Santa Rosa, California

Letter from Your President June, 2019 Volume 43, Number 6 Happy June everyone! We are swinging into a busy time of the year with lots th Editor: Jolene C happening over the next few months. On June 8 we will have our annual picnic. [email protected] The picnic is in lieu of a June meeting. The club will be providing burgers and all the fixings. Other than burgers it’s potluck. Please bring side dishes and/or IN THIS ISSUE: desserts to share with all. Don’t forget we will be judging entries in our Presidents Message 1 thunderegg challenge. You still have time to put the finishing touches on your Upcoming Meeting Notes 2 creations. Look for an email for particulars about the location and timing. Join the Board 2 Board Meeting 3 Unfortunately, atypical atmospheric rivers have triggered high water, a forecast of Cab of Month 3

Word Scramble 3 heavy rain and thus a cancellation of our planned May field trip. Who would have The … 4 known 2-years ago in the midst of our drought that this would be the case? All

Lithium Mining 5 that water is triggering exposure of a new bounty for responsible collection from May Mtg. Update 5 Mother Nature. Tim has some plans for a June fieldtrip on 6/29 that we will share Upcoming Shows 6 Word Scramble Answer 6 shortly. Rock Comics 6 Chert 7 It’s also time to get real about our show. At our show meeting last night we spent Ken Evans Rest in Peace 8 lots of quality time identifying our support needs, the tactics/strategies for Show Volunteer Ops. 9 engaging all of you to fill those roles and then how we best prepare everyone for Club Info 10 the roles to be played at the show. We all need to remember our commitment to supporting the show by doing what we can. Please find a way to clear your calendars for the October 19/20 weekend. If everyone does their part it will

Next General Meeting ensure best possible outcomes for our club and our public stakeholders. Plus it ensure we don’t burn out our core group of members who we rely on to always

June 8, 2019 keep humming along. So please, ask what you can do to help. Be ready for us to Howarth Park come tapping on your shoulder if you don’t.  630 Summerfield Road I hope to see all of you at the picnic! Santa Rosa 12:00 pm Ken July Club Meeting –June 26 7:30 pm PROGRAM: Rescheduled because of the 4th of July

Picnic Have Fun!! Thunder Egg Challenge Be Safe and Sane!! Rocko http://www.geologypage.com/2016/10/thunderegg.html

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June Picnic Meeting

**Remember your Thunder Egg Challenge Entry**

*Potluck lunch – bring a dish to share *ROCKO – Always a favorite activity *Feel free to bring your latest rock discovery to share with folks.

***July Club Meeting rescheduled to June 26***

Nicole Meyer will be speaking about Volcanic Activity in our area.

Lost Wax Casting Play Day June 14 – 6:30 – 9:30 pm June 15 – 9 am – 5 pm

For more information Contact Heidi – 707-291-8904

It’s time to STEP UP and Join the Board! Club elections will be here before you know it and I don’t want you to miss out on your chance to become more involved with your club. You are all encouraged to take on a Board Position or at least a Committee Job. There will be 2 positions that need new people next year. TREASURER: The current treasurer has held the job for 2 years and that is the limit according to our Bylaws. * The treasurer attends the General and Board meetings. * They take in and deposit all of the monies for the club. *Pay the bills and file simple tax reports. (not like personal taxes at all) *Prepare monthly financial reports.

Time spent on this job, not including meetings, is 4 – 6 hours/month.

CFMS DIRECTOR: Our current CFMS Rep is moving out of state.

*The CFMS Rep receives monthly newsletters from CFMS and reports to the club what is happening with CFMS. *They are encouraged to attend at least one of the two annual meetings. *They are the communication liaison between us and CFMS.

If you have questions about either job, please ask Jolene about the Treaurer or Heidi about CFMS. It’s time to step up and take your turn for your club

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Board Meeting Cab of the Month The May meeting kicked off our first ever Cab-of-the-Month contest. The April Board Meeting There were 8 entries this first time. They were all lovely. The members voted and choses this as the winner. This Cab was created and Will be held entered by Erica T. Congratulations Erica! June 19, The next contest will be at the July ~7:00~ meeting. Therefore, any cab created in May At the Workshop Or June will be eligible for the competition.

Can you find the hidden crystal? If you spot it, fill out the form at the next General Meeting. You will be entered Looking forward to seeing some more beautiful creations! into a drawing for a prize. Good Luck!

