Bulletin of the
Mineralogical Society
of Southern California
Volume 77 Number 5 May 2007
The
831st Meeting
of The Mineralogical Society
of Southern California
Collecting Underground at Brushy Creek,
Missouri, and Elmwood, Tennessee
by
Joe Kielbaso
Friday, May 11, 2007, at 7:30 p.m.
Geology Department, E-Building, Room 220
Pasadena City College
1570 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena
Featuring:
- More Field Trips
- Goodsprings District Mining
- Tenebrescent Scapolite
May Meeting: Underground at Brushy Creek, Missouri, and Elmwood, Tennessee
Well-known mineral dealer Joe Kielbaso will present his experiences “Collecting Underground at Brushy Creek, Missouri, and Elmwood, Tennessee” at the May 11, 2007, meeting at 7:30 p.m. The Bushy Creek mine lies in the Viburnam Trend, which is famous for its lead production. The area has produced significant specimens of galena, chalcopyrite, pyrite, sphalerite, wurtzite, and calcite. The Elmwood region of Tennessee is most famous for its large, gemmy honey-colored calcite scalenohedrons, but it has also produced attractive fluorite, barite, and sphalerite specimens. Joe will share his experiences mining these specimens in cooperation with the local mining companies.
Joe has been collecting minerals for 50 years and has been a mineral dealer for about 20 years. He and his wife, Susan, are the proprietors of Gemini Minerals in San Diego and were long-time participants in MSSC shows. Joe is originally from Ohio. He then migrated to Tucson, and eventually to California where he continues to be active in the mineral community.
--Janet Gordon
Minutes of the April 13, 2007, Meeting
The 830th meeting of the Mineralogical Society of Southern California was held on Friday, April 13, 2007, at Pasadena City College. President Ilia Lyles brought the meeting to order at 7:30 p.m.
Vice President Janet Gordon then introduced the speaker of the evening, Joe Siefke, who gave a presentation entitled: “An Argentina Borate Tour.” Mr. Siefke participated in many exploratory mining and mineral trips to various areas of interest, and was employed as a mine geologist by U.S. Borax for 37 years. During the past few years, Mr. Siefke twice visited the Western Salta Province of Argentina, at the request of Rio Tinto Minerals, to formulate and evaluate reclamation efforts in the region.
Mr. Siefke described not only the geography, geology and mining history of the province, but also the animal and plant life. He accompanied his discussion with numerous photographs. Of particular interest to MSSC members were Mr. Siefke’s spectacular inyoite specimens, and his descriptions of their removal from the Monte Azul Mine.
At show and tell, Fred Elsnau brought pictures of the gigantic selenite swords at the Naica Mine in Chihuahua, Mexico, Walt Margerum displayed specimens of colemanite, howlite and celestine collected locally at Little Borax Canyon, and Bob Housley exhibited a calcite cast after colemanite.
Janet Gordon announced that Mr. Dave Kielbaso would be the May speaker, and that Richard W. Hughes would make a presentation in June. She also reminded MSSC members about the San Andreas field trip to be held in May.
The door prize was won by Chris Fromm. The meeting was brought to a close at 8:45 p.m. by Ilia Lyles.
--Respectfully submitted, Pat and Geoff Caplette
Minutes of the April 2007 Board Meeting
The April 2007 Board Meeting of the Mineralogical Society of Southern California was held at the home of Paul and Janet Gordon, in Pasadena, CA, on April 15, 2007. President Lyles brought the meeting to order at 2:00 p.m. In attendance were the following MSSC members: Ilia Lyles, Janet Gordon, James Imai, Leslie Ogg, Fred and Linda Elsnau, and Pat Caplette.
Principal Topics:
Trailer and Display Cases The goal is to reduce the storage charges for the trailer and the display cases, as it does not appear that the trailer can be stored at the premises of the Fallbrook Club in the near future. Some local lapidary clubs use Pink’s in Monrovia to store their respective display cases in between shows (eliminating the need for a trailer). The local clubs will be contacted to obtain input. In the meantime, a quick check with Pink’s revealed a $47.00 monthly charge for a 5 ½’ x 7’ x 71/2’ box. There would also be a retrieval charge at the time of the show (most likely in the neighborhood of $104.00) as well as a return charge. It was also suggested that an MSSC member could be paid a monthly rental for storing the cases. Finally, it was proposed that volunteer MSSC members could store a small number of display cases at their respective homes.
