Bulletin of the Mineralogical Society of Southern California
Volume 74 Number 1 January 2004
The
791st Meeting of The Mineralogical Society
of
Southern California
"Meikle Mine: Past, Present, and Future"
by Casey and Jane Jones
To be presented January 24, 2004, at the Oak Tree Room, 1150 East Colorado Blvd., Arcadia. Happy hour at 5:30 and Dinner at 6:30 to be followed by show awards and program. Reservations required. See details inside.
Inside this bulletin:
January Installation Banquet
Important Board Meeting and Show Discussion
Have you paid your 2004 dues yet?
February Meeting to Feature New Zealand
A Note of Thanks from the Show Chair
Datolite Discoveries of California
2004 Calendar of Events
Annual Installation Banquet and Program
Save Saturday, January 24, 2004, for a great evening of good food and great minerals. Festivities begin at the 5:30 Happy Hour with a no host bar serving wine and beer. Dinner follows at 6:30 with a buffet featuring prime rib, salmon, and chicken with all the trimmings and desert. The cost for the complete meal, tax, and tip is $30. Reservations are imperative! Make reservations with Cathy Casey no later than January 20th by phone (626-484-2774) or email to caseyscurios@earthlink.net. Payment may be made at the door by cash or check, or checks may be mailed in advance to MSSC Treasurer, PO Box 41027, Pasadena, CA 91114-8027.
The installation of this year's officers and presentation of show trophies and awards will be followed by Casey and Jane Jones's program titled "Meikle Mine: Past, Present, and Future." As the proprietors of Geoprime Minerals, the Joneses are in the business of recovering and marketing fine mineral specimens and materials for earth science education. Since 1994 they have been working with mining companies to recover non-ore asset minerals encountered while mining. Their most visible projects have been the Flambeau mine in Ladysmith, Wisconsin (chalcocite), the Barrick Meikle mine near Elko, Nevada (barite and calcite), and the Anglogold Murray mine also near Elko (stibnite and barite). Their recent activites at the Meikle mine included helping noted cave photographer Kevin Downey record an especially spectacular barite-lined cavern. Their illustrated talk will be supplemented with specimens from the mine, which will be available to view or purchase.
Originally from Monrovia, CA, Casey's early mentor was George Burnham. Later his family moved to Scottsdale, Arizona and his 8th grade junior high teacher, Bob Jones, became another lifelong mentor. He became a mineral dealer at the age of 13 selling self-collected minerals, and the rest is history. Jane became acquainted with minerals as a child in Wisconsin, and brings expertise from a distinguished career in education to their business. They insist that the mineral business is not romantic, but much of their courtship was at the Flambeau mine, and they spent their honeymoon at the Meikle mine collecting golden barite crystals.
Important Board Meeting and Show Discussion
All members are cordially invited to join MSSC board members at their quarterly meeting to be held on Sunday, January 25, at 1:00 p.m. at the home of Janet Gordon in Pasadena. Lunch will be served. In addition to the usual business, there will be a discussion of and planning for the future of the MSSC show.
The show committee recently reviewed December's SoCal GemFest with their museum counter parts. All agreed that the show was a success, but that the personal sacrifices to put it on were too great compared to the benefits. Too much of the show committee's efforts were consumed with the logistics of dealing with a site not designed for expositions and responding to changing museum policies and internal politics. On the museum side budget cuts, changes in personnel, desires by curators to control what dealers sell and members display, plus scheduled museum remodeling complicate having another show there. Consequently, despite the wonderful support the MSSC has had from so many museum employees, there was mutual agreement not to hold the show at the Natural History Museum again.
Retiring show chair, Carolyn Seitz, will present a detailed report of the show's gratifying financial success and the committee's efforts to continue the tradition of producing a quality mineral show. This meeting is a special opportunity for members to contribute plans for the future. If you plan to attend, please RSVP to Janet (JGGordon@pacbell.net or 626-441-6715).
Have you paid your 2004 dues yet?
The treasurer appreciates the prompt response by so many members to the dues renewal mailing. If you haven't renewed yet, there is still time. Lost the paper work? Individual dues are $20 per year and family dues are $30. Dues checks made out to "MSSC" can be sent to MSSC Treasurer, PO Box 41027, Pasadena, CA 91114-8027. Delinquent members are dropped from the Society roster in March.
