Bulletin of the New York Mineralogical Club Founded 1886 Ë New York City, New York Ë Incorporated 1937 Volume 129, No. 10 Celebrating the International Year of Light October 2015

October 14th Event: Annual Banquet with Silent Dr. Charles Merguerian Subway Auction, Special Lecture, Gifts, Geology Lecture Featured at Banquet Games, Awards & Surprises! interesting occurrences and specimens of Preview of the evening’s program: By Mitch Portnoy The long-delayed Second Avenue mineral that have been discovered in the open joints and fractures. Social Hour & Reception Subway project in NYC has provided for a Dr. Charles Merguerian, a long-time 6:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. thorough three-dimensional study of the stratigraphy, structure, and metamorphism member of the New York Mineralogical Club, is internationally recognized as the Silent Auction of the Hartland Formation in NYC. Site leading authority on the geologic structure 6:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. inspections and mapping over a period of and tectonics of New York City. He is the (Thanks to all donors!) 1.5 years of TBM-bored tunnels and g r o u n d - d o w n Principal of Duke Geological Laboratory in Dinner, Drinks & Dessert ancillary station Stone Ridge , NY, 7:00 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. complex excavations indicate that the Professor Emeritus and former Chairman of Some Entertainment & Fun & Games Hartland in this part Geology at Hofstra “Garnet Locality Game” of NYC exposes a very well-layered University (1981-2014), schistose to gneissic Visiting Research Fellow rock mass consisting at Yale University and has of the assemblage a broad range of expert muscovite-quartz- consulting experience with plagioclase-biotite ± kyanite ± staurolite ± the United States Geological Survey, the garnet with interlayers of quartz- California- and Connecticut State plagioclase-mica granofels, greenish Geological Surveys, the New York City amphibolite ± biotite ± garnet and DEP, Con Edison, and many prominent subordinate gray quartzite ± biotite ± megaconstruction joint ventures, as well as garnet. The schistose facies is lustrous and geotechnical and engineering firms. He also sits on the Advisory Board of Star America. New York Mineralogical Club Meeting consists primarily of aligned fine-to-coarse- (Continues on page 16) 8:30 p.m. - 11:00 p.m. textured muscovite and thus splits readily along the foliation and also lithologic Issue Highlights Banquet Dedication contacts. The mica gneiss, granofels, Dr. Oliver Sacks & Park McGinty amphibolite, and quartzite interlayers are President’s Message...... 2 typically massive and quite hard, contain Meeting Minutes...... 2 Announcements & Awards much less mica than the schist and may not World of Minerals: Garnet II . . . . . 3 Silent Auction Results show pronounced foliation. Mars Mineral Veins...... 4 2016 Membership Cards Superposed ductile structures are cut by Atomic Bomb Birthplace...... 5 NYMC Enthusiasm Awards brittle features including foliation joints (J1) Plants & Diamonds...... 6 NYMC Certificates of Appreciation produced parallel to the regional foliation New State of Matter...... 7 Marco Polo Award and by steep NNE- to NE-trending (J2) Remembering Names...... 7 Bulletin Article Awards joints and dip-slip faults mineralized and The 100: Garnet Redux ...... 8 Special Garnet & Subway Note Cards infilled by stilbite+calcite, by younger steep Topics in Gemology: Wittelsbach. . . 9 Upcoming NYMC Events NW-trending (J3) joints and strike-slip Met Collects: Emerald Pin...... 10 Additional Announcements faults (Manhattanville “125th Street” series) Banquet Preview...... 10 infilled by K-feldspar, microcrystalline Banquet Reservation Form...... 11 Presentation of Gifts to Members epidote, quartz and pyrite, and by Silent Auction Listing...... 12 Including Special Door Prize moderately dipping J4 joints. Banquet Gift Preview...... 12 Gently inclined well-layered Hartland The “Pentaquark”...... 13 Lecture by Dr. Charles Merguerian rocks in NYC cut by intersecting steep Gold Spirals...... 14 “86th Street Subway Mineralogy” discontinuities have proven to be excellent Balancing Rocks...... 14 candidates for efficient subsurface mining Dr. Peter Rona Deceased...... 15 Thanks & Acknowledgments by TBM, traditional drill and blast Fool’s Gold (Pyrite)...... 16 techniques, and by mechanical means and Mars & Silica...... 17 Final Words & Adjournment methods of excavation. The PowerPoint New Particles/Standard Model.. . . . 18 lecture will take attendees on a virtual tour Club & Show Calendars...... 19 of the subsurface of NYC and show some 2 Bulletin of the New York Mineralogical Club October 2015

President’s Message Club Meeting Minutes for and valuable-its bright yellow color (when By Mitch Portnoy September 9, 2015 pure), resistance to tarnish, chemical By Vivien Gornitz, Secretary inertness, high density (15.6-19.3 g/cm3), I first want to thank the scores of people Attendance: 40 high malleability and ductility, high electrical who commented favorably on the Special President Mitch Portnoy presided and thermal conductivity. On the other hand, Bulletin I created, dedicated to the memory pure gold is very soft (Mohs H = 2.5-3) and of NYMC member Oliver Sacks. Announcements: therefore it is usually alloyed with other ‚ The meeting raffle was held. metals to harden it. Gold in jewelry ranges A Huge Bulletin! ‚ Dr. Oliver Sacks, a member who had from 10K (41.7%) to 24K (99.99 pure; One of the great advantages to the Club in passed away a few days earlier, was desired by the Chinese). Most jewelry is more and more members getting the remembered. marked 14K (58.3%) or 18K (75%). Metal monthly bulletin by email is that, by cutting ‚ The day’s historical events were alloys change the color-adding copper printing costs, I no longer feel constrained presented and the IYL Game #5 about produces a rose gold, silver a pale by the former 12-page limit. This month’s metallic luster was played. greenish-yellow, and nickel or palladium a newsletter, at 20(!) pages, might be the ‚ The new NYMC website was white gold. largest ever sent out. presented to the Club for the first Gold crystallizes in the isometric Long vs. Short URL time and its features and content system, ideally forming octahedral crystals, A few members questioned why the URL demonstrated; discussion ensued. but owing to its softness, good large crystals (address) for our new website is so “long” ‚ Mitch reminded the attendees what are rare, often distorted or squashed. More and hard to remember and type. In fact, the Club items were for there for sale and commonly, well-crystallized gold occurs in longer URL that we have is both descriptive the new note card set (gold) shown. arborescent, skeletal, hoppered, and and clear since it is our actual name! ‚ Mitch quickly reviewed the Club sceptered masses, or as veins in quartz, in The shorter club acronym “NYMC” events from the past few months but igneous or metamorphic rocks. The largest (which was not available to us, in any case) especially thanked Alla Priceman for skeletal octahedral gold crystal ever is confusing to Google and other common sponsoring the 2015 Open House. recovered weighed 217.8g (7.7 troy oz). search engines. Consider: ‚ Mitch quickly previewed the remaining Most gold mined today, however, consists of NYMC: New York Medical College Club events for 2015 but highlighted tiny, often invisible flecks, recovered by NYMC: New York Medical Center the October banquet, its lecture (Dr. C. crushing tons of ore and extracting the metal NYMC: New York Maritime College Merguerian – Subway Geology), gifts with cyanide. NYMC: New York Mortgage Coalition (2016 wall calendar), etc. In Alaska, although some minor gold NYMC: New York Mortgage Company ‚ Steve Okulewicz was introduced with strikes occurred as early as 1848, the first NYMC: New York Mixed Chorus an Abbot & Costello video included. major discovery in 1869 near Juneau brought NYMC: New York Medicaid Choice many new settlers to the region. Gold was Special Lecture: Prof. Steve Okulewicz: NYMC: New York Medical first found at Sumdum and Windham Bay NYMC: New York Math Circle “Digging Gold in Alaska-‘Is There Gold (60 mi south of Juneau). Major strikes were NYMC: New York Motor Club in Them Thar Hills?'” NYMC: New York Mennonite Conference found in the streambeds of Silverbow Basin NYMC: New York Multiple Choice in Gold Creek, 2 mi east of Juneau. Other NYMC: New York Marble Cemetery gold finds led to the opening of several NYMC: New York Muscle Club mines. One of the largest, the Treadwell NYMC: National Youth Ministry Conference mine operated until 1917, when supporting I suggest that you just create a pillars collapsed and the mine flooded. Some bookmark in your preferred browser or a mining in the district persisted until WWII. A shortcut on your desktop and not have to few small mines have reopened, type anything whatsoever to get to the site. concentrating on recovering gold from old Given the fact that both I and our champ of a webmaster mine tailings. (Other, more modern mining disagree with many of the design standards, content operations are producing gold elsewhere in requirements and outright security problems with theAFMS Alaska). website contest criteria, we will not participate in the annual Steve Okulewicz, adjunct professor at Skagway, Alaska, at the northern end of club website contest that they sponsor. Hofstra University, and part-time magician, the Inside Passage, was the doorway to the has entertained Club members with Klondike and Yukon gold fields in Receive Your Bulletin Electronically! informative, well-illustrated lectures and 1898-1899. After disembarking at Skagway, Advantages clever magic tricks. His latest presentation ‚ Early Arrival eager prospectors had to climb the icy, was no exception. The hope of striking it ‚ Pristine Condition treacherous 3,740 ft high Chilkoot Pass into ‚ rich still attracts many gold-seekers to Full-Color Version with Hyperlinks Canada and then trek another 600 miles to ‚ Electronic Storage Alaska, who pan for gold the old-fashioned ‚ the Klondike. Many perished in the attempt. Club Saves Money way and maybe add some sluice boxes to ‚ Receive Special Mailings Aside from real gold nuggets and gold help concentrate the tiny flakes of yellow ‚ Go Green! jewelry on sale at the numerous shops, the metal. A number of serious mining Requires only large gold nuggets to be seen in ‚ Email Request to Mitch operations are also underway, made Skagway are a huge “gold” granite boulder, ([email protected]) economically feasible by the high price of ‚ Adobe Reader (Free) and a pile of gold-sprayed Styrofoam gold. Optional “nuggets”. ‚ Steve began by reviewing the physical Printer (B/W or Color) (Continues on page 17) properties of gold that make it so attractive October 2015 Bulletin of the New York Mineralogical Club 3

The World of Minerals The World of Minerals is a monthly column written by Dr. Vivien Gornitz on timely and interesting topics related to geology, gemology, mineralogy, mineral history, etc.