Rocks and Word Scramble The Mineral…. Instructions: Unscramble the letters to find the rock and mineral words from the list This month I am featuring a below. rock instead of a mineral. I have had to get my eruftlio ______information from Geology.com https://geology.com/rocks/chert.shtml as minerals.net did not have lseatarab ______extensive information about Chert.

grnaiet ______I hope you enjoy and even learn a thing or two. Feel free to visit the site for Dioeprt ______information on other minerals.

Rtuzqa ______Jolene

Cepimu ______

Eubixat ______

Ooelimtd ______Thunderegg http://www.ge Ltneoesim ______ologypage.com /2016/10/thun deregg.html Iietobt ______

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CHERT—A ROCK, NOT A MINERAL Chert is a sedimentary rock composed of microcrystalline or cryptocrystalline , the mineral form of (SiO2). It occurs as nodules, concretionary masses, and as layered deposits. Chert breaks with a conchoidal fracture, often producing very sharp edges. Early people took advantage of how chert breaks and used it to fashion cutting tools and weapons. "Chert" and "flint" are names used for the same material. Both are varieties of . Chert can form when microcrystals of silicon dioxide grow within soft sediments that will become limestone or chalk. In these sediments, enormous numbers of silicon dioxide microcrystals grow into irregularly-shaped nodules or concretions when dissolved silica is transported to the formation site by the movement of groundwater. If the nodules or concretions are numerous, they can grow large enough to merge with one another to form a nearly continuous layer of chert within the sediment mass. Chert formed in this manner is a chemical sedimentary rock. Some of the silicon dioxide in chert is thought to have a biological origin. In some parts of the ocean and in shallow seas, large numbers of diatoms and radiolarians live in the water. These organisms have a glassy silica skeleton. Some sponges also produce "spicules" that are composed of silica. When these organisms die, their silica skeletons fall to the bottom, dissolve, recrystallize, and might become part of a chert nodule. In some areas the sedimentation rate of these materials is high enough to produce rock layers that are thick and laterally extensive. Chert formed in this way could be considered a biological sedimentary rock. Chert is a microcrystalline silicon dioxide (SiO2). As chert nodules or concretions grow within a sediment mass, their growth can incorporate significant amounts of the surrounding sediment as inclusions. These inclusions can impart a distinctive color to the chert. What Color is Chert? Chert occurs in a wide variety of colors. Continuous color gradients exist between white and black or between cream and brown. Green, yellow, orange, and red cherts are also common. The darker colors often result from inclusions of mineral matter and organic matter. Abundant iron oxides in the chert can produce a red color. The name "" is frequently used for these reddish cherts. Abundant organic material can produce gray or black chert. The name "flint" is often used in reference to the darker colors of chert. Chert has very few uses today; however, it was a very important tool-making material in the past. Chert has two properties that made it especially useful: 1) it breaks with a conchoidal fracture to form very sharp edges, and, 2) it is very hard (7 on the Mohs Scale). The edges of broken chert are sharp and tend to retain their sharpness because chert is a very hard and very durable rock. Thousands of years ago people discovered these properties of chert and learned how to intentionally break it to produce cutting tools such as knife blades, arrowheads, scrapers, and ax heads. Tons of chert fragments have been found at locations where these objects were produced in what was one of the earliest manufacturing activities of people. Chert is not found everywhere. It was a precious commodity that early people traded and transported long distances. As early as 8000 BC, the people of what are now England and France dug shafts up to 300 feet deep into layers of soft chalk to mine chert nodules. These are some of the oldest underground mining operations ever discovered. Chert is a very hard material that produces a spark when it is struck against steel. The heat from this spark can be used to start fires. A "flintlock" is an early firearm in which a charge of gunpowder is ignited by a flint hammer striking a metal plate (see photo). A variety of metamorphosed chert known as "novaculite" has a porous, even texture that makes it useful as a sharpening stone. The Arkansas Novaculite Formation has become world famous as a source of high-quality sharpening stones and novaculite abrasive products OTHER NAMES: To many geologists, the term chert includes rocks frequently called flint and hornstone as well as some jasper. Some chert comprises units with extents that have led to their being given formal stratigraphic unit designations (see Appendix B, Glossary). Two examples are the Fort Payne Chert of the southern Appalachians and the Huntersville Chert of West Virginia, Tennessee, Kentucky, and Virginia. For the several terms that have been applied to chert, see Hart (1927) as well as those that follow: *"Caviar " - a misnomer sometimes applied to oolitic chert in the marketplace. *Depalite - name given to an olive-green to khaki-tan colored chert from Estill County, Kentucky. *Flint - white, gray, nearly black, or brown chert widely used in former times for tools and weapons (e.g., arrow heads). Flint projectiles, knives and scraping tools, dating to stone age cultures have been found at widespread sites in, for example, the Near East and are said to have been made and used "as early as 250,000 years ago at sites in the el-Kowm basin, northeast of Palmyra, Syria" (Bergman, Azoury and Seeden, 2012). Flint has also been called firestone, apparently because when struck it gives off sparks, which have been used for such things as igniting tinder to trigger flintlock rifles. Indeed, the ancient Greeks called flint pyrites lithos, and today's German word for flint is feurerstein (both words that translate to firestone in English). *Hornstone - term sometimes given, especially in the past, to some cherts. This application is unfortunate because hornstone has also been applied rather widely to other, quite different rocks such as hornfels.Ice stone - Ojibway name for white flint. *Mozarkite - a multicolored chert that occurs sporadically in Missouri and in the Ozark Mountains of Arkansas. *Novaculite - a massive white chertlike rock that very likely represents low-grade metamorphism of a precursor chert; a good example occurs in the Devonian-Mississippian stratigraphic sequence in the vicinity of Hot Springs, Arkansas. Other names given to this rock include Arkansas stone, galantine, Ouachita stone, razor stone, and Wayside stone. Some novaculite is characterized by light pink, bluish or violet hues, and that which is has been brecciated comprises rather attractive rough material for fashioning diverse decorative pieces. *Oolitic (or pisolitic) chert - these rocks from several localities have been tumbled, cut and polished as cabochons for jewelry; fashioned into diverse ornaments; and carved into such things as fetishes. *Utica jewelstone - name applied to a white chert with gray and brown banding from LaSalle County, Illinois. *Zonite - name used locally -- e.g., in Arizona -- for chert and diversely colored jasper (http://stoneplus.cst.cmich.edu/chert.htm#chert)

