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Tucson Gem and Mineral Society, Inc. CK TALK RO Volume 9 - Issue 4 March - April 2015 President’s Page Thanks to all the volunteers that gave so much of their time and energy to make the 61st Tucson Gem and Mineral Show® another huge success. It is amazing what can be done when a committed group of individuals, with a common cause, put their hearts into a project. Every year this commitment is justification for the best gem and mineral show in the world. Now as we move on into Spring we have other issues we must address. In May we will be awarding our scholarship to some lucky student. If you qualify, please submit a statement of your eligibility and interest during the next month to Tucson Gem and Mineral Society, Inc. the Society Office. The Board of Directors will 2014 - 2015 Officers & Directors be meeting and making a decision on the President: Diane Braswell ph. 520.574.1942 recipient in April. Let us hear from you, and Vice President: Mark Marikos, ph. 520.360.4264 Good Luck!!! Recording Secty.: Marilyn Reynolds, ph. 520.296.0688 Treasurer: Ellen Alexander, ph. 520.743.9383 Also, my friends, election is coming up in May Membership Secty.: Alrene Hibben, ph. 520.529.6502 and it will be time to elect a few new Board Director: Madison Barkley, ph. 804.761.8324 members. A nomination committee will be Director: Dick Gottfried, ph. 520-584-0211 asked to formulate a slate of officers to present Director: Jo Anne Sam, ph. 520-403-0117 to you at the May meeting. Please give some Past President: Mark Ascher, ph. 520.886.0397 thought to joining the Board and adding some Librarians: Robert & Elaine Royer new and exciting plans for our Society. So enough business. All of you must get out in ROCK TALK Editor: P. R. McClain this wonderful Arizona weather and experience ROCK TALK Assistant Editor: R. Marques the desert wildflowers at their best. I am told ROCK TALK Reporters/Contributors: Mark Ascher, Anna this is going to be a really good year. We are all Domitrovic, Peter Megaw, Diane Braswell, Kerry Towe, Donn Cuson, Helen Serras-Herman, Paul Harter, Ellen Alexander. so blessed to be here and enjoy the experience of a 70 degree winter, so put down the drudgery of housework and yard work and live a little. Put ROCK TALK is the official publication on your boots, get out there, take a camera and and is © 2015 by the Tucson Gem and come back with some wonderful memories !!! Mineral Society, Inc. to reproduce ma- terial contained herein for non-profit use only. All commercial and other use requires written permission from the Tucson Gem and Mineral Society, Inc. Page 2 ROCK TALK TGMS General Meeting - January 5, 2015 PROGRAM: Speaker: Anthony J. Albini Presentation: Thirty Five Years of Collecting Connecticut Minerals. Photographs by Harold Moritz. OLD BUSINESS: Approval of Minutes: November 3, December 1 minutes approved. Field Trips: No club trips to Ray due to management. January 17, St. David trip to collect selenite. Suitable for all vehicles. Parking is a quarter mile from the collecting site. No need for sledge hammers/chisels; long handled garden tools recommended. Meeting at Denny’s in Benson at 9:30 a.m. to caravan. Must sign a release form. Silver Bell Mine, January 31st. Meet at 8:30 a.m. at ASARCO mine office. Nuevo Coral and Mission in February. Show: Volunteer list is being sent to individual chairs, who will call volunteers individually. February meeting is the first Monday, not the second. DOOR PRIZE WINNERS: Ortrud Schuh,(refreshments), Stephan Koek, Donna Pugh, Christina Marikos, Andy Herman Respectfully submitted, Christina Marikos Recording Secretary pro tem Let’s start thinking “BLUE” for 2016! Grandviewite Cyanotrichite Photo by: Ken Don Volume 9 - Issue 4 ROCK TALK TGMS General Meeting - February 2, 2015 The General Meeting of the Tucson Gem and Mineral New TGMS website: Jerry Glazman commented that Society was called to order by President Diane the website is spectacular and complimented Pat Braswell at 7:30 p.m. Visitors and new members McClain on the design. were recognized and welcomed to the meeting. Show Publicity: A thirty minute show about the PROGRAM: Dr. Marcus Origlieri presented Tucson Gem & Mineral Show® which appeared “Finding New Minerals at the Mineral Show and in the Sunday on Tucson TV was reported to be excellent. Laboratory.” In 2011 at the Denver Show, Marcus acquired a pink crystal specimen suggesting Mn2+. DRAWING FOR DOOR PRIZES: Jo Anne Sam, as Initial powder diffraction showed results similar to meeting host, made the first choice. Drawing winners ferrobustamite, but were not a match. Raman were Deborah Alderman, Pete Peterson, Marilyn spectroscopy results were in