Part II – Garnet: A Geologic “Tape Recorder” excavated by industrious ants from a weathered, but non diamond- Garnets Everywhere bearing, kimberlitic pipe. Mineral collectors and gemologists alike love garnets for their Closer to the Earth’s surface, granitic pegmatite from the roof attractive colorful crystals and wide array of gemstones. To of the world in the western Himalayas yield lovely orange to dark geologists, however, garnets store a vast archive of information brownish-red spessartine crystals, associated with schorl, quartz, about past Earth conditions. Garnets are everywhere. They form and albite. In the Tongbei District of Yunxiao County, Fujien over a broad range of geologic environments: deep in the Earth’s Province, China, orangey spessartine crystals make striking upper mantle, to igneous intrusions in the crust, and rocks caught specimens perched on white albite or coating dark smoky quartz. in the upheavals of colliding tectonic plates. These crystals were extracted from small pockets and pegmatitic Thanks to their toughness, hardness, and high density, garnets veins within granite. survive attack by wind and water and weather into rounded reddish Garnets in Earth’s Upheavals grains that concentrate in river beds and in beach sands. A The stability of garnet over a wide range of temperatures and beachcomber on Fire Island, among other places, can often see pressures enables geologists to decipher how the Earth’s crust has alternating stripes of dark reddish-brown and cream to buff-colored evolved at plate boundaries. As mentioned in Part I, the “A” site sands at the water’s edge. Closer inspection reveals tiny grains of of garnet holds various ions that are largely interchangeable, such almandine garnet mixed with hornblende, magnetite, ilmenite in as: Mg2+, Fe2+, Ca2+, and Mn2+. Each of these is surrounded by 8 the dark bands, while quartz, feldspar, and finely pulverized shell oxygen ions in a cage-like distorted cube. However, the fragments make up the lighter bands. The sands were once proportions of these ions changes during metamorphism. As garnet granites, schists, and gneisses of New England, ground up and left is subjected to increasing temperatures and pressures, magnesium behind by the glaciers of the last Ice Age on the south shore of and iron increase at the expense of calcium and magnesium. These Long Island. The metamorphic rocks, in turn, constitute the roots compositional changes are faithfully recorded in a series of growth of lofty mountains heaved up in ancient plate collisions. zones from core to rim of the crystal. The exact growth sequence, Garnets from the Depths however, may be complicated by “inheritance” of fragmentary Garnet is a common constituent of the Earth’s upper mantle histories from earlier metamorphic events that have not been and lower crust, found in rocks such as peridotites, eclogites, and erased or “reset” by the latest heating cycle. less commonly in crustal igneous rocks. Peridotites consist mainly In northern Pakistan, the spessartine crystals from pegmatites of olivine, pyroxenes, and garnet, whereas eclogites contain a mix in granitic rocks formed during the collision of continental crust of garnet and pyroxene. However the garnets and pyroxenes differ that raised the Himalayas. In the Italian Alps, on the other hand, significantly between these two rock types, which provides useful the rather non-descript pyrope from the Dora-Maira massif offers clues in tracing the origins of diamonds that evidence of crustal subduction taken to an bear these inclusions. Peridotitic garnets are extreme. There, pyrope coexists with quartz, predominantly a bright ruby-red Cr-rich kyanite, and coesite, an extremely high- pyrope, with small amounts of almandine pressure polymorph of quartz. Inferred and grossular. Eclogitic garnet, on the other conditions of crystallization are 700° to hand, is a Cr-poor, Ca-rich orangey-red 800°C (1290-1470°F) and depths of 120 km pyrope-grossular-almandine. Eclogites also (75 mi). Closer to home, a quiet stroll in harbor a distinctive type of pyroxene—green Central Park reveals a multitude of highly omphacite, which has a composition between weathered almandine garnets embedded in that of jadeite and diopside. The the quartz-feldspar-biotite Manhattan schist. mineralogical differences between these two A sharp eye can infer the turbulent history of rock types reflect quite different origins. Simplified cross-section of a diamond pipe and residual these rocks revealed in the sharp contortions Peridotites are true igneous rocks, soil deposit showing the relationships of xenoliths and and folds made by alternating light and dark diamonds with the pipe and residual soil. crystallized from a magma, whereas eclogites bands. Some of these can grow quite large, began their journey as ocean basalts dragged down subduction as in the famous football-sized “Subway Garnet.” zones into the upper mantle, where the high temperatures and Because of its ability to preserve the diverse stages of growth pressures transformed their mineralogy. during major tectonic episodes, garnets have come a powerful Garnets have become an important “pathfinder” for diamond geologic “tape recorder.” In addition to its wonderful variety of exploration. (Other “pathfinder”, or indicator minerals include colorful specimens and gemstones, garnet also finds many useful bright green chrome diopside, chromite, olivine, ilmentie, and Cr- applications in industry and technology. These attributes make spinel). More specifically, the “G10" category flags the Ca-poor, garnet an “uncommonly useful” minerals. Cr-rich pyrope of harzburgite peridotite origin in diamond-bearing kimberlite pipes. Eclogitic “G3" garnet also signals a good Further Reading diamond-bearing potential. Caddick, M.J. and Kohn, M.J., 2013. Garnet: Witness to the Some of the world’s finest pyropes come from Bohemia, evolution of destructive plate boundaries. Elements 9:427-432. weathered out of volcanic rocks containing upper mantle rock Gilg, H.A. et al., eds., 2008. Garnet: Great Balls of Fire. fragments. A most unusual pyrope source is “anthill” Lithographie, LLC, east Hampton, CT. garnet—small dark red grains from Garnet Ridge on the Navajo Wood, B.J., Kiseeva, E.S., and Matzen, A.K., 2013. Garnet in the Reservation, northeastern Arizona. The garnets were literally Earth’s mantle. Elements 9:421-426. 4 Bulletin of the New York Mineralogical Club October 2015

NASA’s Curiosity Eyes Prominent Mineral Hills, climbing from the lower edge to higher sections three times Veins on Mars to vertically profile the rock structures and chemistry, and to select the best targets for drilling. “We investigated Pahrump Hills the way a field geologist would, looking over the whole outcrop first to choose the best samples to collect, and it paid off,” said David Blake of NASA’s Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California, principal investigator for the Chemistry and Mineralogy (CheMin) analytical laboratory instrument inside the rover. Analysis is still preliminary, but the three drilled samples from Pahrump Hills have clear differences in mineral ingredients. The first, “Confidence Hills,” had the most clay minerals and hematite, both of which commonly form under wet conditions. The second, “Mojave,” had the most jarosite, an oxidized mineral containing iron and sulfur that forms in acidic conditions. The third is This March 18, 2015, view from the Mast Camera on NASA's Curiosity “Telegraph Peak.” Examination of Garden City has not included Mars rover shows a network of two-tone mineral veins at an area called drilling a sample. “Garden City” on lower Mount Sharp. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech Blake said, “Telegraph Peak has almost no evidence of clay Two-tone mineral veins at a site NASA’s Curiosity rover has minerals, the hematite is nearly gone and jarosite abundance is reached by climbing a layered Martian mountain offer clues about down. The big thing about this sample is the huge amount of multiple episodes of fluid movement. These episodes occurred cristobalite, at about 10 percent or more of the crystalline later than the wet environmental conditions that formed lake-bed material.” Cristobalite is a mineral form of silica. The sample also deposits the rover examined at the mountain’s base. contains a small amount of quartz, another form of silica. Among Curiosity has analyzed rock samples drilled from three targets the possibilities are that some process removed other ingredients, lower on the mountain in the past seven months. It found a leaving an enrichment of silica behind; or that dissolved silica was different mineral composition at each, including a silica mineral delivered by fluid transport; or that the cristobalite formed named cristobalite in the most recent sample. These differences, elsewhere and was deposited with the original sediment. together with the prominent veins seen in images taken a little NASA’s Mars Science Laboratory Project is using Curiosity farther uphill, illustrate how the layers of Mount Sharp provide a to examine environments that offered favorable conditions for record of different stages in the evolution of the area’s ancient microbial life on ancient Mars, if the planet ever has hosted environment. microbes, and the changes from those environments to drier The two-tone veins are at the site called “Garden City.” They conditions that have prevailed on Mars for more than three billion appear as a network of ridges left standing above the now years. eroded-away bedrock in which they formed. Individual ridges After investigations in the Telegraph Peak area, the rover team range up to about 2.5 inches (6 centimeters) high and half that in plans to drive Curiosity through a valley called “Artist’s Drive” to width, and they bear both bright and dark material. reach higher layers. Engineers are meanwhile developing “Some of them look like ice-cream sandwiches: dark on both guidelines for best use of the rover’s drill, following detection of edges and white in the middle,” said Linda Kah, a Curiosity a transient short circuit last month while using the tool’s science-team member at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. percussion action to shake rock powder into a sample-processing “These materials tell us about secondary fluids that were device. Drilling can use both rotary and percussion actions. transported through the region after the host rock formed.” “We expect to use percussion as part of drilling in the future Veins such as these form where fluids move through cracked while we monitor whether shorts become more frequent,” said rock and deposit minerals in the fractures, often affecting the Steve Lee of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, chemistry of the rock surrounding the fractures. Curiosity has California. Lee became deputy project manager for the Mars found bright veins composed of calcium sulfate at several previous Science Laboratory Project this month. He previously led the locations. The dark material preserved here presents an opportunity project’s Guidance, Navigation and Control Team from design to learn more. Kah said, “At least two secondary fluids have left through landing. evidence here. We want to understand the chemistry of the JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in different fluids that were here and the sequence of events. How Pasadena, built the rover and manages the project for NASA’s have later fluids affected the host rock?” Science Mission Directorate in Washington. For more information Some of the sequence is understood: Mud that formed about Curiosity, visit: lake-bed mudstones Curiosity examined near its 2012 landing site http://www.nasa.gov/msl or http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/ and after reaching Mount Sharp must have dried and hardened Source: NASA JPL April 1, 2015 before the fractures formed. The dark material that lines the 70 Years On, Crowd Gets Close to the fracture walls reflects an earlier episode of fluid flow than the Birthplace of the Atomic Bomb white, calcium-sulfate-rich veins do, although both flows occurred By Rick Rojas after the cracks formed. WHITE SANDS MISSILE RANGE, N.M. — The stretch of Garden City is about 39 feet (12 meters) higher than the New Mexico desert would seem endless if not for the mountain bottom edge of the “Pahrump Hills” outcrop of the bedrock range looming high in the distance. It is the kind of place where forming the basal layer of Mount Sharp, at the center of Mars’ drivers keep an extra close watch on their fuel gauge, and the Gale Crater. The Curiosity mission spent about six months closest neighbors are small towns, tiny specks of civilization, examining the first 33 feet (10 meters) of elevation at Pahrump dozens of miles away. October 2015 Bulletin of the New York Mineralogical Club 5

