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Santa Rosa Mineral and Gem Society
SRGMS Newsletter March 2010

Agate Beach Field Trip -Bolinas, CA

by Kevin Housh
It was a cold rainy morning. Almost everyone thought we were wasting our time and we were crazy to drive all the way down to Bolinas just to be rained on. But the plan was to go, come rain or shine. So we headed out. The drive was beautiful. As we drove the weather was both wet and dry. Spring had come to Marin Co. The grass was emerald green and everything seemed fresh and clean after the rain. We had scouted out the road the day before so we had no trouble with navigation on the way down. We stopped at Point Reyes Visitor Center near Olema. The center has a lot of good information about the area AND has clean restrooms. A few minutes later we reached the Agate beach Sate Park. It has a nice parking area close to the beach. The rain started to come again as we unloaded the cars. Undeterred we prepared for the trek down to the beach. The final stretch to get to the beach is a slippery mud slope and navigation across a small stream. We had planned to arrive just before the lowest tide and were successful. The beach was broad and long and swept in a long curve out and up to the north. We took a few minutes to take in the scenery, point to the destination in the distance, and we were off. We would have plenty of time to hunt for the illusive oil agates if the rain didn't wash us all in to the sea. We trekked up the beach pushing into a steady head wind, and the rain just kept coming and going. There were rocks trickling down off the bluff and the footing was very slippery near the tide pools. Determined, we continue until we got up to the creek. It's the only place we’d seen agates the day before. The walk was about a half a mile to the creek. Yesterday it seemed longer, but we were all over the beach trying to find pay dirt. Just as we reached the agate zone the wind picked up and the rain started blowing horizontally into our face's. But ,we had come all this way and we were going find some agates even if we drowned in the process.

We found agates everywhere around the creek. Near the bluffs and on the banks and mouth of the creek. Some were solid black and some were near clear. The coolest ones were (are) clear with dark spots like poke-a-dots. Most of the agates were small ,odd shapes about half an inch around. But some were over an inch. Everyone found some. We all found hot spots for our hunting. After all the earlier bluster, the rain finally gave up. We were rewarded with warm sun and light breezes. Our jackets came off and we crawled around on the sand or sat in the middle of "good spots" picking up agates as fast as we could find them. Everybody is going home happy with a sack of loot. We trickled back to the cars in small groups. The drive home was much clearer than the drive down. A couple of us stopped again at the Point Reyes Visitor Center. Cuvees of quail ran through the parking area of the park. We saw deer walking through as we drove out. I don't know yet how we will put the agate to use. We found plenty and there are still plenty for the next field trip. And that's the way I like it.

More photos on our Facebook fan page.


Membership Fees:

Individual $40
Family of 2 $60
Additional $20
Jr. no Parent $20

Membership is good for one year from day you joined. For more information call (707) 528-7610 Leave a Message.


Welcome New Members:
Elliot Erdman
Caleb Jordan-McDaniels

SRMGS Meetings:

We love to have more active members. Attend one or more of the SRMGS Meetings to get the most out of your membership! Meetings are held at the SRMGS Workshop.

General Educational Meeting

Wednesday March 3, 2010
7:30pm
Guest Speaker: Ben & Mike Fynan
Topic: Lassen National Park

Rough Rock & Members Sale Table at 7:00pm

SRMGS Board Meeting:
Thursday March 11, 2009
7:30


Announcements:
There will be a gold panning demo by Jim Hester before the general education meeting. Highly recommend anyone who is planning on attending March's Gold Panning field trip to be there to speak with Jim and get some hands on experience.


Whats new on our website?
To begin with, SRMGS now has two websites www.SRMGS.org as the main site, as well as www.Gem-N-i.org continuing to be the home for our monthly newsletter.

Make submissions to the site by emailing news (AT) gem-n-i(dot)org by the 16th of the month or catch me at the next meeting at the shop.


Tips & Tricks:
  • Cleaning Desert Roses Using a solution of "axion". Soak overnight, brush gently and rinse in clean water. This is an easy and safe method.
  • Cleaning Fluorite Fluorite should never be cleaned in warm or hot water because it will wash off the luster and it will never come back. A better idea is to put in 'muriatic acid' which will remove the calcite and then rinse in cold water. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    .: The Gem-N-I Revisited :.