February Meeting to Feature New Zealand
The regular Feburary meeting will be in the PCC Geology Department, E220, at 7:30 on Friday, Feb. 20 (after the Tucson Show). Janet Gordon will speak on "A Geologist's View of New Zealand: Volcanoes, Beaches, and Glaciers."
A Note of Thanks from the Show Chair.... Carolyn Seitz
By all accounts, the 2003 show at the Natural History Museum was a success, and I hope you agree. The many fine offerings of the Museum help provide the most beautiful setting in which we could ever hope to hold a show. The majority of dealers seemed happy with the result and for some, this show has become their favorite of the year. The visitors to the show were happy. The Museum staff was seen shopping to their heart’s content for three days. Children returned with their parents and grandparents in tow, the memories of the 2002 show still seemingly fresh in their minds. The show also a financial success for MSSC.
For the show to be a success, it takes more than just showing up to see it. It takes a big effort by a lot of people and a little effort by many more. It isn’t just the tables and chairs being in place, electrical drops where they’re needed, security in place, nametags all freshly printed, exhibit cases assembled and then filled. The work occurs over the course of the whole year, not just in the last week before the show opens, and there is a team of people who work tirelessly through the whole year to make it happen. For the Society, it is also important that the show realize a profit to help sustain the goals and activities of our group.
It is important to me to acknowledge those who contributed to the success of the venture. The risk in being specific is that someone important to the process may inadvertently be omitted and for that, I’ll apologize in advance. To all who show up consistently, year in and year out to help assemble cases, put vinyl where it’s needed and distribute the signs, and then return 4 days later to take it all down and repack the trailer, many thanks. Warren Haby, Ed Imlay, James Imai, Jim Kusely, Bill Besse, Walt Margerum, Ron Thacker, Dave Smith, Ken Raabe, Dana Club, Janet and Paul Gordon, Larry and Vicki Bruce, Justin Butt, and Rock Currier – who frequently allows us to move in and take over his yard for a day or two, many thanks for all of the effort. We also store show and other MSSC materials in Rock’s garage.
Bob Griffins and Bill Besse worked with the Museum’s team on the advertising and marketing. Larry Bruce and Bob Griffis worked on the agreements with the Museum and Larry also made sure we got the appropriate insurance certificates in place before the show opened. Thanks to all for the months of effort.
Jim Kusely managed the many signs we need for the show. He’s also been responsible for ordering the vinyl, for many shopping trips for a variety of kinds of supplies and for having the MSSC trailer picked up by the tow company. All year he was ready and willing to run any errand necessary and there were plenty. Every task he accepted was done cheerfully.
I think you’ll all agree that this year’s exhibits at the show were spectacular. Thanks go to Ron Thacker and Bill Besse for preparing the invitations to exhibit, distributing them and then organizing not only the paperwork, but the exhibits so well.
Many people also helped make sure we had volunteers in place during set up, tear down and for the days of the show. To Warren Haby, Ling O’Connor, Janet Gordon, Walt Margerum and Larry Bruce, thank you for all of the great recruiting, and thanks to all of the volunteers who showed up ready and willing to do anything. Most notably – Charley Crutchfield, Charley and Cece Schoettlin, whom I hope had some time to see the show.
For all of you who showed up month after month to help Janet with kid rock, many thanks. For many of you who showed up to get big mailings out the door, many thanks to you as well.
There are some people who deserve special recognition. Their service to the Society was well above and beyond the call. This show would not ever happen had it not been for Dorothy Ettensohn, the collections manager for the gem and mineral collection at the Museum. For Dorothy, taking care of all of the details for this show became a full time job over the last six months. That meant that Dorothy had to work many overtime hours at her own expense.
Walt Margerum participated in countless planning meetings with the Museum this year, made sure the show was announced regularly in the bulletin and then did an outstanding job on the show program. His wisdom and counsel over the months of planning are much appreciated – as was his hard work managing the whole load in/load out for the show.
