be on April 30th and May 1st in Logan Utah.

 

Hope to see you all at our next meeting on April 12th.

 

Bob Titus

President

 

March Minutes

Tooele Senior Citizens Center

March 8, 2005

 

The meeting was called to order by President Bob Titus, every one was welcomed. The minutes of the last meeting was read and approved, the treasurers report was read and approved.

A report was given on our field trip to the University of Utah Museum there was approximately eighteen members that went we had a good time, we got a tour of the fossil preparation and cleaning room. We seen a wonderful display of rocks, gem minerals and fossils, all displayed in various cabinets. Duane Gren brought along a fossil that he wanted to have identified. One of the people that came to have something identified gave Duane the name of his fossil, it is a rare one, but we can’t pronounce the name.

The Golden Spike show starts March eleventh through thirteenth. Place the Union Station 25^th and Wall ST.  We discussed the size and content of our rock bags, a motion was made and second and passed that we continue doing as we have in the past. The Gold Show will be March nineteenth and twentieth at Spanish Fork.

Erla Woods needs more little rocks for the sawdust panning.

We welcomed Phil and Dixie Salm back from Quartzsite, it was very wet down there this year.

Our next field trip will be for Honey Onyx on the 23^rd of April we will have a map showing the location in our next bulletin bring water a lunch sun screen safety glasses gloves digging tools rock hammer a container for the rock, and any thing else you might like to have with you, we also discussed other field trips we might go on.

Erla Woods won the door prize. Byron & Melva Scott will bring the treats next month.

 

Minutes submitted by

Larry Wilson, Secretary

 

Members News

 

Sun Shine Report:

Ruth Smith is having back surgery on March 29^th at the Pioneer Valley Hospital. We are wishing her our best for a speedy recovery.

We hope Sherri Miller gets feeling better soon.

Our condolences go out to Dorothy Peterson & her family for the loss of her brother.

 

April Fieldtrip:

We will be going after Honey Onyx at 10 AM. More information on page 3.

 

Honey Onyx Field Trip

April 23rd

 

Our April fieldtrip will be for Honey Onyx on Saturday April 23^rd. We will meet at the windmill at 10A.M. by Highway Marker #16. 4-wheel drive recommended, but there should be enough people for rides up the hill with. For more information come to the next meeting on the 12^th.

....For Juniors....

Making A. Mountain Out Of A Mole Hill

 

Volcanoes are one of the Earth's ways of making mountains. A. volcano grows over millions of years as eruptions of lava, ash, and cinders are added to its height and width. Sometimes they take a lot less time to form. The rocks that make up the volcanoes of the Hawaiian Islands grow with every eruption of lava. And one volcano in Mexico, Paricutin, grew higher than 1,200 feet in just a few months:

Try making your volcano in your back yard. Once you've gathered and assembled the things you'll need, it will only be a few minutes before your volcano starts to erupt.

 

You will needs:

·     Dirt or sand Water

·     Wide-mouthed jar or soup can

·     One quart bottle or can

·     White vinegar

·     Baking soda

·     Red food coloring Dish washing liquid

 

Fashion the dirt or sand into a mound, and bury the small bottle or soup can so that the opening is exposed at the top of your mountain. This is the mouth of the volcano. Put about 4 tablespoons of baking soda in the mouth of the volcano.

In the 1 quart bottle, mix together 1/2 cup water, 1/4 cup dish liquid, and 1/4 cup vinegar. Add enough red food coloring to give the mixture a deep red color. This will be the lava for your volcanic eruption.

Pour some of the lava mixture into the mouth of the volcano. If the volcano doesn't erupt right away, stir it with a long stick. Then step back and watch what happens.

The dish washing liquid gives "substance" to the lava, so that it flows like lava, not water. The baking soda and vinegar form carbon dioxide gas. When the two mix, the lava bubbles and flows out of the mouth of the volcano. Magma deep inside the Earth mixes with gases as it moves up through a volcano. When it reaches the top of the volcano or the surface of the Earth, it erupts in a manner similar to your volcano.