    Vacationing in Bend, Oregon
    Mary Witing 9/75

    Harold and I left Santa Rosa, Friday July 4th. The trip up Hwy 5 was nice and warm enough to have the win- open. We drove till about midnight. We passed several rest stops but they were all full, finally Harold found a nice spot on top of the grade above McCloud. Saturday morning the view was beautiful, we were fascinated by the rang of mountains full of snow. We took pictures and did a lot of stopping and looking. In the sleepy little town of Shasta we bought a fire estinguisher before going on to Oregon.

    We arrived in Bend about 3:330pm, where we found a nice shady campground 3 miles north of Bend off Hwy 97. We thought we would eat outside but it started to pour, it sounded like gravel hitting the trailer, but it was hail, it was clear in a hour.

    We decided to ride around and find where Claire and Ray lived; they weren't home. We found the Eagles Lodge and Mosse Lodge met a nice couple who told us about a rock show in Madras and Prinville. Sunday morning we headed there but in both places the show was over and most of the cases were taken down. We met some people from Santa Barbara M & G society also Sebastopol Rock Shop. It was so hot and mucky we left without seeing too much. In the afternoon we went back to Bend, located Ray and Claire, went to the campground and hooked up the trailor and parked it in their yard. Claire and Ray treated us to a very nice mexican dinner then to Pilot butte, what a sight! One can see the Mountains Bachelor, The Sisters, Broken top, 3 Finger Jack, and Mt. Hood.

    Monday we went to Powell Butte for agate and jasper. We walked about a mile straight up and at the top were two big holes full of agate and jasper. Claire waited down in the truck as she injured her knee and couldn't walk on it. We visited Tomolo Falls where the melted snow comes down with termendus speed and a lot of noise. Tuesday we went to the Ice Caves. These caves were discoveredi n the 1700's by a man named Arnold when he was searching for his cattle and now the cave bears his name. Took a ride to Lava Butte; which is a volcano that errupted 2000 years ago. The look out station has interesting information about the volcano and why some of the lava is black or brown. At the bottom of the volcano just a short distance is the Deschutes Campground and we talked with the head ranger, in Sept the park is having an opening of a drama stage with sound effects, head and cold of an errupting volcano. Claire and Ray showed us so many facinating places and we enjoyed every one of them. We had such an intersting vacation its hard to explain it all in writing but i hope this will encourage others to write too.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    .: Kendra's travel highlights from Feb. :.

    I jump started the month with BIG aspirations to find amazing specimens at the Tuscan show. With a budget of $200 for 2 "kick ass" specimens, I packed the car and headed out leaving Windsor at 6pm. The first surprise came around 1am when I saw snow covered mountains in So. Cal, it was so beautiful, but unexpected & of course too dark for photos. I checked into a hotel a few hours outside of Quartzsite for a good nights sleep in anticipation of a whirlwind day involving a few hours to "look" at Quartzsite, see John K's booth, then drive to Tuscan!

    Quartzsite - hmmm how to explain this. Luckily for me, Jayson & Yanti had filled me in on what to expect and where exactly to go to find the "ROCK" crowd. I spent an hour quickly cruisin' thru tents and drooling over 3+ foot amethyst geodes, petrified stumps and telling myself "NO!". At the end of the first set of rows was a small tent marked "museum" which had about a dozen amazingly large pieces some which were over 6 feet tall. Without spending a dime, I headed a mile down the dirt road to where the "real rock" tailgate-event was at.

    By the time I hit the tailgate area, people were starting to pack up for the day. Apparently, the weather had taken a toll on a handful of vendors. Rumor was that the winds were so bad and caused such damange, that some of the larger vendors packed up and left early. I walked quickly through the aisles (it reminded me a lot of Snyders Pow Wow) making note of prices and specimens. My attention was caught by a lone tent out in the distance. I HAD to go there! As I was ohh'in and ahh'in over the specimens I told her I recently lost "custody" of the sepcimens and was starting to rebuild my collection. She shared in my experience and helped me pick out some amazing football sized Azurite rocks, beautiful fluorite, cute specimens and gave me prices I just couldnt pass up. 2 hours later, $200 spent & no more room in my trunk, I had a decision to make. Continue east and go over budget - or go home. I made the grown-up decision and headed home. :D (Mom is proud of me.)