If there is one person whose unselfish effort also deserves special recognition, it is Janet Gordon. Janet spent countless hours organizing all of the materials needed for the kids' activities at the show, including kid rock. She managed paperwork for the show – ordering and distributing t-shirts to volunteers, ordering lunches for the dealers or others of us who pre-ordered box lunches. She ran errands, recruited the majority of volunteers for set up, tear down, and for the large team of people who managed all of the kids activities during the show. She spent almost every night working on the show – from dinnertime to bedtime, and not just for a week or two – for months.
My heartfelt thanks goes to Janet, Walt and Dorothy for their willingness to do what it takes, day in and day out. They were the best team to work with and without their monumental effort there would be no show. Thanks to them and to the many more of you who volunteered. It was a job well done!
Datolite Discoveries of California, USA
by Thomas Lettier
This article is written to complement Bob Housley’s very informative article publication, Dazzling Datolite Discovery in Malibu, 1997. In addition to the lesser-known California localities mentioned in Bob’s article there are even more little-known localities in the State that have, upon careful field examination, produced datolite. These northern California localities are worth mentioning and will make for a more complete account of the boron-containing mineral found within the state. For the most part, the following information is given based on my personal field observations as an amateur geology enthusiast and from personal communications.
Datolite crystals have been found southeast of Jamestown (the same occurrence has been noted as the pumpellyite locality described in Minerals of California by Pemberton). The material is in a road cut on Highway 49 between Chinese Camp and Moccasin Creek of Tuolumne County. The datolite was found directly across the highway adjacent to the pumpellyite locality. Most of the vein observed was massive datolite. Only a few areas of the limited vertical whitish vein produced crystals (to about one centimeter). The crystals were a bit weathered, but still retained the crystal faces. These were in vugs on a matrix of what seems to be a metamorphosed granite. There are a lot of other interesting metamorphic rocks in this serpentine belt, and this road cut offers a neat glimpse of this.
The old Hutchinson Quarry at Larkspur Landing, Marin County, which became the famous background setting for the “Go ahead, make my day.” scene, of the movie Dirty Hairy, once produced very fine transparent tabular datolite crystals both during and post quarry operations. A unique collection of these crystals was obtained during the interim of the construction process of both a shopping center and a condominium complex in the late seventies and early eighties by the knowledgeable Bay Area field collector, Clive Matson. Datolite specimens and other crystals were obtained in the idle moments of construction on the weekends during this period. Boulders in which the material was found were carted away all too quickly during all the weekly earth moving offering only a small window of time to collect from them. A recent visit and search that I made on the periphery of the locality did not produce more of these crystals but some suspect white veins in dark host rocks of hand size might be datolite.
Datolite has also been reported from the idle quarry adjacent to the old site of the Hutchinson Quarry. About a mile southeast, it is part of the San Quentin Penitentiary property at Tamal. Arrangements with the presiding warden or grounds coordinator might allow special permission to visit this old quarry site, which is afar from the prisoner housing but within the prison grounds. Good luck to those who are granted permission to visit that quarry
There are large boulders containing prismatic crystals of datolite in the vicinity of the property of the Wilbur Springs Resort in Colusa County. The seams observed in the boulders are very pretty in place but difficult to crack open with the best hand mining tools.
Large white green crystals two and a half centimeters or more across have been identified at Red Mountain Creek near Kettonpom, which borders both Trinity and Mendocino Counties.
Beautiful, large and greenish white crystals in clusters on matrix, including floater specimens about rich magnesium clay, can be found along the Russian River adjacent to Highway 101 within a few miles North of Cloverdale above the Sonoma/Mendocino County line. The packed clay can make crystal-lined vugs in boulders look rather solidified and this can make a boulder appear to be without crystals.
Also of note is a cabinet specimen of massive datolite that was obtained in Hopland in the 1950’s and has been on display in a fluorescent minerals exhibit for many years running at the annual Castro Valley Gem and Mineral Show in Hayward, California. The owner of this specimen cheerfully and colorfully described this sample’s history when I chatted about it with him at the California Crystal Connection.com booth this past year at the show. He said he had a small lot of samples from there, a few very small pieces in addition to this large one, and that he had given these away over the years. He gave few details concerning the exact locality in the area of Hopland because he just did not know. This sole beautiful fluorescent display specimen was it for a lead. I have hunted this area numerous times based on this particular specimen but have come up empty handed. The serious field collector might consider hiking up Hopland’s dry creek bed at night during the fall when the water is lower and with a handheld blacklight. A lot of datolite samples fluoresce under an UV light of long and short wavelengths.