...submitted by Anna Domitrovic, in ROCK TALK (Tucson, AZ) 2/94

*       *            *

TROY WEIGHT, a system of measurement mainly used for gold and silver, received its name from the great fairs of Troyes in France during the Middle Ages. Sellers and buyers came to the fairs from many parts of western Europe and the Middle East, and the arrangements for weighing and financing sales were known for their exactness.

from The National Observer, via SCRIBE, Winter '92

Both of the above are reprinted from THE GLACIAL DRIFTER 3/94

 

…OK, so your Mom (or Dad) doesn't want you to make your volcano in the backyard…Maybe they will let you do it this way …

 

Make Your Own Volcano

Materials required:

·     plaster mix water

·     mixing pan

·     baking soda

·     vinegar

·     cone-shaped paper cup

Directions:

1.   Mix the plaster and water in a mixing pan.

2.   Pour the plaster into the cone shaped cup.

3.   Before the plaster hardens, turn the paper cup over and place it on a piece of paper

4.   Cut a small piece of the top of the cone.

5.   Using your finger, or a pencil, push into the top of the plaster to form a crater. Be certain to hold the crater open until the plaster hardens.

6.   Peel the paper cup off after plaster hardens.

 

Pour baking soda into the crater and add 2 or 3 drops of vinegar and watch it erupt.

 

From Rock Talk 12/96

Words of Wisdom?

 

You read about all these terrorists, most of them came here legally, but they hang around on these expired visas, some for as long as 10 to 15 years. Now, compare that to Blockbuster; you are two days late with a video and these people are all over you. Let's put Blockbuster in charge of Homeland Security.

 

Via Golden Spike News 6/03

Creation Story

 

In the beginning, God created the Heavens and the Earth and populated the Earth with broccoli, cauliflower and spinach, green and yellow and red vegetables of all kinds, so Man and Woman would live long and healthy lives.

Then using God's great gifts, Satan created Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream and Krispy Cream Donuts. And Satan said, "You want chocolate with that?" And Man said "Yes!" and Woman said, "and as long as you're at it, add some sprinkles."  And they gained 10 pounds. And Satan smiled.

And God created the healthful yogurt that Woman might keep the figure that Man found so fair. And Satan brought forth white flour from the wheat, and sugar from the cane and combined them. And Woman went from size 6 to size 14.

So God said, "Try my fresh green salad." And Satan presented Thousand-Island Dressing, buttery croutons and garlic toast on the side. And Man and Woman unfastened their belts following the repast.

God then said, "I have sent you heart healthy vegetables and olive oil in which to cook them." And Satan brought forth deep fried fish and chicken-fried steak so big it needed its own platter.  And Man gained more weight and his cholesterol went through the roof.

God then created a light, fluffy white cake, named it "Angel Food Cake," and said, "It is good." Satan then created chocolate cake and named it "Devil's Food."

God then brought forth running shoes so that his children might lose those extra pounds. And Satan gave cable TV with a remote control so Man would not have to toil changing the channels.  And Man and Woman laughed and cried before the flickering blue light and gained pounds.

Then God brought forth the potato, naturally low in fat and brimming with nutrition. And Satan peeled off the healthful skin and sliced the starchy center into chips and deep-fried them. And Man gained pounds.

God then gave lean beef so that Man might consume fewer calories and still satisfy his appetite. And Satan created McDonald's and its 99-cent double cheeseburger. Then said, "You want fries with that:” And Man replied, "Yes!  And super size them!" And Satan said, "It is good." And Man went into cardiac arrest.

God sighed and created quadruple bypass surgery.

 

Then Satan created HMOs.

 

Via Mary Lynn Titus

 

Flat Lapping Without A Machine

 

The process of flat lapping is so simple that anyone can do it even if you don't have a flat lapping machine. So go to it and polish the bookends you want, or that clock face. Just get a piece of aluminum about 12-14 inches square. (Larger for larger pieces.) Place it on a flat surface. Take a teaspoon of 120 grit (or even 90 grit if you have saw marks on your slab.) Mix your grit with Vaseline or water (I like Vaseline because it holds the grit better, doesn't dry out and doesn't splash.)