Yet on Saturday morning, the two-lane road winding toward (The name Trinity Site is believed to be derived from a John the White Sands Missile Range was clogged with minivans, cars Donne poem, delivered by J. Robert Oppenheimer, a leader of and motorcycles, a snake of vehicles stretching for miles, inching the Manhattan Project and a father of the atomic bomb as well as its way through a checkpoint. Decades ago, the remoteness of this a member of the New York Mineralogical Club.) area in south-central New Mexico attracted scientists looking to test the most destructive weapon mankind had ever created, sending up a radioactive cloud that blistered the sky. Trinity Site, as it became known, was where the first atomic bomb was detonated in 1945, just weeks before two atomic bombs were unleashed on Japan, effectively ending World War II. These days, the rehearsal stage for calamity has become a tourist attraction. Saturday was one of the rare days, typically twice a year, when the public is allowed onto the 55,000-acre site. The events can draw thousands; Saturday set a record with 5,534 visitors, including Boy Scout troops, classes on field trips and families.

A visitor tested the ground for radiation.

The site bears few visible scars from the explosion: A glasslike material called trinitite, made by sand melted in the heat of the blast, is still scattered on the grounds (and was being sold by a vendor outside the gate for $20 a piece). But there is no crater to climb into or scorched earth visible. “You just see some good pasture,” said Merle Burton, 79, who drove up from Deming, N.M. “That’s not what you expect.” The appeal of the site is linked largely to its history as the birthplace of nuclear weapons and the debate generated by the technology. The nuclear hysteria of the Cold War and even the recent agreement over Iran’s nuclear program can be traced to Trinity Site. “The atomic age started right here,” Mr. Simpson said. A couple were among the 5,534 tourists at the Trinity Site on Saturday, “This is kind of the mecca,” said Cammy Montoya, a one of the few days — typically two a year — the nuclear proving ground admits the public. Credit Ivan Pierre Aguirre for The New York Times spokeswoman for the White Sands Missile Range. “This is the first. This is the marking point.” Thousands of “nuclear tourists” made their way to a New Many approached the site with a kind of reverence, Mexico desert during the weekend for a rare peek at the testing site acknowledging a conflict between being impressed by the of the first atomic bomb blast 70 years ago. ingenuity required to create the technology and the fear of its Admission came with rules: Visitors were allowed to explore and destructive power. As home to the testing site and the laboratory photograph only in cordoned areas. Beware of rattlesnakes, the in Los Alamos, New Mexico also takes considerable state pride in rules also warned, but not so much the radiation, which had fallen the nuclear program. to levels low enough to no longer be a cause of concern. Still, a “It felt, for me, like a pilgrimage,” said Janet Gagliano, 54, line formed to take selfies with a sign posted on a fence: “Caution from Albuquerque. “It was the beginning of something that Radioactive Materials.” changed the history of mankind. It’s humbling, overwhelming, and “This was on my bucket list,” said Robert Simpson, 65, a the whole landscape is so amazing — the vastness of the space. I veteran of the Air Force, who came from Rio Rancho, outside can see why they picked here.” Albuquerque, with his wife and friends. “It makes the story real. Lon Burnam, who traveled from Fort Worth, Tex., is a You can study the battles all you want — that doesn’t hit home. different kind of nuclear tourist. Over the years, Mr. Burnam, an You have to go see the history.” activist, has taken part in demonstrations at the Nevada test site, at As the 70th anniversary of the test approaches in July, interest a nuclear plant in Kansas and in Oak Ridge, Tenn., the home of a in Trinity Site has surged, bringing more visitors to places — test national laboratory. “We’ve certainly not been good stewards of sites, bunkers, museums — connected to the weapons. In what we’ve created,” said Mr. Burnam, 61, a former state Wyoming, state officials are proceeding with plans to turn a relic legislator in Texas. of the Cold War, a boarded-up missile facility, into a tourist “You wonder how many people are out here out of curiosity,” attraction. he added, taking stock of the crowd, “and how many will “We’re in a period where it’s now becoming nostalgia,” said internalize the fact we have the capability to destroy our species.” Sharon Weinberger, a co-author of “A Nuclear Family Vacation,” Outside the missile range, a group of local residents led a who has visited sites in the Marshall Islands and Iran. small protest, claiming they are living with, and dying from, the Trinity Site, declared a national historic landmark in 1975, has health effects of the tests decades later. essentially become a monument. A black obelisk made of lava Chris Morgan, who had traveled from San Luis Obispo, Calif., rock marks where the bomb was detonated. An old ranch house, sat on the ground near the perimeter of the site, jotting down his about two miles away, is where scientists assembled the weapon. observations in a notebook. From his vantage point, he took in the 6 Bulletin of the New York Mineralogical Club October 2015 groups waiting for their turn for a picture next to the obelisk and the few who were roaming around, bent at the waist, scouring the ground for trinitite. “It’s young and old — all races and generations. It’s neat to see, really, a cross section come out,” he said. “They want to be here to experience the history.” He has visited hundreds of national parks, collecting stamps from each one and filling stacks of Moleskine notebooks, but this was more significant. Mr. Morgan, 42, has wanted to visit Trinity Site for 15 years. “It’s nice to sit back and let it sink in, and really get a sense of where you’re at — you get to feel the wind, feel the sun and see the mountains,” he said. “It’s so important for people to get here Pandanus candelabrum, left, is seen in the Liberian jungle. and touch and feel a place like this.” Until recently, there was no reliable way to locate these Source: New York Times April 5, 2015 concentrated deposits of diamonds, which can be just a few acres Trinitite in size and buried in thick, remote parts of the jungle. Trinitite, also known as atomsite or Alamogordo glass, is the Haggerty made the discovery in the bush of Liberia after glassy residue left on the desert floor after the plutonium-based venturing to the country in 2010 to continue research he began in Trinity nuclear bomb test on July 16, 1945, near Alamogordo, New the 1970s. He told The Huffington Post that Liberia, infamous for Mexico. The glass is primarily composed of arkosic sand its trade in so-called “blood diamonds,” had extensive mining composed of quartz grains and feldspar (both microcline and operations in place, but the miners had no real way of knowing smaller amount of plagioclase with small amount of calcite, where to look for the gems. The region is covered in dense forest hornblende and augite in a matrix of sandy clay) that was melted “so inaccessible, you can’t see more than 10 feet in front of you,” by the atomic blast. It is usually a light green, although color can he said. vary. It is mildly radioactive but safe to handle. Moving through the jungle and taking soil samples with an 8-foot steel rod, Haggerty eventually discovered a kimberlite “pipe” about 500 by 50 meters, or 1640 by 164 feet. Four diamonds, two of them around 20 carats apiece, have already been found in the soil above the pipe, according to Science magazine. Aside from the pipe itself, Haggerty’s most interesting observation was the discovery of Pandanus candelabrum, which thrives on a unique mixture of minerals found in the kimberlite soil. “For reasons that we don’t yet know,” he said, P. candelabrum appears to grow only atop these diamond-rich deposits. Various plants have been used as discovery elements for other metal-laden soils, Haggerty said. Scientists uncovered some In the late 1940s and early 1950s, samples were gathered and eucalyptus trees in 2013 that contained gold in their leaves, having sold to mineral collectors as a novelty. Traces of the material may tapped into mineral deposits deep underground with their be found at the Trinity Site today, although most of it was far-reaching roots. bulldozed and buried by the United States Atomic Energy Haggerty said he hopes to use satellite mapping of the plants Commission in 1953.[6] It is now illegal to take the remaining (via their spectral signatures) to help unearth new pipes of material from the site; however, material that was taken prior to kimberlite throughout Liberia. this prohibition is still in the hands of collectors. “That’s the way geology works. We don’t operate in Source: Wikipedia singularities,” Haggerty said. “If there’s one pipe, there have to be Geologist Discovers Plant That May Only Grow others.” Still, not all kimberlite deposits contain diamonds – in fact, on Top of Diamonds only about 1 percent of the world’s known kimberlite pipes “are By Nick Visser rich enough in quality diamonds to be worth mining,” writes Eric There she grows! Hand at Science. A picky plant found in West Africa may grow only on top of But if the mapping goes as hoped, it could pave the way for mineral deposits often loaded with diamonds, according to new diamond exploration in the country that could help boost local research soon to be published in the journal Economic Geology. economies without harming the environment. Whereas a lot of Stephen Haggerty, a professor at Florida International University current diamond mining involves unearthing and discarding all in Miami and the chief exploration officer of Youssef Diamond kinds of substances, some of them terrible for the environment, the Mining Company, said the discovery could be a game changer for main by-product of mining at kimberlite sites would be the the region. kimberlite itself – which is basically composed of the same The thorny plant, Pandanus candelabrum, only grows atop nutrients as garden fertilizer. In a country still battling Ebola and deposits of kimberlite, a type of volcanic rock found in giant malaria, Haggerty said, that could be a saving grace. underground “columns” around the world. Diamonds, formed “That’s what Liberia needs, and that’s what West Africa hundreds of kilometers deep by intense heat and pressure, are needs,” he said. pushed upward with the kimberlite during subterranean volcanic Source: The Huffington Post May 7, 2015 activity, resulting in gem-rich veins of rock. October 2015 Bulletin of the New York Mineralogical Club 7