between pectolite and Reynolds and Rick DeMoss. serandite. Single crystal x-ray diffraction also placed the mineral between pectolite and serandite. The The meeting was adjourned at 8:50 p.m. specimen was brought out of the Wessels Mine in the Kalahari manganese field in South Africa by Marshall Respectfully submitted, Sussman. The new mineral has been named Marilyn Reynolds, Recording Secretary marshallsussmanite. The mineral has been added to the RRUFF Project website which contains an integrated database of Raman spectra, X-ray diffraction and chemistry data for minerals. Marcus showed numerous new minerals and advised the audience to look for “weird” minerals, often occurring with other rare minerals. Micro photos by: Ron Gibbs BREAK: Thanks to Jo Anne Sam for providing cookies and vegetables for refreshments. OLD BUSINESS: Field Trips: Jerry Glazman reported that the St. David trip for selenite had 20 participants and everyone found something they really liked. Kerry Towe announced than Donn Cuson will lead a field trip to Ruby (Nuevo Coral) February 21st for geodes and quartz. There is a 15 person limit. So many people signed up on a waiting list that another trip will probably go in April. The Mission Mine trip on February 27th will go to the old mine dumps by Daisy Mine. Participants may collect a five gallon bucket plus backpack. Hard hat and glasses are required. Be at the mine office by 8:50 a.m. to sign mine forms. Transportation to collection site will be in mine vehicles. There is a waiting list for this trip also. NEW BUSINESS: Micro photo by: Donations of books are needed by Friends of the Ken Don Pima County Public Library located at 220 N. Country Club Road in Tucson. Show Volunteer Packets will be ready Wednesday. If a parking pass is missing, turn in the parking receipt to the office and the $8.00 fee will be reimbursed. Page 4 ROCK TALK “GRAND PRIZE GIVEAWAY!” 2015 “Grand Prize Winner” Dipti Tillu, from Oro Valley was the ‘lucky” young lady that won the “Grand Prize” this year. You can tell by the look on her face that she was pleased as one person could be over her good fortune. Jack Wixon and Penny Savoie did another great job of selecting the item for the “Grand Prize,” a 14kt. ruby and diamond bracelet. We think that everyone has a fun time being involved in this …. and we can’t wait to see what the “Grand Prize” is going to be for 2016! Volume 9 - Issue 4 ROCK TALK Minerals of Western Europe - Wrap Up! What a difference a week shakily). Bob Melzer, Ellen makes! The house-guests are Alexander, Richard Nassi, gone, specimens are back in Dave Witwer, Tim McClain, place from exhibits in Best of Marilyn Reynolds, Ruby Theme, Breast Cancer Munson, Larry Klement and Survivors, Quartz Thumbnails Donna Rae Klement and Blue Minerals, and the managed to get all of our new brain-fog from three weeks of cases put together again, (completely voluntary) sleep which was quite a job given deprivation is starting to lift. the heft of the panels! [We Sadly, this year’s avatar of the NEED some younger and most ephemeral world-class mineral museum in stronger members to pitch in existence is history, but the images of all those great for this job next year, so let exhibits linger in our (recovering) memories … and Ken Robert and Elaine know Don’s photos! ASAP if you can help. Our “Minerals of Western Europe” theme was played to Wayne’s lining crew (Bob & Jeannette Barnes, Denise by over 50 museum and private exhibitors representing Collins, Don & Sue Feyrer, Jerry & Anneliese Foley, Larry over 14 countries … with 8 from various parts of the UK. & Donna Rae Klement, Donna Pugh, Janet Reue, Ted & Exhibits ranged from some Janet Rupp) again managed to get snappy looking liners of the oldest mineral not only into the cases that requested them…but specimens known (1500’s managed to save set-up day for the usual pile of guests belonging to Georges who “forgot” that they needed liners…or showed up with Agricola), some of the best liners made for our old cases. (Speaking of the old cases, Swiss minerals ever seen Pat and Linda pulled off a coup and found a good home (the Jordanite and for all of them…plus the liners … In Mexico! They’ll be Anatase were amazing, distributed to schools for Show and Tell displays!!!) not to mention all the Gwindels), great suites of Northern England fluorites (Rogerley and Greenbank cases), and German classics (Krugerhaus, Smithsonian and National Museum of Canada). The “Great Quartz Face- Off” was also a great success with over 20 cases devoted to quartz in all its forms and colors (Gene’s amethyst “Y” had everyone asking where the MCA was … and did I mention all the Add to all of the above the great job John and Nancy did Gwindels?).