Now take your slab to be polished and dop a piece of wood to it so that you have a handle and can hold it down on the grit. Just keep twisting it over and around on the grit. Be sure that the grit is always under the slab. Don^'t run it over dry aluminum. Move the slab in any pattern you wish, adding grit as you feel necessary. Keep at it until all the saw marks are well gone. Wash the stone and aluminum between grades of grit using progressively finer grits as you go. The slab should now be ready for polishing.

To polish, use a piece of leather about 12x12 inches. Stick it to a board and keep it for polishing only. Don't tack it down because the tack heads can scratch. Put your favorite polishing mix all over the leather and start polishing your stone. This is the oldest way to polish slabs; it still works well, if slowly. In answer to the statement that it will take a long time, a question, "what else would you be doing?"

 

Author unknown

 

via Chip & Tips 4/03 Pickins & Diggins

via Huntin & Diggin 12/02

via Geniss Times 5/03

Something To Think About On Copper

[and all the elements]:

 

The radius of the "Event Horizon" of a black hole is a hyperbolic function. The radius remains extremely small over a vast amount of new mass being added to it. But slowly over huge amounts of time the gravity becomes greater and greater until it begins adding material at ever faster rates and then quickly becomes infinite in size.  This is my theory on the "Big Bang." I believe they happen often in different parts of the universe. As we are overtaken by event horizons from different areas, we experience what scientists call "gravity waves."

As the event horizon rapidly expands, the compact material within the Black Hole is stretched out into the surrounding vacuum of space and becomes a hot plasma. In time this cools down to clouds of electrons and protons. Some of them are jammed into hydrogen nuclei, where an electron zips around two protons at the speed of light, making one a neutron, then the other in a bond known as the Strong Atomic Force. These are ions. Further cooling allows a balancing electron to circle around the ion (the Weak Atomic Force) and it becomes an atom of hydrogen. Theorists believe a small amount of heavy hydrogen and helium is also formed during this period.

Huge clouds of hydrogen collapse in denser regions to form the first stars in each new part of the universe, where hydrogen collapses to form helium at its core. When an ice skater pulls his arms in while spinning, he goes faster and faster. The same thing happens to stars.

Helium has 4 times the mass of a hydrogen atom, but only 1/4 the volume of the previous four atoms! This collapse of 75% volume causes a "star quake," increasing the atomic burning, and blasting material out of the star, and liberating helium and hydrogen clouds into the surrounding area. Astronomers observe these clouds and call them Nebulas.

In more massive stars helium is collapsed into carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen. We observe the spectrum of these elements in the nebulas being blasted out of larger stars. The even numbered elements are more stable and survive better than the odd numbered elements. That is why we have more of the even elements in the universe.

Even more massive stars form titanium, chromium, iron, and nickel. Copper is odd numbered, so less of it was formed. Very little of the heaviest elements exist because they are harder to make, and tend to be unstable.

Star Novas ejecting clouds of material up to iron and nickel are surrounded by "planetary nebulas," containing millions of "cometary knots." Each cometary knot is larger than our entire solar system, but only contains the mass of the planet pluto. Over time these objects cool and condense into spheroids that are radiated by materials from supernovas containing particles up through the very heaviest of elements. A photo of them can be seen at:

http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap960416.html

 

Our solar system formed in such a cloud. The planets grew from countless collisions of these cometary bodies entering and colliding with each other. The earth became molten, and the heaviest elements sank to its center, the lighter elements raised to the surface, and it became a "differentiated body." It cooled, and that would have been that, but another body collided with it, knocking 3/4 of the surface off into space to form the moon.

There was then one ocean, the Pacific, and one fractured landmass. Over time the continents separated, creating the Atlantic Ocean, and others. Volcanoes spewed some heavy material to the surface, but MOST OF THE HEAVY MATERIALS ON THE SURFACE CAME FROM COMETS and asteroids, still peppering the planets. Some of the iron was splashed onto the continents from that terrific impact, but most of the heavy minerals came from asteroids and meteorites, which are cometary debris.