Scientists Have Discovered a New State of molecules hang on to their old shapes. So, there is an Matter, Called ‘Jahn-Teller Metals’ overlap of sorts, where the material still looks an awful An international team of scientists has announced the lot like an insulator, but the electrons also manage to hop discovery of a new state of matter in a material that appears to be around as freely as if the material were a conductor.” an insulator, superconductor, metal and magnet all rolled into one, saying that it could lead to the development of more effective And it’s this transition phase between insulator and conductor high-temperature superconductors. that, until now, scientists have never seen before, and hints at the possibility of transforming insulating materials into super-valuable superconducting materials. And this buckyball crystalline structure appears to be able to do it at a relatively high TC. “The relationship between the parent insulator, the normal metallic state above TC, and the superconducting pairing mechanism is a key question in understanding all unconventional superconductors,” the team writes in Science Advances. There’s a whole lot of lab-work to be done before this discovery will mean anything for practical energy production in the real world, but that’s science for you. And it’s got people High temperature superconductor levitating above a ring magnet. Credit: excited already, as chemist Elisabeth Nicol from the University of Julian Litzel/Wikimedia Guelph in Canada told Hamish Johnston at PhysicsWorld: Why is this so exciting? Well, if these properties are “Understanding the mechanisms at play and how they can be confirmed, this new state of matter will allow scientists to better manipulated to change the Tc surely will inspire the development understand why some materials have the potential to achieve of new [superconducting] materials”. superconductivity at a relativity high critical temperature (Tc) - Source: Sciencealert.com May 12, 2015 “high” as in -135 °C as opposed to -243.2 °C. Because superconductivity allows a material to conduct electricity without Why You Can’t Remember Anyone’s Name resistance, which means no heat, sound, or any other form of By Leigh Weingus energy release, achieving this would revolutionise how we use and Meeting someone new and remembering their name is no easy produce energy, but it’s only feasible if we can achieve it at feat for the brain. so-called high temperatures. As a new AsapSCIENCE video explains, remembering As Michael Byrne explains at Motherboard, when we talk people’s jobs and faces isn’t about states of matter, it’s not just solids, liquids, gases, and maybe quite as hard. That’s because plasmas that we have to think about. We also have to consider the individual brain cells are fired more obscure states that don’t occur in nature, but are rather in response to faces, and created in the lab – Bose–Einstein condensate, degenerate matter, finding out what someone supersolids and superfluids, and quark-gluon plasma, for example. does with their time is By introducing rubidium into carbon-60 molecules - more interesting for the brain. commonly known as ‘buckyballs’ - a team led by chemist Kosmas Names, on the other hand, are Prassides from Tokohu University in Japan was able to change the relatively meaningless. distance between them, which forced them into a new, crystalline Another reason it’s hard to remember names? The “next in life structure. When put through an array of tests, this structure effect.” This is when someone is introducing themselves to you, displayed a combination of insulating, superconducting, metallic, but you’re more focused on going through the motions of and magnetic phases, including a brand new one, which the introducing yourself. Or, as the video so gently puts it: researchers have named ‘Jahn-Teller metals’. Named after the Jahn-Teller effect, which is used in chemistry You may just not care. Honestly, you may be at a party in to describe how at low pressures, the geometric arrangement of which you’ll never see this person again, or just generally molecules and ions in an electronic state can become distorted, this uninterested in forming a new relationship. Simply put, the new state of matter allows scientists to transform an insulator - more interest you have in something, the more likely your brain which can’t conduct electricity - into a conductor by simply is to make new connections. As a result, people who enjoy applying pressure. Byrne explains at Motherboard: making new relationships are tuned in and focused and barely feel as if their memory is being used or tested. “This is what the rubidium atoms do: apply pressure. Usually when we think about adding pressure, we think The Atlantic brings up another good point: A lot of people in terms of squeezing something, forcing its molecules have the same name, which makes names even more meaningless closer together by brute force. But it’s possible to do the for the brain. same thing chemically, tweaking the distances between “[A name] is both completely arbitrary and somewhat familiar molecules by adding or subtracting some sort of barrier (for common names) and ends up neither connecting to what you between them - sneaking in some extra atoms, perhaps. already know nor standing out as unusual,” Northwestern University psychology professor Paul Reber told The Atlantic. “So What happens in a Jahn-Teller metal is that as pressure you get this funny phenomenon where you can remember lots is applied, and as what was previously an insulator - about a person you recently met – everything except their name thanks to the electrically-distorting Jahn-Teller effect - (this happens to me all the time).” becomes a metal, the effect persists for a while. The Source: Huffington Post May 15, 2015 8 Bulletin of the New York Mineralogical Club October 2015

Collector’s Series – “The 100" The 100 is a monthly feature of interest to mineral collectors written by Bill Shelton, based upon his many years of experience as a mineral collector, educator, author, appraiser, philanthropist and dealer. Comments as well as suggestions for new topics are most welcome. Contact him at [email protected].

Garnet Redux purple, is a mixture of pyrope and almandine – if one is dominant, My early collecting experiences in Connecticut led me to find that will be its proper mineral name. Gems have innumerable three out of the six common species in the garnet group. Roxbury varietal names; for more information, see a gem data book. yielded innumerable almandines, West Redding produced All colors seem to occur in one garnet or another and even grossular (var. hessonite) and spessartines blue, once thought not to exist, has been were found in Haddam as well as some recenlty found. But even then and then it samples in various local pegmatites. is a very dark shade that may occur in New York has the Barton mine where color-change samples. They are probably garnet was found and used for abrasives spessartines. Gems are important items and occasionally for gems. Rough crystals and can reach the following sizes. to 24 inches occur. Franklin, New Jersey Almandine sets the size record in star- has the variety polyadelphite which is stones; one from Idaho weighs 174 carats. actually manganoan andradite. A huge, Andradites seem to be mostly modest – very well-formed 10 pound garnet, one of 18 carats is known. Grossulars up currently at the AMNH, was collected to several hundred carats are known from within the confines of New York City. Sri Lanka. Pyrope is usually small but a The beach sands in the Northeast very Bohemian stone of approximately 20 mm often contain tiny bits of garnet (probably almandine). I have seen is documented; it’s less than 40 carats, I believe. Spessartine can garnet in the outcroppings of Central Park. exceed 100 carats (Brazil). Uvarovite may be up to 1 carat, but they are rare.

Locality data from over 6,000 places is very interesting for the garnet group. About 32% of the noted localities are for almandine; about 22% is andradite and 21% is grossular. Pyrope is a mere 5%; spessartine is 16% and uvarovite is only 3%: see mindat.org for details. Due to probable errors in identification, uvarovite and pyrope may be far less common that the data given here suggests. In any case, they are frequently offered for sale but will not stand up to scrutiny. Certain spessartines also fail testing but, to the best of my knowledge, bright orange samples generally turn out to be nearly pure spessartine. Color can be very deceptive with some minerals but garnet can be very confusing. Among the six common species, all but uvarovite can be red. While all uvarovite is green, some andradite and grossular can be green. Pure pyrope, a rarity in nature, is Garnetiferous gneiss and schist of the Manhattan Formation surprisingly, white – but occasional grossular can also be white or exposed at Inwood Hill Park. Note garnets next to hammer colorless. Melanite, a black andradite, can be deceptive. Andradite handle (hammer handle is 1 foot for scale - not for collecting!). and grossular are both known to exhibit a wide range of colors. Spesartines can be bright orange. Rhodolite, varying from pink to October 2015 Bulletin of the New York Mineralogical Club 9

Topics in Gemology Topics in Gemology is a monthly column written by Diana Jarrett, GG, RMV, based on gemological questions posed to her over the years by beginners and experts alike. Contact her at [email protected].

Wittel Away preferred Fancy Deep Blue, the same color grade given to the Recutting a Famous Blue Rock Hope Diamond. The clarity rose from VS2 (very slightly Diamonds–either ancient ones or poorly cut modern stones are included) to IF (internally flawless). routinely re-cut to improve clarity and color. No biggie. But when Kissin’ Cousins? it’s an historical gemstone people are bound to have strong The famed Wittelsbach diamond with its near-look-a-like the opinions. Hope diamond went on display at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History in Washington D.C a few years ago. Gary Roskin, GG, FGA had the distinct honor with other leading authorities of personally examining both the Hope diamond and the Wittelsbach. The purpose of this rare event was to compare the two renowned blue diamonds to determine if is plausible that the two stones originated from the same crystal. Ever since their discovery by legendary 17th century gemstone trader Jeanne Baptist Tavernier, gemologists have been eager to examine the two diamonds side by side. The examination included infrared and phosphorescent spectroscopy, plus the use of a polarizing microscope for The Wittelsbach (left) and the Hope (right) diamonds. comparing any internal growth patterns. A similar phosphorescence of the two blue sparklers lent hope that the two Family Connection stones might be chips off the same block. The Wittelsbach-Graff The famed Golconda origin blue Wittelsbach Diamond was phosphoresced longer than the Hope it turned out. Yet the stone’s once called the most famous diamond you never saw because the hues were so close, they certainly could have been related. elusive diamond with a pedigree this long was the finial to the Despite initial promising similarities, it eventually became clear Bavarian crown until the 1920's. It still remained in the royal – especially with regards to the internal growth patterns that the Wittelsbach family until 1951. Depending on which provenance two blue beauties could not have originated from the same crystal. you like, the paper trail for this early diamond commenced in the Viewpoints Vary 17th or 18th century. The 35.56 carat Fancy Deep Grayish Blue But not all diamantiers are chagrined with the Wittelsbach’s VS2 diamond was kept secluded in a private collection since 1964. overhaul. Respected diamond cutter Maarten de Witte, an expert Cut that Out! at cutting important diamonds is also a strong proponent of well But in 2008 the famous stone once thought to be linked to the designed specialty cut diamonds. “The stone itself (Wittelsbach) Hope Diamond, was sold to diamond dealer Lawrence Graff for is famous for its history, and for being a large blue diamond, not $23.4 million US. Right after the sale, Graff decided to re-cut the for its cut,” he makes clear. That said, de Witte would never historical stone “to remove damage to the girdle and enhance the recommend a massive re-cutting which renders a renowned color.” That’s hunky dory for ‘normal’ diamonds, but verboten for diamond unrecognizable. a legendary stone protested numerous experts–some comparing its The Hope diamond was re-cut at various stages, and could renovation to over-painting a Rembrandt. benefit today from a cut which further unlocks its light performance and elegance, de Witt believes. “By thoroughly documenting the history of the important Wittelsbach, and by improving its beauty with a modern cut, you also exhibit the advances made in cutting.”