Local Masonic halls will also be contacted as candidate venues for any future MSSC shows, as the halls can accommodate small shows, and reasonable fees are generally charged for space.
Annual Picnic Board members approved the holding of MSSC’s annual picnic in Fallbrook with the Fallbrook Club. Since the Fallbrook Club members will be selling specimens at the picnic, it was proposed that MSSC members do the same. It was also suggested that there be a silent auction of donated specimens as the past two silent auctions were successful.
Annual Fees It was moved, seconded and approved that there be a voluntary two-tier annual membership structure above basic membership, the gold level ($100 fee) and the benitoite level ($50 fee). To avoid administrative difficulties, notices will go out at the same time the requests for basic annual dues are sent.
Field Trips In addition to the San Andreas field trip being led by Janet Gordon in May, there is a June 24th trip to Cerro Gordo being sponsored by the Lone Pine Club. Additional details will be published in the MSSC bulletin. In conjunction with the Cerro Gordo trip, there may be a side trip to the beryl and amazonite areas of Haystack Hill, led by Jim Imai.
A possible trip to Topaz Mountain may be planned if information can be obtained about candidate hunting areas. A Kingston Mountain amethyst trip may also occur. It was suggested that Al Ordway and Steve Knox be contacted for more specific hunting area information as well as field trip proposals.
The meeting was brought to a close by Ilia Lyles at 4:00 p.m.
Respectfully submitted, Pat and Geoff Caplette
San Andreas Fault Field Trip Reminder
Those wishing to attend the Saturday, May 12, 2007, San Andreas fault field trip are reminded to make reservations with the leader, Janet Gordon, by May 5. Details about the trip are in the April bulletin.
Above photo: Ridge of San Andreas fault gouge uplifted in the 1857 earthquake near Big Pines, California. By Janet Gordon.
The Goodsprings District
Part IV Minerals
by Walt Margerum
As stated in the introduction it is the secondary minerals that are of greatest interest to collectors. Most are micro’s, and are scarce, so it takes diligent searching to find them.
The mines with the most listed minerals are the Boss (55), Yellow Pine-Prairie Flower (31), and Azurite (22). Mines with 10 to 20 listed species are the Alice, Argentena, Bluejay, Copperside, Fredrickson, Green Monster, Milford, Monte Cristo, Potosi, Root, Singer, Smithsonite, and Whale. By listed I mean they show up in publications such as Minerals of Nevada, various USGS and Nevada publications or on www.mindat.org.
The mines in Table I have yielded the specimens indicated. Those in Capitals are new to the mine, or the area. The biggest disappointment has been the Yellow Pine-Prairie Flower. The reclamation has resulted in the covering up of all the entrances, and very little can be found on the dump. The reclamation work on the Bluejay has also closed all the entrances. This coupled with the small size of the mine means there is very little left to collect. Having said this diligent searching has resulted in three new minerals for this mine; glaukospherite, kolwezite, and namibite. Our trip to the Singer in 2006 yielded five minerals that are not currently in the literature agardite-Y, cinnabar, fraipontite, and molybdofornacite. A newly described mineral phosphohedyphane, was found both at the Singer and Root mines.
Find for this mine: Joe Marty recently found perroudite at the Root mine, the first report of this mineral in the United States. While the Boss mine has not provided anything close to the 55 minerals listed. Bob Housley has identified fornacite, mixite, and pyromorphite, adding three new minerals to the mine list. Joe Marty and I found several specimens of nissonite, thereby significantly increasing the supply of this mineral from this mine. The Fredrickson has yielded several very nice specimens of crystalline (to 2 mm.) hydrozincite, and the Whale nice mottramite, and small wulfenite crystals.