    At this point, you may THINK I have lost my mind driving to AZ for 3 hours and driving back, let me confirm the insanity factor, as for within 10 days I was on a plane with 54 teenagers chaperoning them to NYC. I'll sum up the teen drama experience with two words: birth control! But thats another story, so what does this have to do with rocks you ask? We made a stop at the American Museum of Natural History in New York. Luckily, I was allowed to ditch the "little darlings" and study the specimens in the Hall of Minerals, Hall of Gems & the Hall of Meterorites. I felt like such a nerd being able to correctly identify specimens without assistance and throw out the occasional random facts about things to the curious. I spent some time relaxing in front of an incredibly stunning 4.5 ton pillar of azurite/malachite ore. The block was extracted from the Copper Queen Mine in Bisbee, Arizona around the turn of the century. The block contains roughly a ton of copper and was called the "Singing Stone" in the days before the Hall had adequate climate control--changes in humidity caused portions to vibrate and "sing". Simply amazing!


    To see more photos of my travels check out our Facebook Fan page.





    Stibnite Cluster

  • A Message From Jolene C.
    SRMGS President
    DEAR GEM-N-I READERS:
    Well, it's raining again. But a little rain won't stop us rockhounds. We just take this time of year to create beautiful things with the rocks we have collected throughout the summer. The shop is always busy with cutters and polishers. It is good to see that some of you are taking extra steps and cleaning saws and grinders to keep them running smoothly. Kevin and Keith have been cleaning saws and Mike and Kevin are keeping them running. The rain didn't stop us from having a fun and successful trip to Agate Beach in Bolinas last month. Seven of us made the journey, leaving while it was raining really hard, thinking, "What are we doing?" But when we got to the beach the rain had subsided and by the end of the day, the sun actually shone. We all found agates of varying sizes. I found one that is the size of a small egg. It was a very enjoyable day. The kind that just makes you want to walk for miles. I am looking forward to the March field trip, as Kevin is planning on taking us to Jim Hester's Gold Claim. And April will find us going North to Patrick's Point for an overnighter. Erica is working hard getting letters/contracts out to vendors for our show. If you know of someone that would like to participate, or some thing new you'd like to see at the show, please let us know. We are always open to suggestions. Don't forget to sign up to work at the Gem Faire on April.30, May 1 or 2. You get into the Faire for free, sit at the booth and answer questions about our club for a couple of hours, and then check out the rest of the show. It is fun to sign up with someone that you don't know, that way you make a new friend in the club. Well, I'll see you at the General meeting on Mar 3. Remember to come early and check out our member sale tables. Also, look forward to hearing about the Lassen Volcanic Area from our members Ben and Mike Fynan.
    Till then, Happy Hunting.
    Jolene

    Thank you!!
    Big thank you to:
    Kevin & Keith cleaning the saws
    Kevin & Elizabeth organizing the field trip
    Gina Morrison great talk on Petrified Wood
    Science Fair Helpers
    The Mark West Union School District Science Fair will be held on Saturday, March 20, 2010 from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00. They have asked us to be part of their event with an information / demonstration booth.

    We need a few volunteers who can answer geology questions, steve will be tumbling.

    Sign up at March 3 General Meeting.

    Shop News
    Ben Fynan replaced the bearings in saw #6 last night. Saw is fully operational and returned to service.
    Saw #4 has a worn out pulley. A replacement is on order.
    Saw #1 has a new blade and is operational. However, there is a problem with the vise that holds the rock that is being worked on.

    Shop users, please remember that the blue garbage can is for RECYCLE material only: cardboard, bottles and cans. Oiled newspapers go into the regular trash can.

    Are you DUE?
    Friendly reminder that the following annual SRMGS memberships will expires this month. Please fill out the renewal application and mail your payment. The following are due this month:

    Tom & Gay Dering
    Thomas Barnard
    Nicholas Wycoff
    Cynthia Butler
    Jill & Shirla Mullan
    Chris Inman
    Scott,Joel & Victoria Jarvis
    Elizabeth & Kelly McFadden
    Monica Patenaude
    Richard Lang


    Junior Program
    Have you seen the new publication just for Junior Rockhounds?
    Mini Miners
    compliments of Diamond Dan
    I will be adding a link to his site in the Resource section for parents /teachers to check out.

    Pre-Meeting Sale
    3/3 at 6PM

    Member Table- John K.
    I will be selling slabs, jasper, agate, specimens from China & India ($5 and up). After my 13th visit to Tucson I have Parellia agate, a dendritic agate from China that has been in a wharehouse for 20 years. It has black trees on white background. I also will have Silverlace onyx from the abandoned Barstow claim.

    Also, don't miss Jim's Gold Panning Demonstration & Tips starting around 7pm.

    Rock Tumbling Contest!
    Sponsor: FRLMS

    The contest is open to everyone, any age, worldwide, who enjoys tumbling rocks & wants a shot at being the best in the world.