Golconda, India -the site of the world's first diamond deposits producing both the Hope and Wittelsbach diamonds. Well, they re-cut it in early 2010 modifying the original shape polished centuries ago. So now it’s a modern stone, renamed Wittelsbach-Graff. It was slimmed it down to 31.06 carats losing 4.45 carats in the transaction. The cut warranted a revised laboratory report and it got one from GIA. The new color is the Wittelsbach diamond with its distinct large open culet. 10 Bulletin of the New York Mineralogical Club October 2015

Met Collects: Brooch with Carved Emeralds and Sapphires

By Cartier ca. 1920; Gift of Her Highness Sheikha Amna bint Mohammed Al-Thani, 2015 This large, carved emerald from Mughal India is set in a jeweled platinum mount produced in the early twentieth century by Cartier in New York. The octagonal gem is decorated with a central rosette from which four blooms project in the cardinal directions. Although emeralds form naturally in hexagons, this one has been recut and sliced laterally, perhaps by Cartier, in the course of turning it into a brooch. The piece exemplifies the significant role India played in international trade in the modern era. Much admired by the Mughal emperors, wealthy courtiers, and the maharajas and nawabs of the later courts of India, emeralds were largely imported from Colombia in the seventeenth century. Sizable carved stones served as the centerpieces of turban ornaments, belt fittings, and bazubands, worn on the upper arm. Mughal women did wear jewelry, but larger-scale gems were mostly reserved for men, a projection of their wealth and power. Over the course of the nineteenth century, during the British Raj, Indian tastes in jewelry changed to reflect Victorian styles. White gold, silver, and platinum settings grew in popularity, and stones that had been considered inauspicious, such as sapphires, now joined emeralds, diamonds, rubies, and spinels in elegant pendants, brooches, and other ornaments. In 1911, Jacques Cartier made his first trip to India to collect gems, many of which, like this brooch, were removed from earlier settings and remounted to conform to the latest Art Deco fashion. Some of the Cartier-set gems were sold back to Indian clients, particularly royalty; others found their way to jewel boxes of American and European heiresses. The journey of the emerald in this brooch from Colombia, where it originated in its natural state, to seventeenth-century India and back to New York underscores the abiding and universal attraction of great gems. Sheila Canby Curator in Charge, Department of Islamic Art Source: http://www.metmuseum.org/collection/metcollects/

This “Google Doodle” is from January 11, 2012, Nicolas Steno’s 374th birthday. He is known as the father of stratigraphy and geology, Nicholas Steno worked to understand history by what he could find in the ground. October 2015 Bulletin of the New York Mineralogical Club 11 Bring an additional friend or loved one! 129th Anniversary New York Mineralogical Club Banquet Date: October 14, 2015 [Wednesday Evening] Time: 6:00 p.m. - 11:00 p.m. [Social Hour & Silent Auction from 6 p.m. - 7 p.m.] Place: Holiday Inn Midtown Manhattan, 57th Street Between Ninth & Tenth Avenues, NYC Cost: $30 for Members/Guests (Advance Payment); $35 for Non-Members (or Payment at the Door)

Gala Dinner Menu (tentative) Salad Choice of Entree: chicken • fish • beef Potatoes & Vegetables Selection of Breads & Rolls Red & White Wine Soft Drink Assortment “Garnet” Dessert Selection Coffee & Tea Special Guest Lecturer Dr. Charles Merguerian, Renowned Geologist & Educator “Geology and Mineralogy of the Second Avenue Subway”

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Please reserve ______seat(s) for me at the Banquet @ $30.00 ($35.00) each. I will probably be ordering G Salmon G Chicken G Beef for my dinner entree(s).

Also included are my 2016 New York Mineralogical Club membership dues ($25 Individual, $35 Family).

I am adding a wine/dessert donation to help make the banquet an affair to remember. (Each bottle costs about $25.)

Please reserve a set of the following boxed Note Card Sets for me (Includes Envelopes for $6.00 each): G Garnet! G Mineral & Gem Bookplates G Jade G Native Elements G Crystallography G Thin Sections G Diamonds G Birthday Mineral Cards G Malachite G Quasicrystals G Lapis Lazuli G ______

I wish to make an additional donation as a sponsor to help support the Banquet & the NYMC.

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Send in the reply order form below by October 12, 2015. We must receive this RSVP in order to guarantee your reservation(s). Make your check payable to the “New York Mineralogical Club” and send it to: New York Mineralogical Club Banquet, P.O. Box 77, Planetarium Station, NYC, NY 10024-0077. Or call Mitch Portnoy (212) 580-1343 or email him at [email protected] to place your reservations. 12 Bulletin of the New York Mineralogical Club October 2015

2015 Garnet Banquet Silent Auction Listing 58. Calcite on Dolomite...... New York The following is a listing of the silent auction choices that will be 59. Large Citrine (Quartz) Crystal...... Colombia 60. Corundum Crystal Thumbnail...... Sri Lanka available for your bidding at the Gala Banquet on Wednesday, 61. Conglomerate Nodule Sliced...... NA October 14, 2015. (Expect more to be offered on the evening!) 62. Tetrahedrite & Sphalerite...... Peru Thanks to all contributors! 63. (2) Gemmy Zircons...... Tanzania (?) Remember: we are still happy to accept items, especially 64. (3) Gemmy Green Tourmaline Rough...... Brazil 65. Jasper Rough...... Honduras related to garnet or the subway, for this year’s silent auction! 66. Quartz Crystal Thumbnail...... Honduras Special Garnet Section 67. Labradorite...... Labrador, Canada 1. Gemmy Spessartine...... China Publications & Other Section 2. Andradite (var. Melanite)...... Kazakhstan 68. Arizona Mineralogical Record...... NEW! July 2015 3. Grossular...... Mexico 69. (3) Rocks & Minerals...... (2) are New York State 4. Andradite (Green via Chromium)...... Iran 70. (2) Gems & Geology...... Summer 2013, Summer 2014 5. Andradite (Green - Very Pure)...... Korea 71. Jade Figurine...... Asia 6. Garnet & Pearl Bracelet...... NA 72. (3) Tektites...... NA 7. (1) Natural & (1) Polished Garnet...... China 73. MTA Subway Line Umbrella...... (2015 Banquet Theme) 8. (1) Natural & (1) Polished Garnet...... China 74. Full Sheet USA 10¢ Mineral Stamps...... From 1974 9. Bag of Garnet “Raw Beads”...... NA 10. Tumbled Garnet Bangle...... NA 75. Musicophilia by Oliver Sacks & (2) Scheelites...... Misc 11. Faceted Strand of Garnet Beads...... NA 76. Amethyst & Agate Slice Oil Lamp...... NA 12. Polished Garnet Wand and Pyramid...... NA 13. Large Garnets in Matrix...... NA 14. Large Glass “Garnet” on “Garnet” Glass Beads...... NA NYMC October 2015 Garnet Banquet Gifts 15. Gemmy Garnets on Matrix...... Honduras Jewelry Section 16. Blue Bead Multi-Strand Choker...... NA 17. Long Iridescent Bead Necklace...... NA 18. Carved “Classical” Cameo...... NA 19. Pearls & Red Serpentine Bead Necklace...... NA 20. Pearl & Shell Necklace...... NA 21. Neon Blue Apatite Multi-Strand Necklace...... NA 22. Silver, Gemstone, Mother-of-Pearl Pendant...... NA 23. Opalite, Pearl & Mixed Bead Necklace...... NA 24. Pearl, Jasper, & etc. Necklace...... NA 25. Kyanite & Pearl Necklace...... NA 26. Faceted Fluorite Bead Bangle...... NA 27. Faceted Rutilated Quartz Pendant...... NA 28. Tiger-Eye Round Cab Earrings...... NA 29. Pearl & Sterling Silver “Flower Petal” Earrings...... NA 30. Pearl & Sterling Silver “Open Flower” Earrings...... NA 31. Small Hoop & B/W Glass Bead Earrings...... NA 32. Simple Pearl and Silver Earrings...... NA 33. Simple Round Hematite Bead Earrings...... NA 34. Multicolor Ceramic (Flower Decoration) Earrings...... NA 35. Engraved Copper Earrings...... NA 36. Hematite Bead & Yellow Glass “Bone” Necklace...... NA 37. Spectacular Shell Pendant & Silver Chain Necklace...... NA Collector Minerals, Thumbnails & Crystals Section 38. (3) Unopened geodes with Opened Specimens...... USA 39. (3) Unopened geodes with Opened Specimens...... USA 40. Lazurite Crystal in Marble & Lapis Specimen. . . Afghanistan 41. Small Ruby in Feldspar Sphere...... India 42. Polished Ruby in Feldspar Nugget...... India 43. Uvarovite Thumbnail...... Russia 44. Getchellite, Orpiment, Realgar Thumbnail...... Nevada 45. Chalcotrichite...... Arizona 46. Rubellite Tourmaline in Quartz...... Brazil Cards Available at the Banquet – $5.00/Box 47. Epidote...... Honduras 48. Epidote “Fan”...... Honduras 49. Autunite...... France 50. Fabulous Complex Quartz “Point”...... Honduras 51. Goethite...... Germany 52. Covellite...... Colorado 53. Pyrite in Shale...... Vermont 54. Smokey Quartz & Black Tourmaline...... Paris, Maine 55. Schorl (Tourmaline) Crystals in Matrix...... Maine Garnet! NYMC in the Subway 56. Jamesonite, Pyrite & etc...... Mexico 57. Strontianite & etc. and Williamsite...... Pennsylvania October 2015 Bulletin of the New York Mineralogical Club 13