It is easy to recognize the iron nickel meteorites because of the melted outer surfaces. Why do we refuse to accept the "native copper" meteorites that are found? Volcanoes do not go down to the copper depth of the earth's core, so where do they think this material came from? I have communicated with top rated scientists studying meteorites, and they are sure that there are no copper meteorites.

When I remind them that everything on this planet came from outer space, they just shrug their shoulders and walk away.

Just something to think about.

 

PS. The core of stars become ever denser, until the small ones stop radiating, then become the center of new stars, and once again begin collapsing until they become “neutron stars,” or “pulsars.” They are about the mass of our sun but only a few miles in diameter. They are usually rotating one or two times per second! Imagine our planet rotating at that speed instead of once every 24 hours. One Pulsar “ PSR 1937+21" is rotating at the rate of 640 times per second!

http://astrosun2.astro.cornell.edu/academics/courses//astro201/pulsar_ms.htm

Really massive stars collapse into Black Holes which spin REALLY fast, and we are back where we began.

 

Dave Crosby

 

Old News Is Still Good News

 

I was browsing old newspapers on Utah Digital Newspapers & ran across this article. This is an article on a hydro-inclusion found in a quartz crystal, printed back in 1924. Sorry if there are some typos, some words were hard to make out.

 

Water Found In Quartz Ten Million Years Old

 

Chicago-Drops of water more than 10,000,000 years old preserved in quartz since an age before life begun to appear on earth, will be exhibited in the Field museum here.

The water was obtained in South America by O. C. Farrington, head of the museum's department of geology, who found it imprisoned in crystal quartz taken from rock formation at Bon Jesus dos Meiras, Bahia, Brazil. The estimate of its age was based on the fact that the rock formations of the archean age are asserted by some scientists to have existed 550,000,000 years ago. The water is clear and sparkling in its crystal container.

 

Millard County Progress Dec 5 1924 page 7

http://www.lib.utah.edu/digital/unews/

via Dennis Chapman

FACTS …

·        Every day more money is printed for Monopoly than the US Treasury.

·        Coca-Cola was originally green.

·        It is impossible to lick your elbow.

 

via Hound's Howl 10/02

via The Glacial Drifter 8/04

 

Hints & Tips

 

When reaming a bead to enlarge the hole, place the bead in the small hole of a wood spring clothespin. The wood does not mark the bead and holds it securely, permitting you to frequently dip the bead in a basin of room-temperature water to lubricate and prevent overheating. This method keeps ones hand dry for handling to power tool. We use old dental diamond burrs for drills.

 

Author Chet & Margery Carlton, MMLSD,

source T-Town Rockhound Jan 2003

via Quarry Quips 12/04

 

The Origin And History Of The World's Most Costly Agate

by Herb Luckert

 

In 278 BCE Ptolemy II married his sister Arsince II (nothing personal--business is business). At or near that date a large cameo of the couple was carved in agate.

It was about 5 inches by 5 inches but only 9 mm. thick at its thickest point. Within that 9 mm. there were 17 color layers. The carving was done with wondrous technique, not only utilizing the colors of the layers to color the subject, but by carving more or less deeply in the translucent areas to allow more or less of the underlying layer's color to shine through.

The stone remained in Alexandria until 31 BCE when Octavian beat up on Marc Antony and Cleopatra and took the imperial Egyptian jewel box with him back to Italy, the cameo presumably inside.

We know nothing of the cameo until the construction of a solid gold shrine said to house relics of the three wise men. The relics were given by the empress Helen to a priest named Eustorgius. He became bishop of Milan in 343. The relics remained in Milan until 1164 when Holy Roman Emperor Frederick I (Friedrich Barbarossa) plundered much of Milan and presumably carried off the cameo as well as the relics to Cologne.

Once in Cologne, the relics became important as a political tool. The crusades had not been going well and it was dangerous to make a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. The emperor could now cover this weakness with the plunder from Italy. A large solid gold shrine was built (in the waning years of the 12th century) to house the relics and serve as a pilgrim destination right in Cologne. No need to travel so far! The shrine was adorned with various stones. The centerpiece was our long lost cameo.