This information makes me second guess what I have called “Chert”. It would seem that most cherts are found in the more south eastern states. I feel like I need to do some testing to see if what I call chert really is…or is it really a less beautiful Jasper? But…if you read the next article about chert…your faith will be restored…

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The search for new geologic sources

LOOKING FOR LITHIUM Flamingos of lithium could power a clean future

feast on tiny shrimp in the saline There’s a lot to learn about where and how to mine the lightest metal on the lagoons of Chile’s Salar de Atacama. Lithium and copper ming operations periodic table BY CAROLYN GRAMLING 2:09PM, MAY 7, 2019 compete with the protected birds for the region’s scant water resources. Magazine issue: Vol. 195, No. 9, May 11, 2019, p. 40

“The future of lithium is electrifying. Cars and trucks powered by lithium batteries rather than fossil fuels are, to many people, the future of transportation. Rechargeable lithium batteries are also crucial for storing energy produced by solar and wind power, clean energy sources that are a beacon of hope for a world worried about the rapidly changing global climate. To read the entire article, go Prospecting for new sources of lithium is booming, fueled by expectations that demand to: for lightweight, rechargeable lithium batteries — to power electric vehicles, cell phones, laptops and renewable energy storage facilities — is about to skyrocket.” https://www.sciencenews.org/ This article goes into the three different methods of mining Lithium, pegmatite article/search-new-geologic- extraction, brine mining and clay mining. The brine mining is the least expensive method, sources-lithium-could-power- however it uses a lot of water which can cause problems for the environment in ways other than toxic waste. clean-future?tgt=nr

“Most of the world’s lithium sources (orange) are pegmatite mines in Australia and Thank you Doug C. for another China and brine mines in Chile and . But planned mining ventures (blue) mean look into the science of our that the lithium rush will soon spread to the United States, Canada and Mexico.” world. Read the entire article to see where future Lithium mines are planned.

Did you miss the May Meeting? VP Kristin led us through a short business meeting with information about the

upcoming Picnic meeting, Field trip and Cab of the Month contest. Then, all were released to peruse and purchase from our members Sales Tables. There was a good variety of product…rough, slabs, specimens, Cabs and jewelry. Many of

us went home with new treasures. Maybe we’ll see some back at the Cab of the Month contest… The meeting ended with Refreshments.