    Deadline to enter is May 1, 2010 & has a $40 entry fee. You will receive about four pounds of Royal Nevada Jasper tumbling rough from a private mine in Nevada & have until Sept. to tumble & mail a half-pound (1/2 lb) of your best pieces for judging.

    Steve Hart, author of Modern Rock Tumbling, has agreed to evaluate each entry on the basis of smoothness, shape, shine & overall appeal. He will select the top five to be displayed at the FRLMS Rock and Gem Show held in Oroville, California the first weekend of October. Everyone attending the show can cast a vote & the winner will be annouced at the end of the show.

    1st Place: $250.00
    2nd Place: $100
    3rd Place: $50

    For more information & entry form Click Here


    Years of Experience Shared...
    Crystalline Quartz for the Lapidary - Merle Hamilton
    We know cryptocrystalline quartz as agate, petrified wood and others. It occurs as masses of minute crystals too small to be seen except with a powerful microscope. It is a very dense, tough rock. Its hardness is 7 on the Mohs scale. So is crystalline quartz, which can range from grain size to huge crystals, several hundred pounds per crystal. These crystals have a rather open structure with 'holes' which can be occupied by smaller mineral icons, such as lithium, zinc or aluminum. You will notice that this looser structure makes quartz crystals much easier to cut on the saw than the cryptocrystalline quartz. Both types of quartz are brittle and have a conchoidal fracture. Crystalline quartz is six-sided crystals that terminate in a sort of prymid. The crystals may be clear or colored, and have inclusions; optical quartz is exceptionally clear (good Lake County Diamonds and "Herkimer Diamonds" are in this category); amethyst is light purple to deep bluish purple; citrine is many shades of yellow; smoky quartz is very pale brown to almost black; rose quartz is pale to deep pink and lavender pink; rutilated quartz contains needles of rutile.

    Mostly we think of faceting when we see these stones. However they may also be cabbed, tumbled, carved, used in inlays, cut into spheres and used as caps on triplets.

    Optical quartz is used for making "crystal balls". Although the amature can make them on his sphere-making machine, they will rarely be more than two inches in diameter because large material is very scarce and commands a higher price. Clear quartz is very reasonable in price. Most comes from Brazil but a lot comes from the U.S.

    Smokey quartz is usually easily available and is moderate in price. The lighter colors are cheaper, but the medium golden brown is most desireable. The darker varieties make beautiful carvings. For the cabber, a lovely effect is obtained by flattening the polishing a vivid piece of abalone and topping it with a thin dome of smokey quartz.

    Rutilated quartz is also easy to buy. The needles can very from golden to deep coppery-red. Large cabochons show the rutile inclusions best. Try freeform cabs- carefully studying the specimen so that the most spectacular effects may be obtained. In a few cases, the rutile needles can work loose in cabbing because they are not firmly bonded to the quartz. Soaking it in a solution of half water and half water glass (sodium silicate) for a few days and then drying thoroughly will solve this problem.

    Although not easy to find any more, clear quartz with black Tourmaline inclusions still can be bought. It makes striking cabs as well as specimens. Rose quartz has a slightly milky or cloudy appearance usually, a deep pink is best for cuttin cabs. This is beautiful carving material. The best grades are scarce and high priced. Some rose quartz will star, with either a six or twelve ray. It usually needs a darker backing to show the star. Spheres are the best way to display the star.

    Citrine, in yellow and golden brown hues, is reasonable for the cabbor; but the orange-red and darker rods are quite expensive and used for faceting.

    Amethyst is the most valueable form of quartz, depending on the color and clarity. The best grade is known as "Siberian", regardless of its source. "Rose de France" is an attractive pale purplish-pink amethyst. It is moderately priced and can be used for tumbling, faceting, carving, etc. Really fine amethyst is high priced and hard to come by. There is plenty of material around the world, but large commercial cutters buy all the stones they come by. Many gem-producing nations encourage their workmen to cut amethyst at home. This competition makes it hard for the amatuer.

    Amethyst is frequently color-zoned, banded with colorless and colored material. It can also have uneven, blotchy colors running though clear sections. This makes extremely lovely cabs. I oil the stone lightly and hold it to a bright light. If you can't see the patterns in it, you may have to slab the stone thinner. Amethyst cabs were popular around the turn of the century. They have started to make a comeback. Engraved amethyst seals were also widely worn and used at one time. Carvings of it have been made for centuries; Chinese snuff bottles are highly prized by collectors. Tumbled Amethyst is used in gem "trees". Small sections of amethyst-lined geodes are used as pendants and brooches.