One boulder found in the city of Dana Point of Orange County has been suspected to contain glassy prisms of datolite. The sample unfortunately was confirmed to be composed of very lustrous, prismatic but tiny calcite crystals. The small boulder of material was found isolated but near a serpentinite body between Cove Street and Highway One. Some exploration, by foot, of the immediate area for a few hours did not yield more material but, however, further field attention is warranted here for the large variety of minerals observed at this Southern California occurrence. This account is mentioned only as a reminder that some crystal species including datolite can be difficult to identify by visual inspection alone but, nevertheless, can add an instant sense of gratification to the field collector as they are discovered. Calcite, quartz, and analcime are sometimes confused as being datolite at first glance when encountered in the field, but all these minerals, among others, can be found co-existing with datolite, and, even on the same matrix. The difference between the minerals can be told by the acid test. An acid solution reacting with datolite is visually slow as opposed to an effervescent situation with a reaction with calcite. Both the streak and cleavage test are also fairly simple tests to help identify the mineral. Calcite produces a white streak and datolite makes a colorless streak. When chipped, calcite has perfect cleavage as where datolite looks rough
The La Vista Quarry above Mission Boulevard in Hayward, Alameda County, is also suspected to contain prismatic datolite crystals. Trespassing is currently prohibited, but there is a rumor that the quarry will become a housing development in the next few years, which might allow a friendlier collecting environment.
It is my belief that careful, open minded field work will reveal even more sources in the state for the boron containing silicate which is sometimes dismissed as being calcite, quartz or some other similar looking white to green crystalline rock . Happy field collecting, and make sure to record information of new finds in the field you make and to share this with a publisher so that an official record might be generated and further dot the state’s boron deposit grid.
2004 Calendar
Jan. 10-11, Exter, CA, Tule Mineral Society "Gemboree 2004" Veterans Memorial Bldg. Hwy 65 ,Hours: 10 - 5 both days
Jan 17, "Earthquake Awareness Event" at Caltech, Beckman Auditorium, 1200 E. California Blvd., Pasadena, CA. Public lectures and displays on understanding earthquakes in southern California, 9 am to 3:30 pm. Information at Pasadena.wr.usgs.gov/info/nr10. or Wendy Shindle, USGS, 626-583-7823.
Jan. 30-31 - Feb. 1, Redlands, CA, 39th Annual Pacific Micromount Conference, Southern California Micro-Mineralogists at San Bernardino County Museum 2024 Orange Tree Lane, Redlands, CA. Beverly Moreau (714) 577-8038 bcmoreau@adephia.net
Jan. 31- Feb. 14: Arizona Mineral & Fossil Show, Tucson. 10 am-7 pm daily at Best Western Executive Inn, Innsuites Hotel, Vagabond Plaza Hotel, and Mineral and Fossil Marketplace. Information at http://mzexpos.com.
Feb. 12-15 The 50th Annual Tucson Gem and Mineral Show, Tucson Convention Center.
February 13-22, Indio, CA, San Gorgonio Mineral & Gem Society "Riverside County Fair & National Date Festival" Gem & Mineral Bldg. Fairgrounds; @ 46-350 Arabia St. Hours: 10 - 10. Bert Grisham (909) 849-1674 / grish1@msn.com
February 21-22, Stockton, CA, Stockton Lapidary & Mineral Club San Joaquin County Fairgrounds Bldg. 4 1658 South Airport Way Hours: Sat. 10 - 5; Sun. 10 - 4 Jim Dunlap (209) 488-0747 / jimsopals@comcast.net
Society Contacts for 2004
OFFICERS
President JoAnna Ritchey
Vice President Jim Kusely
Secretary Ilia Lyles
Treasurer Walt Margerum
CFMS Director Larry Bruce
Past President Dave Smith
DIRECTORS
Ron Thacker
James Imai
Dave Smith
Rock Currier
Larry Bruce
Bob Griffis
Justin Butt