Large Hadron Collider Discovers New Pentaquark Particle By Paul Rincon, Science Editor

Scientists used precision measurements at the LHCb experiment to unmask the new pentaquark particle Physicists studied the way a sub-atomic particle called Lambda b decayed - or transformed - into three other particles inside LHCb. The analysis revealed that intermediate states were An illustration of one possible layout of quarks in a pentaquark particle such as those seen at LHCb (showing five tightly-bonded quarks) sometimes involved in the production of the three particles. These intermediate states have been named Pc(4450)+ and Scientists at the Large Hadron Collider have announced the Pc(4380)+. discovery of a new particle called the pentaquark. “We have examined all possibilities for these signals, and It was first predicted to exist in the 1960s but, much like the conclude that they can only be explained by pentaquark states,” Higgs boson particle before it, the pentaquark eluded science for said LHCb physicist Tomasz Skwarnicki of Syracuse University, decades until its detection at the LHC. US. The discovery, which amounts to a new form of matter, was Previous experiments had measured only the so-called mass made by the Hadron Collider’s LHCb experiment. distribution where a statistical peak may appear against the The findings have been submitted to the journal Physical background “noise” - the possible signature of a novel particle. Review Letters. But the collider enabled researchers to look at the data from In 1964, two physicists - Murray Gell Mann and George additional perspectives, namely the four angles defined by the Zweig - independently proposed the existence of the subatomic different directions of travel taken by particles within LHCb. particles known as quarks. “We are transforming this problem from a one-dimensional to They theorized that key properties of the particles known as a five dimensional one... we are able to describe everything that baryons and mesons were best explained if they were in turn made happens in the decay,” said Dr Koppenburg who first saw a signal up of other constituent particles. Zweig coined the term “aces” for begin to emerge in 2012. the three new hypothesised building blocks, but it was Gell-Mann’s name “quark” that stuck. This model also allowed for other quark states, such as the pentaquark. This purely theoretical particle was composed of four quarks and an antiquark (the anti-matter equivalent of an ordinary quark).

“There is no way that what we see could be due to something else other than the addition of a new particle.” Dr Patrick Koppenburg, LHCb physics co-ordinator

New States An alternative layout for the pentaquark, showing a meson particle (one quark and During the mid-2000s, several teams claimed to have detected one antiquark) and a baryon (three quarks) weakly bonded together pentaquarks, but their discoveries were subsequently undermined by other experiments. “There is no way that what we see could be due to something “There is quite a history with pentaquarks, which is also why else other than the addition of a new particle that was not observed we were very careful in putting this paper forward,” Patrick before.” Koppenburg, physics co-ordinator for LHCb at Cern, told BBC LHCb spokesperson Guy Wilkinson commented: “The News. pentaquark is not just any new particle… It represents a way to “It’s just the word ‘pentaquark’ which seems to be cursed aggregate quarks, namely the fundamental constituents of ordinary somehow because there have been many discoveries that were then protons and neutrons, in a pattern that has never been observed superseded by new results that showed that previous ones were before in over fifty years of experimental searches. actually fluctuations and not real signals.” “Studying its properties may allow us to understand better how ordinary matter, the protons and neutrons from which we're all made, is constituted.” 14 Bulletin of the New York Mineralogical Club October 2015

The LHC powered up again in April following a two-year Mystery of Bizarre, Balancing Rocks Just May shutdown to complete a program of repairs and upgrades. Be Solved The rocks shed new light on earthquakes and fault lines. By Jacqueline Howard In southern California, giant boulders have naturally stacked on top of each other in gravity-defying arrangements. Despite the many earthquakes that shake the nearby San Andreas fault, these rocks haven't yet toppled over. Why?

The first new data in two years began flowing from the LHC last month Source: BBC News website 14 July 2015 Strange Gold Spirals Dating Back to Bronze Age Unearthed in Denmark By Jacqueline Howard A trove of 2,000 delicate gold spirals that date back to the Bronze Age was recently discovered in Denmark -- and A new, decade-long study suggests that the earthquakes in the archaeologists are trying to figure out what the ancient coils were region can stop or “jump” due to interactions between the San used for. Andreas and nearby San Jacinto fault, allowing for the strong The 3,000-year-old spirals are made of thin, flattened gold shaking to move around the rocks and not hit them head on, BBC wire and were found during an excavation in the town of News reported. Boeslunde, on the Danish island of Zealand. The ways in which these fault lines interact may help seismologists better understand not only big tremors but also how to better prepare for them. “It was a real scientific puzzle, a real head-scratcher,” Dr. Lisa Grant Ludwig, professor of public health at the University of California, Irvine, and lead author of the study, said in a written statement. “How can you have these rocks right next to the San Andreas Fault? It’s an interesting scientific question, but it also has practical implications, because we want our seismic hazard maps to be as good as possible.” For the study, the researchers analyzed 36 of the rocks, called precariously balanced rocks (or PBRs), located only about four to six miles from the San Andreas and San Jacinto faults. The rocks date back at least 10,000 years and were left balancing on top of Each tightly wound coil is about one inch long. All together, each other after meteorological and geological forces washed away the gold spirals weigh more than half a pound. the material around them, according to Live Science. Remnants of a wooden box were also found at the site. The researchers compared the fragility of the rocks' “Maybe the spirals have been attached to cords which have positioning with the ground-shaking that magnitude-7.8, served as a small fringe on a hat or a parasol,” Dr. Flemming Kaul, magnitude-7.4, and magnitude-7.9 quakes would cause. What did curator at the National Museum of Denmark and one of the the researchers find? discoverers of the gold spirals, said in a written statement. It turns out that the rocks should have fallen over a long time “Perhaps they have been braided into the hair or been embroidered ago since quakes of that magnitude had hit the area before, such as on the suit. The fact is that we do not know, but I tend to believe in 1812 and 1857, Science magazine reported. they were part of a priest king’s costume or headwear.” The researchers concluded that only interaction between the Whether or not the spirals were part of a costume, evidence San Jacinto and San Andreas faults could have produced the suggests that the Boeslunde site might have been a sacred place earthquakes’ “jumping” to preserve the balanced rocks. where people offered gold to their gods, Live Science reported. “These faults influence each other, and it looks like sometimes Boeslunde has long been a rich source of Bronze Age gold they have probably ruptured together in the past,” Grant Ludwig artifacts, BBC News reported. Previous excavations there yielded said in the statement. “We can’t say so for sure, but that’s what our several gold cups and rings. data point toward, and it’s an important possibility that we should Since there may be more gold to be found, archaeologists at think about in doing our earthquake planning.” the Museum Vestsjælland in Denmark plan to continue examining The study was published online in the journal Seismological the area with metal detectors. Research Letters on August 5, 2015.

Source: Huffington Post 07/14/2015 Source: Huffington Post 08/08/2015 October 2015 Bulletin of the New York Mineralogical Club 15

Peter Rona, Renowned Explorer of the Deep starting as an apprentice in a laboratory at Columbia University Ocean, Dies at 79 that studied the physics of sound in the sea. Going to sea for nine Discovered hydrothermal vents in the Atlantic; helped make months of the year, I was hooked.” IMAX film ‘Volcanoes of the Deep Sea’ Rona once reckoned he might have spent more time in By Ken Branson submersibles on the bottom of the ocean than any other marine Peter Rona, renowned for his deep-sea exploration, died on scientist. Asked what a trip in a submersible was like, he answered, February 20, 2014 of complications of multiple myeloma. He was “Cramped and cold – but 79 years old. wonderful, just the same.” The experience was so fascinating, however, Rona said, that he usually forgot how cramped and cold he was. Throughout his teaching career, Rona acted as a talent spotter for future marine scientists and engineers. He convinced many bright but undecided young people to follow his path to sea -- among them, Donglai Gong, now assistant professor of marine science at the Virginia Institute From 1999 to 2003, Peter Rona and his of Marine Science. In 2004, colleague, Richard Lutz, were technical sitting in on Rona’s class on advisers to the makers of Volcanoes of the hydrothermal vents after getting Deep Sea, which took audiences to the bottom of the Atlantic with Rona and his a master’s degree in physics, colleagues. Worldwide, 165 million people Gong asked what Rona thought have seen this IMAX film. were particularly intelligent questions, and found himself the object of a full-court press to go Peter Rona, about to descend to the ocean bottom in the submersible Alvin. Rona into marine science. “He encouraged me to contact the people at once reckoned he may have spent more time on the ocean bottom in such IMCS and think about doing a Ph.D. in marine sciences,” Gong submersibles than any other marine scientist. Photo: Peter Rona recalled. “I did. And that’s made all the difference.” Rona, professor of marine science and earth and planetary sciences at Rutgers since 1994, spent 25 years as a scientist for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration before he came to Rutgers. During his time at NOAA, Rona led the expedition that first discovered deep-sea hot springs and their associated life forms in the Atlantic Ocean. He discovered that the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, the great tectonic boundary that runs from north of Iceland to the Southern Ocean contains hydrothermal vents which host communities of animals unknown to science until then. Between 1999 and 2003, Rona and his Rutgers colleague Richard Lutz, now director of the Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences in the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences at Rutgers, served as science directors of Volcanoes of the Deep Sea, an IMAX film that took viewers down to deep-sea vents in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. “We brought Hollywood lighting and camera technology to the deep sea-floor to clearly illuminate for the first time the spectacular hot springs and their strange ecosystems for the public to see, from school children to the Peter Rona with an autonomous underwater vehicle he used for his studies of the delegates to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Hudson Canyon, off the coast of New Jersey, in 2009 and 2011. Photo: Donglai Gong Sea,” Rona said. The film has since been seen by 165 million people around the world. Rona published more than 250 scientific papers in his career “Peter was a treasured friend of over 40 years and one of the and edited five books. He was the recipient of the Shepard Medal finest and most honorable gentlemen I have known,” Lutz said. for Excellence in Marine Geology, the Petterson Bronze Medal of “His contributions to deep-sea science have been immense. We’ve the Swedish Academy of Sciences and the U.S. Department of lost one of the true giants in the field and he will be missed.” Commerce Gold Medal for exceptional scientific contributions to Peter Arnold Rona was born in Trenton on August 17, 1934. the nation. “I was one of those kids who collected rocks and minerals, Peter Rona’s wife of more than 40 years, Donna Rona, died in climbed mountains, loved the outdoors and identified with geology 2013. He leaves his daughter, Jessica. from early on,” Rona told a Rutgers publication in 2006. “I pursued a path to explore the oceans, the last frontier on Earth, Source: news.rutgers.edu on February 24, 2014 16 Bulletin of the New York Mineralogical Club October 2015