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Dues are Due If your name is listed below it means it’s time

to renew your membership. Please fill out a Upcoming Rock Shows membership application and mail to the PO It’s never too early to plan a trip… Box, turn it in at the general meeting or drop ~No local shows June/July~ it off at the workshop August 3 - 4: SAN FRANCISCO, CA Past due: Albert C, Conny A/Susan W, September 21 - 22: CHICO, CA Cynthia M, Dana/Drew E, Steve S/Lynn M September 28 - 29: LODI, CA

Current due: Ben G, Gina/William M, October 19 – 20: Santa Rosa, CA John H, Peter/Nancy L, Shawnda H, Put this on your Calendar NOW! Steve/Sue R, Tim D For mor info about shows go to: http://www.cfmsinc.org/shows/cfmsshow.htm Due end of June: Rachael D.

Be sure to get your Rock Scramble Close-up of blue/green chert bands Newsletter article to Jolene by Answers the 3rd Wednesday of the

month to be included in the alabaster granite upcoming issue. bauxite limestone Looking for interesting biotite peridot articles about rocks, geology, a great trip you took, etc. dolomite pumice

Send info to … fluorite quartz [email protected] Thank you! alabaster granite

bauxite limestone biotite peridot dolomite pumice

fluorite quartz

Ruby

Rock Comics by Steve Breazele For more Rock Comics go to: https://www.facebook.com/rockcomics/

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Chert – the birthstone of our species byEarthKnight Nov 13

https://writingfornature.wordpress.com/2013/11/13/chert-the-birthstone-of-our-species/

“Few types of stone have as long lasting and intimate relationship with our species as do those of the chert family. Humans have been using this hard, glassy stone continuously to make tools since the time of Homo habilis, some 1.5-2 million years ago. Our neolithic ancestors mined chert using fire to crack the stone … at least 33,000 years ago at the Nazlet Khater site in Egypt chert was extracted from subterranean mines, and flint (a type of chert) was used before we had matches to make fire, today we use crushed chert as the abrasive on some sandpapers, and to extract exquisitely detailed micro-fossils from the distant past. “

This article speaks specifically about the cherts at the Marin Headlands as well as generic information about chert. There is also a video of an experiment that was done in Melsvik trying to prove that the ancient peoples used fire to separate layers of chert to be used for tools.

It is a fairly short but interesting article that describes and helps to understand more of the rock that is so prevalent in our area.

Radiolarite chert cliff showing soft folds and a sharp fault-line cut (Marin Headlands)

“We have been using chert for nearly as long as we have been using tools, close to 2 million years now with no sign of slowing down. If our species had a birthstone it would probably be chert.”

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It is with a heavy heart that we say goodbye to one of our long time members.

Ken was the last of the club’s Life members. He led a long and varied life. He served in the military, worked at a number of different jobs, was the creator of a special polishing wheel that would clean up metal in a jiffy, he was a collector of rocks, a photographer and a friend. Ken was an excellent photographer. He took beautiful photos of land and sea. I think some of my favorites though were of the ocean, with the waves pounding the rocks. Ken lived a simple life when I knew him. He was our neighbor at the SRMGS workshop. That is where he did his manufacturing and kept his rocks. He had quite a collection of rocks.

About 5 years ago, Ken got a travel trailer and moved up to the Eureka area. He lived there amongst the redwoods. He had a lovely family and lots of friends, Ken Evans that I got to meet at his Celebration of life. He will be missed. Rest in Peace my friend.

There is still time to get in on the planning of this year’s Show. Below is a list of jobs that we are looking for help with. Some will take a bit of time…Others not so much, but all need to be done.

Please Note… We are here to guide you through these jobs. We do not expect new people to just automatically know what to do. So we are here to help you be successful. WE ARE HERE FOR YOU!

If you want more information before you comit, just ask a Committee member. Thank you in advance for being a bigger part of the show!

SHOW COMMITTEE ~Jolene – 707-849-9551~ Heidi H…Kristin T…Steve S…Janyce V…Cindy R…Conny A…Ken D…Erica T

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Stand Alone Show Jobs 2019

Job Description Volunteer Small newspapers--Contact small newspapers around the county--Russian River Times, the Gazette, The Bohemian, etc. see if we can get an ad in or be listed in their Event’s Calendar.

Social Media--Keep social media updated with info and notices -- Facebook, Craigslist, etc. We should all be doing this…put it on your facebook and Instagram pages…let’s get the word out!