In 1229 the famous Dominican friar, Albertus Magnus, saint, teacher of Thomas Aquinas and later bishop of Regensburg, visited Cologne and examined the shrine and the cameo. In 1250 he wrote a book on minerals and included a description of the cameo and his comments on its origin. Al says that the stone was so marvelously made that it could not be the work of man. It must, therefore, be a found object, the work of God. He said that such finds were not uncommon, although he acknowledged that men sometimes attempt similar productions by carving stones. Nevertheless, he attempted a scientific explanation of how God may have caused this wonderful object to be made.

He even offered two explanations. The first covers the origin of "onyx", a term he uses for any banded stone. It seems that onyx forms from the rubbery drippings of the onyx tree, accumulating in layers of differing colors and later petrifying. (Sort of like amber except for the layers of colors.) Another possibility that Al speculates on is that onyx forms from earth and moisture (remember, everything is made of earth, air, fire and water), both in liquid form. Then, under the influence of the proper alignment of the stars and planets, it hardens into "onyx". (Both of these speculations seem to be about as valid as those of various modern theories for the formation of agate.)

After the hardening of the onyx into stone, a particularly powerful alignment of the stars and planets can turn the stone into representations of people and animals. He says this is especially common with onyx.

The cameo itself managed to survive these speculations until its disappearance in 1574. Someone pried it loose from its gold mounting and it was never seen in Cologne again. Its theft created quite a stir, even to the point of sealing of the city gates for 12 days while a house to house search was made. Two shady characters were arrested but later released for lack of evidence. It was at this time that a value was placed on the stone. The city said the stone was valued at two tons of gold. (At least, that's what they told the insurance company, I suppose.)

In 1586 a collector in Rome was offered the piece by a Flemish dealer for 500 gold coins. The collector described the stone as picturing Alexander the Great and Olympia, his mother. He tried to buy the stone for less than the asking price but the dealer took it to the Duke of Mantua the following year and sold it there, price unknown.

Evidently the stone didn't like staying in Italy too long after becoming accustomed to life in Germany. In 1630 Albert of Saxony, leading troops of the Holy Roman Emperor, overran Mantua and it fell into German hands again. Upon reaching home, he decided to present it to the Empress Anna Eleonora Gonzaga, second wife of the Emperor Ferdinand II of Vienna. The cameo has remained in Vienna since that time and can now be seen in the Museum of Art History in that city (unless there has been a recent agate theft there).

Ref. extraLapis No. 19; "The Encyclopedia of the Middle Ages" taken from THE ROCKFINDER 9/01

 

Via Glacial Drifter 5/03

 

“Did You Know”

Using Physical Senses in Identifying Minerals

By Gerald Losser

 

Some Minerals are tested in the field by using Sight, Taste, Odor, and Feel. Most minerals can be given a cursory field test identification by Sight e.g., Crystal structure, color, weight, and heft.

·  Taste is an old passe method it only belongs to the soluble minerals: Astringent taste– sulfates of various metals Iron and Copper. Sweet Astringent– taste of alum; Saline-taste of common table salt; Alkaline — taste of soda cooling– taste of saltpeter; Bitter— taste of Epson salts; Sour—Acid Vinegar. Note: although I have seen a few people test a rock with their tongue. I would not recommend anyone doing so because toxicity elements exists in certain minerals and could be harmful to the tester e.g. arsenic compounds.

·  Odor when certain rocks are scratched, rubbed, or treated with an acid they give off the following “aromas”? Allinaceous— odor of garlic arsenopyrite Horseradish— heat applied to ores of Selenium Suiphurous—odor or burning sulfur pyrites Bituminous– odor of bitumen coal: Fetid– odor of rotten eggs, certain varieties of Quartz, limestone; Argillaceous– odor of clay, serpentine, or when heated pyrargillite.