Who's the Fool? His own research has been key here. In particular, his team There is much more to pyrite than its seductive glitter, finds has studied variables such as hydrodynamics and pH, that affect Jonathon Keats crystals in the field and then used them to create “designer pyrite “ in the lab. And Rickard makes a forceful case for the importance Pyrite: A natural history of fool’s gold by David Rickard, of this science for environmental prediction. Oxford University Press USA, $29.95 / ^17.99 He also notes the part that pyrite may play in green technology, especially solar power. Like the silicon used in “BY NO mineral substance have men been more deceived conventional solar cells, pyrite is a semiconductor but, he says, it than by iron pyrites; which is very appropriately denominated “absorbs 100 times as much light.” And it is ultra-cheap, too. fool’s gold.” With these harsh Such claims astound – even Hitchcock would be impressed – words in a bestselling but Rickard gets carried away. The mineral, he asserts more than 19th-century textbook the once, “made the modern world,” and improved our “quality of eminent geologist Edward life.” He adds: “Pyrite is the universal common ancestor of Hitchcock summed up the shady technology.”

reputation of FeS2 a shiny golden crystal that is common throughout the world. Hitchcock had a point. Pyrite was a favorite of alchemists, who sought to transmute it into gold. It was popular with explorers, too, who used pyrite “treasure” to bamboozle investors. Yet there are also myriad admirable facets to fool’s gold, and in Pyrite, geologist David Rickard puts himself forward as the mineral’s foremost advocate. Rickard’s esteem is boundless: “Pyrite has had a disproportionate and hitherto unrecognized influence on developing the world as we know it today . . . This influence extends from human evolution and culture, through science and industry, to ancient, modern, and future Earth environments and the origins and evolution of early life.” That’s a big claim for any substance. To Rickard’s credit, he Pyrite power: did it help beget the modern technological world? largely justifies it. The importance of pyrite to prehistoric and ancient peoples is preserved in its name: pyrite means “fire stone” A touch too close to his subject perhaps? An equally good in ancient Greek. Fires were set by striking pyrite against a flint, case could be made for oxygen or water. producing a spark hot enough to ignite dried twigs. The mineral That said, Rickard’s book is an essential corrective to pyrite’s was also a source of pigments such as red ochre, which is produced fool’s-gold reputation. In fact, pyrite has even begun to show its when pyrite oxidizes in aerated water. Pyrite may even have been worth to gold prospectors. Most gold mined today is in the form of the first non-herbal medicine: when burned, it emits sulfur oxide microscopic blobs trapped inside minerals. Ironically, pyritic ores gases that can clear sinuses when inhaled. are the richest source. Based on these worthy uses, Rickard provocatively observes Jonathon Keats is a conceptual artist and philosopher. that the first mineral sought by ancient prospectors may not have Dr. Charles Merguerian Banquet Lecture been the “exotic” gold and silver of later civilizations but pyrite. (Continued from page 1) It is pure speculation, but plausible. The mineral is certainly sought after by modern scientists. One Largely, due to his scientific and technical prominence in the of pyrite’s remarkable attributes is its sheer variety of crystals. By geologic arena, Dr. Merguerian has been invited and featured in one count, there are nearly 700 different shapes, or “habits” – ongoing national and international broadcasts distributed by the possibly the greatest range in any common substance. BBC, National Geographic, The History Channel and The Discovery Channel. “Pyrite was popular with explorers, who used it as ‘treasure’ Charles, who is also one of the nicest and most generous to bamboozle investors” people you will ever meet, is one of the most popular speakers at Because different crystal habits are caused by different meetings of the New York Mineralogical Club. In the past he has geological conditions, and because microscopic pyrite crystals are lectured to us about the geology and mineralogy of Hawaii, nearly ubiquitous, Rickard argues that much of what we know Inwood (Manhattan Area), the Water Tunnels of New York City, about the history of Earth has come from investigating ancient the World Trade Center Area, Central Park, and many other pyrite. He gives many examples, and his first-hand knowledge relevant and important topics. makes this the strongest part of his book. For instance, he describes Come to the banquet and enjoy Charles’ engaging manner and how pyrite crystals that formed around ancient deep-sea vents have learn something about the City in which you live. been used to map volcanism and to measure planetary cooling October 2015 Bulletin of the New York Mineralogical Club 17

September Meeting Alaska Gold Lecture by Welcome New Members! Steve Okulewicz ! Matt & Abbey Stolle...... NYC, NY (Continued from page 2) ! Gail Billig and Mark Lowenthal...... Englewood, NJ Gail & Mark are the first members in the history of the NYMC Steve also described various mining techniques, such as who (re)joined using the information and application found on classic gold panning by swishing stream sand and gravel in large our new website! round pans with water, which removes the lighter material and NASA’s Curiosity Rover Discovers Bedrock concentrates the heavy minerals (such as garnet, magnetite, with High Levels of Silica ilmenite, rutile, or zircon), and hopefully, gold. The best places to look for gold are on the inside bends of the river, where the current slows down and deposits its load of sediment. Other good spots to look are where submerged rocks or other underwater obstacles slow also down the river current. Sluice boxes are long, narrow artificial channels. Promising sand or gravel is introduced, flushed by a steady flow of water. Gold flakes or nuggets are caught in small interspersed obstructing traps, while the light material is washed away. In dredging, a miner in scuba diving gear “vacuums” up sediment from the streambed with a hose attached to a sluice box. Now thankfully banned, hydraulic mining once created much environmental damage by blasting soft sediments along stream banks and hills with high-pressure water flows. Modern mining operations use arrays of dynamite or other A rock outcrop dubbed “Missoula,” near Marias Pass on Mars, is seen in this image explosives to break up the ore, which is then crushed and broken mosaic taken by the Mars Hand Lens Imager on NASA’s Curiosity rover. Pale down further, and subjected to the cyanide process. mudstone (bottom of outcrop) meets coarser sandstone (top) in this geological In spite of the gold still mined in Alaska, and major gold contact zone, which has piqued the interest of Mars scientists. Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS mining along the Carlin trend in Nevada, the U.S. ranks only 4th in world gold production, behind China, Australia, and Russia. The After almost three years on Mars, NASA’s Curiosity Mars Rover main use of gold in the U.S. is in jewelry (41%); electronics continues to amaze. This time Curiosity has discovered a target (35%); coins (18%); dentistry (4%); and misc. (2%). unlike anything it has studied before – bedrock with surprisingly Ending on a lighter note, Steve asked a Club member to initial high levels of silica. Silica is a rock-forming compound containing a small card with a map of Alaska on it. Steve then proceeded to silicon and oxygen, commonly found on Earth as quartz. demonstrate “plate tectonics” by folding the card in half and in quarters and tearing it to pieces. Abracadabra--he handed back an This area lies just downhill from a geological contact zone the intact card-all the pieces were attached but now in the wrong rover has been studying near “Marias Pass” on lower Mount Sharp. places! In a nutshell, that's what's happened to Alaska-consisting In fact, the Curiosity team decided to back up the rover 46 of a mélange of small tectonic plates. meters (151 feet) from the geological contact zone to investigate In November: Light Game #6 the high-silica target dubbed “Elk.” The decision was made after (About Pleochroism) they analyzed data from two instruments, the laser-firing Chemistry & Camera (ChemCam) and Dynamic Albedo of Neutrons (DAN), which show elevated amounts of silicon and hydrogen, respectively. High levels of silica in the rock could indicate ideal conditions for preserving ancient organic material, if present, so the science team wants to take a closer look. “One never knows what to expect on Mars, but the Elk target was interesting enough to go back and investigate,” said Roger Wiens, the principal investigator of the ChemCam instrument from the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico. ChemCam is coming up on its 1,000th target, having already fired its laser more than 260,000 times since Curiosity landed on Mars Aug. 6, 2012, Universal Time (evening of Aug. 5, Pacific Time). In other news, an engineering test on the rover’s sample-collecting drill on July 18 is aiding analysis of intermittent short circuits in the drill’s percussion mechanism, in preparation Members in the News for using the drill in the area where the rover has been working for the past two months. The latest test did not result in any short ! Elise Skalwold (Cornell Gem Collection lecturer from 2014) circuits, so the team plans to continue with more tests, performed has had several articles published (or about to be published) on the science targets themselves. in both Rocks and Minerals and Gems & Gemology. Before Curiosity began further investigating the high-silica ! Naomi Sarna was made the Member of the Month for the area, it was busy scrutinizing the geological contact zone near September 2015 MJSA Journal Online. The link is: Marias Pass, where a pale mudstone meets darker sandstone. www.mjsa.org/publicationsmedia/mjsa_journal/member_of_the (Continues on next page) _month/ 18 Bulletin of the New York Mineralogical Club October 2015