Member Volunteers---Coordinate volunteers. Make sure we fill each time slot and category and remind members as show date approaches. This is not as daunting as it sounds. We have a sign up board already, it just needs to get filled in…

Photographer --take photos and videos of our show to be used in a video to advertise the following year. More than 1 please. It is my hope that many people will take pictures at the show and share them so that we can put together a video to put on our web site to show everyone how fantastic our show is. We would like video as well as still photos. We would like you to turn them in on a flash drive after the show.

Silent Auction/Rock Sale table--arrange for cleaning and sorting of rocks before the show. Be sure there are plenty of people manning it. This job needs some prep work. You will need to go through the rocks that we have and decide which to bring to the show. It is usually easy to get a few people to help with this. It is ss a good idea to set a date early in the year for this one, in case it might take 2 days.

Kids Area--Bracelet Making--Acquire supplies for activities…beads, elastic cord, scissors, etc. Train volunteers in how to do it. Taking on this job does not mean you have to do it the whole show. We need someone to assemble and coordinate.

Kids Area--Rock Painting--Acquire supplies for activity…flat stones(field trip), acrylic paints, spray sealer, etc. Make some samples. Train volunteers in how to do it. Taking on this job does not mean you have to do it the whole show. We need someone to assemble and coordinate.

Table Covering Friday--Organize a crew to cover tables with rolled vinyl covering. Purchase blue painters tape. Check by

June to see that we have enough vinyl for the show. Vinyl is being ordered. Just need someone there to organize volunteers and purchase tape. Need to read the table layout to ensure the tables are set up properly.

Wheel of Rock--Make sure the wheel is in working order. Gather prizes (mostly tumbled stones) It would be great if someone could do a bit of maintenance on the wheel well before the show. Put it together and see if it nee ds more/different bracing. Make sure we have the proper fasteners to put it togethers.

Membership Table--Make a display of club activities: photo board, field trip rocks found, class show & tell, etc. Have plenty of membership applications and information sheets. Train members in what to do at this station. Looking to specifically man this table this year. So we need a coordinator to pull things together to really show off what our club is about.

Set-Up on Friday—Be the one to answer questions about what goes where and what needs to be done. This will be an apprentice job the first year I suppose as it is difficult to answer question that you don’t yet know the answer to. Looking for someone to learn those answers to carry on a successful setup.

Advertising to Schools—Contact school districts well before the show to inquire if we may send postcards or digital advertising to their students. Organize post cards to be delivered as necessary. Many Santa Rosa schools were contacted last year. It would be great to contact Petaluma and Sebastopol schools for this year as well.

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Santa Rosa Mineral and Gem Society, Inc. Northern Californian's Rockhound Hangout for Sonoma County The Santa Rosa Mineral and Gem Society is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization formed for the purpose of increasing the

knowledge and understanding of the science pertaining to minerals, gems, and other similar materials; to the art of cutting, grinding and polishing those materials; to the classification of minerals and rocks; and to encourage and assist Junior

Members in furthering their interest in mineralogy, archaeology, paleontology, geology and related subjects. The Santa Rosa Mineral & Gem Society is a proud member of: American Federation of Mineralogical Societies (AFMS) http://www.amfed.org

California Federation of Mineralogical Societies (CFMS) http://cfmsinc.org/

Board Members 2019 President: Ken D Vice President: Kristin T.

Secretary: Joshua Treasurer: Jolene C. Federation Rep: Heidi H. Past President: Conny A. Director/Shop Foreman: Andy H. Director/Field Trips: Tim D. Director/Activities: Cindy R …….. Mailing Address Workshop Location Workshop Hours Monday Nights 7:30 – 10 pm SRMGS Tuesday Nights 7:30 – 10 pm 5690 C Old Redwood HWY P.O. Box 1852 Santa Rosa, CA Saturdays 9:30 – noon –Jr. Precedence Windsor, CA 95492 Shop equipment is available for Member use ONLY.

(707) 596-3487 (Leave a The shop is located on the EAST Member Dues Message) side of Old Redwood Hwy, next to Individual -- $40/year Family -- $40/first member $20/each additional Website: the Auto Body, and about a half mile http://srmgs.org south of Shiloh Road Jr. Only ( 8 – 18 years) -- $20/year

Santa Rosa Mineral & Gem Society, Inc.

P.O. Box 1852

Windsor, CA 95492

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