·  Feel— Stone with smooth feel is Sepoloite; greasy feel, Talc (soap stone) Remarks: The only location a person could possibly find minerals listed in the taste tests would be in a dry arid area only, (they are soluble in water). Odor tests are very useful as a quick I.D. field tests. After hitting a rock with hammer or scratching the surface take a sniff if a odor is present, your nose will tell you right away. I’ll guarantee if the rock’s smell is a fetid odor (rotten eggs) you’ll know that the rock you have hit is either a specimen of A) dinosaur egg? “NO” or B) rock containing elements with hydrogen sulfide gas “YES”.

 

From the 11/04 Virginia Pen Newsletter

via Breccia, 2/05.

Via The RockCollector 3/05

 

Origins of Natural Sapphire

By Charles A. Stratton, from Osage Hills Gems 9/91

 

Sapphire is a gem quality of corundum, a crystalline form of aluminum oxide. It occurs in all spectral colors, including white ("colorless"). The rich, deep red color is called ruby. The hazy, subjective zone where pink turns into red is the dividing line between pink sapphire and ruby. Pure sapphire is white. All other colors are caused by transition metal impurities, such as iron, titanium, chromium, etc. Several colors of corundum often occur together or in tracts having similar geology and not too far apart. Those locations receiving a good supply of chromium, and not too much iron, give us our rubies.

Sapphires and rubies are usually found in alluvial river deposits. They can generally be picked out of the gravel by sight, since they differ in appearances from ordinary pebbles. Often the crystalline form, a hexagonal prism or dipyramid is recognizable. This is possible for two reasons. First, they often occur not far from where they weathered out of their "mother rock". Secondly, their hardness is great enough that even a lot of water transportation would not have rounded them enough to wipe out their crystal shape. Since they have the comparatively high specific gravity of 4.0 (compared to 2.66 for quartz), they tend to settle to the bottom of stream pockets. This pre-concentration of sapphire is a great boon to gem-loving mankind.

The primary origin of sapphires is either igneous or metamorphic. They are not formed hydrothermally. In their igneous formation, they crystallize directly in a basalt or pegmatite. The pegmatite, however, is not the ordinary type, but is "quartz-poor, consisting principally of acid feldspar". Most corundum has been formed either in basalt or by low pressure regional metamorphism. Since the metamorphism was caused by great upwellings or outpourings of basaltic magma, it requires some deduction to establish whether the corundum crystallized from the rocks adjacent to the basalt. This can be established by finding matrix adhering to the gem. A usual case is that the proximity of hot basalt caused impure limestone to melt and crystallize to a marble. The aluminum impurities managed to get together and crystallize as corundum. Iron and titanium are quite plentiful, so a chance occurrence of these in the right proportions could color the sapphire a rich cornflower blue. Of course, iron by itself could give yellow green or brown.

Possibly the greatest area of low-pressure (high temperature) regional metamorphism is the southern flank of the Himalayan Mountains. The Mogok valley in Burma has been a foremost gem source since legendary, Pro-Marco Polo times. The rubies of Mogok have a matrix of white marble, while the sapphires are not found in situ in the marble, but in feldspatic rock The area has always been difficult to access. The elevation is about 2500 feet; however, the road transverses mountains about 5,000 feet high. The location is about 70 miles up the Irrawaddy River from mandalay, then about 40 miles east by mountain road. It is a pest-infested jungle area having a long season of heavy rainfall.

The western flank of the Himalayas is the source of the Kashmire sapphire, the classic cornflower blue gem. It is another product of regional low-pressure metamorphism. It occurs in a pegmatite vein, along with tourmaline, garnet, kyanite, an euclase. The location is at an elevation of 14,950 feet, and snow covers the gem fields most of the year.

To complete the list of type localities, we have the Yogo Gulch location in Montana. There, sapphires are found in situ in a basaltic dike. Some have weathered out and found their way to the Missouri River gravel. Montana sapphires are found in many colors, even cornflower blue! Many are pale, and many more a gunmetal blue. The latter are not unsightly, but I believe they are an acquired taste. Best of all, they are accessible. You can go mine them yourself, or you can have the concentrate sent to your door. If you want cornflower blue, keep looking.

This does not begin to exhaust the list of good commercial sources. There are very many, each with a fascinating story.

 

Via Rock Chips 7/04