    All of these crystals should be worked very gently, as they are very brittle.




    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    In The News...
    Kagem discovers "exceptional" emerald

    Feb 22, 2010
    www.postzambia.com

    KAGEM Mine in Ndola has announced the discovery of an "exceptional" 6,225-carat rough emerald, a piece that the company expects will yield a number of significantly sized cut gems. The emerald was recovered during normal mining operations on February 5, this year and experts for Gemfields have been examining the piece to determine its value and significance before deciding upon its future.

    According to a press release issued on Monday, Gemfields, the London-based gemstone producer which owns Kagem Mine said the rough emerald has been dubbed Insofu, which means elephant, in honour of the World Land Trust's Elephant Corridor Project and in consideration of the stone's unusually large size.

    "This is a unique find," Gemfields chief executive said officer Ian Harebottle. "The Insofu displays wonderful colour and good translucency. Its sheer size, rich colour and fine protective biotite shell makes it difficult to see deep into the gem. However, all indications suggest that the core of the emerald is competent and that it should yield a number of cut gems of significant size."

    Gemfields focuses on the consistent supply of what it describes asethically produced emeralds, which are mined under a rigorous set of standards in regards to fair trade, environmental, social and safety practices. It states that it guarantees the provenance of every gem through a full disclosure and certification programme.

    The largest uncut emerald believed to have been found was in Carnaiba, Brazil in 1974 and it was an incredible 86,136-carat natural beryl crystal. The stone was eventually valued at US $1,120,080 while the largest emerald crystal ever discovered was 7,025 carats and was found in a mine in Colombia.

    SRGMS Newsletter Continued
    Class Schedule
    You do not need to be a SRMGS member to sign up for classes.
    Fees are based upon $10/hr instruction.
    30% of all class fees are turned over to SRMGS.

    If you have a talent and would like to teach a class please contact one of our board members.


    Field Trip
    We have planned a variety of trips that range from hiking difficulty
    1 (low) to 5 (high).

    Next trip
    Saturday March 6, 2010
    Jim's Gold Claim

    Meet: EARLY at SRMGS

    Goal: Gold! and all the bedrock boulders you can carry.



    For directions and more information contact Kevin at giajgs@yahoo.com

    Difficulty level:

    We suggest the following:
    Drinking water, lunch, rain boots, change of clothes, toilet paper, small bottle for your treasures, small shovel, digging tools, light jacket

    For insurance reasons - you MUST have your dues current to attend.






    SRMGS WORKSHOP LOCATION
    5690 C Old Redwood Hwy
    Santa Rosa, CA 95403
    (707) 528-7610


    Upcoming Gem and Mineral Shows
    Shows located within a 3 hour drive
    For a complete list see our website under FUN

    March 5-7, 2010, Newark, CA
    Mineral & Gem Soceity of Castro Valley
    Newark Pavillion
    6430 Thornton Ave
    Hours: Fri & Sat. 10 - 6, Sun. 10-5

    March 6-7 2010, Arcadia, CA
    Monrovia Rockhounds, Inc.
    Los Angles Co. Arboretum & Botanic Gardens
    301 Baldwin Ave.
    Hours: Sat. & Sun. 9-4:30

    March 12-14 2010, Victorville, CA
    Victor Valley Gem & Mineral Club
    Stoddard Well Tailgates
    Stoddard Wells Rd - 7 miles east Dale Evans Pkwy.
    Hours: 8-5 daily

    March 13-14 2010, Spreckels, CA
    Salinas Valley Rock & Gem Club
    Veteran's Memorial Hall
    5th & Liano Streets
    Hours: 10-5 daily

    March 13-14 2010, Turlock, CA
    Mother Load Mineral Society
    Stanislaus Co. Fairgrounds
    900 N Broadway
    Hours: Sat. 10-6 Sun. 10-5

    March 20 & 21 2010, Vallejo, CA
    Vallejo Gem & Mineral Society
    Vallejo Elks Lodge
    2850 Redwood Parkway
    Hours: Sat. 10-5 Sun. 10-5

    March 27 & 28 2010, Rosevile, CA
    Mother Load Mineral Society
    Stanislaus Co. Fairgrounds
    900 N Broadway
    Hours: Sat. 10-6 Sun. 10-5

    March 27 & 28 2010, Angels Camp, CA
    Calaveras Gem & Mineral Society
    Calaveras Co. Fairgrounds
    Hwy 49 in Angels Camp
    Hours: Sat. 10-5 Sun. 10-4




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