group of subatomic particles comprised of three different varieties: the tau, the electron, and the muon. Electrons are very stable, whereas both the tau and muon decay very rapidly. In the new study, the researchers combed through data looking for evidence of B mesons decaying into lighter particles such as the tau lepton and the muon. The Standard Model dictates that all leptons shall be treated by all the fundamental forces, a concept known as “lepton universality.” This means both the tau and the muon should decay at the same rate, once the difference in mass is accounted for. However the team discovered a minuscule, albeit noticeable, difference in the rates of decay which could indicate the presence of potentially unknown forces or particles interfering with the rates of decay. “The Standard Model says the world interacts with all leptons in the same way. There is a democracy there. But there is no guarantee that this will hold true if we discover new particles or new forces,” one of the lead researchers, Hassan Jawahery, from A rock fragment dubbed “Lamoose” is shown in this picture taken by the Mars Hand the University of Maryland in the US, said in a statement. “Lepton Lens Imager (MAHLI) on NASA’s Curiosity rover. Like other nearby rocks in a portion of the “Marias Pass” area of Mt. Sharp, Mars, it has unusually high concentrations of universality is truly enshrined in the Standard Model. If this silica. The high silica was first detected in the area by the Chemistry & Camera universality is broken, we can say that we’ve found evidence for (ChemCam) laser spectrometer. This rock was targeted for follow-up study by the non-standard physics.” MAHLI and the arm-mounted Alpha Particle X-ray Spectrometer (APXS). Credits: These results compliment a similar discovery from the 2012 NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS BaBar experiment conducted at Stanford’s Linear Accelerator “We found an outcrop named Missoula where the two rock Center (SLAC). The BaBar experiment also focused on B meson types came together, but it was quite small and close to the ground. decay; however, unlike the LHC which smashes protons together, We used the robotic arm to capture a dog’s-eye view with the the SLAC used colliding electrons to drive their experiment. MAHLI camera, getting our nose right in there,” said Ashwin Despite the different methods, having two experiments with Vasavada, the mission’s project scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion similar results is key, and suggestive of real physics. Laboratory in Pasadena, California. MAHLI is short for Mars Further experimentation is needed to confirm the latest Hand Lens Imager. findings. In April of this year, the LHC reopened following a two The rover had reached this area after a steep climb up a year hiatus for upgrades. Since the LHC came back online, 20-foot (6-meter) hill. Near the top of the climb, the ChemCam researchers have observed record-breaking energy levels, and the instrument fired its laser at the target Elk, and took a spectral team is confident that they will have a better chance of observing reading of its composition. more particle behavior that defies the Standard Model and “ChemCam acts like eyes and ears of the rover for nearby corroborates these findings. objects,” said Wiens. The rover had moved on before the Elk data were analyzed, so a U-turn was required to obtain more data. Upon its return, the rover was able to study a similar target, “Lamoose,” up close with the MAHLI camera and the arm-mounted Alpha Particle X-ray Spectrometer (APXS). Curiosity has been working on Mars since early August 2012. It reached the base of Mount Sharp last year after fruitfully investigating outcrops closer to its landing site and then trekking to the mountain. The main mission objective now is to examine successively higher layers of Mount Sharp. Source: scitechdaily.com July 24, 2015 LHC Finds Particles Defying Standard Model By Amy Lynn With the help of CERN’s Large Hadron Collider (LHC), an international team of researchers have found evidence of “We are planning a range of other measurements. The LHCb something physicists have spent decades hoping for – subatomic experiment is taking more data during the second run right now,” particles behaving in a way that defies the Standard Model. In Jawahery stated in a statement. “Any knowledge from here on particle physics, the Standard Model is the best theory we have for helps us learn more about how the universe evolved to this point. explaining how particles behave and interact; however, it is For example, we know that dark matter and dark energy exist, but incomplete as it does not account for gravity. By using the LHC, we don’t yet know what they are or how to explain them. Our researchers hope to observe conditions that violate the standard result could be a part of that puzzle [...] If we can demonstrate that rules of particle physics. there are missing particles and interactions beyond the Standard The team of physicists looked at data collected from the Model, it could help complete the picture.” LHC’s first run from 2011-2012 – a run made famous for the The findings will be published in the September 4 issue of discovery of the Higgs boson – and found the evidence they were Physical Review Letters. looking for: Leptons defying the Standard Model. Leptons are a Source: iflscience.com Aug. 30, 2015 October 2015 Bulletin of the New York Mineralogical Club 19

2015-16 Club Calendar Date Event Location Remarks & Information

Holiday Inn Midtown Theme: NYC Subway / Garnet; Lecture; October 14 Annual Gala Banquet Manhattan Silent Auction; Awards; Garnet Game

Special Lecture: Fluorescence (H. Heitner) & November 11 Meeting at 6:45 Holiday Inn Midtown Manhattan IYL Special Demo (R. Bostwick / T. Hecht)

Special Lecture: John Sanfaçon – December 9 Meeting at 6:45 Holiday Inn Midtown Manhattan “Synthetic Minerals”

Special Lecture: Mitch Portnoy – “Pretty in January 13, 2016 Meeting at 6:45 Holiday Inn Midtown Manhattan Pink - The Joys of Tennessee Marble”; 2nd Annual Chinese Auction!

February 10 Meeting at 6:45 Holiday Inn Midtown Manhattan Annual Members’ Show & Tell

Special Lecture: Alfredo Petrov – March 9 Meeting at 6:45 Holiday Inn Midtown Manhattan “Flint from the Netherlands”

Special Lecture: Dr. Roland Scal – April 13 Meeting at 6:45 Holiday Inn Midtown Manhattan “Microscopy of Gemstones”

May 11 Meeting at 6:45 Holiday Inn Midtown Manhattan TBD 2015-16 Show or Event Calendar Date Event Location Remarks & Information

Annual Gem & Mineral Beals Community Cent., Stafford Hosted by the Bristol Gem & Mineral Club; October 17-18 Show Ave., Bristol, Connecticut www.Bristolgem.org for information

October 23-25 AFMS Convention/Show Austin, Texas Bulletin Article Contest Results

Stamford Society Gem, Eastern Greenwich Civic Center, Kids Activities, Door Prizes, Train Access November 7-8 Mineral & Fossil Show Old Greenwich, Connecticut from NYC

Fall New York City Gem, Grand Ballroom, Holiday Inn 20+ diverse dealers; lectures; wholesale November 14-15 Mineral & Fossil Show Midtown, New York City section (with credentials); Club Booth

Spring New York City Gem, Grand Ballroom, Holiday Inn 20+ diverse dealers; lectures; wholesale March 5-6, 2016 Mineral & Fossil Show Midtown, New York City section (with credentials); Club Booth

NY/NJ Mineral, Gem & New Jersey Expo Center, Edison, April 8-10 Exhibits, dealers, lectures, specialty area Fossil Show New Jersey

July 27- Aug 1 AFMS Convention/Show Albany, Oregon Article Contest Results; Details to Follow

October 21-23 EFMLS Convention/Show Rochester, New York Article Contest Results; Details to Follow

Fall New York City Gem, Grand Ballroom, Holiday Inn 20+ diverse dealers; lectures; wholesale November 12-13 Mineral & Fossil Show Midtown, New York City section (with credentials); Club Booth Also, for more extensive national and regional show information check online: AFMS Website: http://www.amfed.org and/or the EFMLS Website: http://www.amfed.org/efmls The New York Mineralogical Club, Inc. Founded in 1886 for the purpose of increasing interest in the science of mineralogy through the collecting, describing and displaying of minerals and associated gemstones. * * * Website: http://www.newyorkmineralogicalclub.org * * * P.O. Box 77, Planetarium Station, New York City, New York, 10024-0077 2015 Executive Committee President Mitchell Portnoy 46 W. 83rd Street #2E, NYC, NY, 10024-5203 e-mail: [email protected]...... (212) 580-1343 Vice President Anna Schumate 27 E. 13th Street, Apt. 5F, NYC, NY, 10003 e-mail: [email protected]. . (646) 737-3776 Secretary Vivien Gornitz 101 W. 81st Street #621, NYC, NY, 10024 e-mail: [email protected] ...... (212) 874-0525 Treasurer Diane Beckman 265 Cabrini Blvd. #2B, NYC, NY, 10040 e-mail: [email protected]...... (212) 927-3355 Bulletin Editor Mitchell Portnoy 46 W. 83rd Street #2E, NYC, NY, 10024-5203 e-mail: [email protected]...... (212) 580-1343 Membership Mark Kucera 25 Cricklewood Road S., Yonkers, NY, 10704 e-mail: [email protected]...... (914) 423-8360 Director Alla Priceman 84 Lookout Circle, Larchmont, NY, 10538 e-mail: [email protected]...... (914) 834-6792 Director Richard Rossi 6732 Ridge Boulevard, Brooklyn, NY, 11220 e-mail: [email protected]...... (718) 745-1876 Director Sam Waldman 2801 Emmons Ave, #1B, Brooklyn, NY, 11235 e-mail: [email protected]...... (718) 332-0764

Dues: $25 Individual, $35 Family per calendar year. Meetings: 2nd Wednesday of every month (except July and August) at the Holiday Inn Midtown Manhattan, 57th Street between Ninth and Tenth Avenues, New York City, New York. Meetings will generally be held in one of the conference rooms on the Mezzanine Level. The doors open at 5:30 P.M. and the meeting starts at 6:45 P.M. (Please watch for any announced time / date changes.) This bulletin is published monthly by the New York Mineralogical Club, Inc. The submission deadline for each month’s bulletin is the 20th of the preceding month. You may reprint articles or quote from this bulletin for non-profit usage only provided credit is given to the New York Mineralogical Club and permission is obtained from the author and/or Editor. The Editor and the New York Mineralogical Club are not responsible for the accuracy or authenticity of information or information in articles accepted for publication, nor are the expressed opinions necessarily those of the officers of the New York Mineralogical Club, Inc.

Next Club Event – 129th Anniversary Banquet – Wednesday, October 14, 2015 Mezzanine , Holiday Inn Midtown Manhattan (57th St. & Tenth Avenue), New York City Special Lecture: Dr. Charles Merguerian — “Geology and Mineralogy of the Second Avenue Subway”

New York Mineralogical Club, Inc. Mitchell Portnoy, Bulletin Editor P.O. Box 77, Planetarium Station New York City, New York 10024-0077

FIRST CLASS

George F. Kunz Founder