Picture Gallery
Aurichalcite-Alice Hydrozincite Fredrickson byW. Margerum
Nissonite-Boss by W. Margerum Molybdofornacite-Singer by J. Marty
Agardite-Y-Singer Cinnabar-Singer by J. Marty
Table I Minerals / Mine Matrix
References
Albritton, Claude C. Jr., et al (1954) “Geologic Controls of Lead and Zinc Deposits in Goodsprings (Yellow Pine) District, Nevada”; United States Geological Survey Bulletin 1010, pp. 111
Castor, Stephen B., and Ferdock, Gregory C. (2004) “Minerals of Nevada”; Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology Special Publication 31, pp. 512
Hewett, D. F. (1931) “Geology and Ore Deposits of the Goodsprings Quadrangle, Nevada”; United States Geological Survey Professional Paper 162, pp. 172
Knopf, Adolph (1915) “A Gold-Platinum-Palladium Lode in Southern Nevada”; United States Geological Survey Bulletin 620-A, pp. 18
Longwell, C. R. et al (1965) “Geology and Mineral Deposits of Clark County, Nevada”; Nevada Bureau of Mines Bulletin 62, pp. 218
Margerum, Walter (2006) unpublished “Mines and Minerals of the Southwest’, digital database.
Show and Tell:
Subject: Tenebrescent Scapolite, locale: unsure
Before After
At the February meeting, Fred Elsanu showed a tenebrescent scapolite which changed from clear to light blue after exposed to short wave ultra violet light for several minutes. However, it turned clear as soon as it was exposed to visible wave length light. Two weeks later, at the Palomer show, John Garsaw, who sold Mr. Elsanu the scapolite, told me that he still had two pieces. It cost a bundle, but I got it. So, here it is. At the left is the sapolite before it is exposed to short wave ultra violet light. At the right, the stone turns blue after it is exposed to UV light for a few minutes. The stone also fluoresces bright orange-pink under long wave ultra violet light, but does not e
xhibit tenebrescence. The color change is reversible and is quite fun to watch. The difficult part is trying to take pictures of it after it turns blue, because the color reverts back to clear as soon as it is exposed to regular light. I managed to capture the blue color by using the low light setting on the digital camera. If the background of the pictures appear kind of yellowish, that is because I used only enough light to see and no flash. Then, to match the background color of the “after” picture, I retook the “before” picture with the same setting.
--by Shou-Lin Lee
Mark your calendar for upcoming field trip
Place: Cerro Gordo Mines, Time: Sunday June 24,
Hosted by the Lone Pine Gem and Mineral Club.
On Sunday June 24, the Lone Pine Gem and Mineral Club will host a field trip to Cerro Gordo Mines. There is a $5 fee per person for the one day trip to the Cerro Gordo Mining Ghost Town and its mine dumps. Proceeds help with the restoration of the mining town. Participation requires membership in a Co-Op sister club, such as the MSSC, and a letter of liability release must be signed at the meeting place. The site is at an altitude of 8500 feet, so air is thin, sun protection necessary, and proper field attire a must. The road is somewhat rough in places, so a high clearance vehicle is recommended. The return trip has a steep, sustained downgrade, and care should be exercised to prevent brake overheating. Downshift to low gears where possible, and prepare to rest and allow brakes to cool if using an automatic transmission. There are plenty of interesting places to stop and look for specimens while your brakes cool.
Cerro Gordo was famous as a silver mine; with a high silver content galena as the primary ore mineral. There are approximately 50 mineral species at the mine, including galena, Sphalerite, and other sulfides. Carbonates include Cerrusite and copper salts, and a Smithsonite of a beautiful pale bluish color. There is some Scheelite, and other fluorescent minerals. Some of these materials are found buried in the dumps, so digging tools may prove helpful.
No commercial collecting (specimens for sale) is allowed. Past abuse by commercial collectors caused the mine owners to close the mine. It is open to us for this single day of the year, and represents a wonderful opportunity for the self collector. The mine trip begins at Lee's Frontier Service Station (I believe it is a "Chevron") on the west side of the highway, just south of the town of Lone Pine, precisely at 8:00 am. The expedition will leave promptly, so do not be late.
Also in the vicinity are the beryl and Amazonite/smoky quartz locality at Haystack Hill, the talc deposits at Talc City, and the contact metamorphic zones at Tungsten (Queen) Hill and in addition, the nearby Coso Mountains. There are many places to profitably spend the day.
Oops, I did it again. Correction to April issue: Page 12 Satin sheen opal is from Utah not Utha.
2007 Calendar of Events
May 4, 5, 6 2007, Bishop, 4th annual Eastern Sierra Gem and Mineral Show Lone Pine Gem & Mineral Society Tri County Fairgrounds Sierra Street & Fair Drive Hours: Fri. 9-5, Sat. 9 - 5; Sun. 10 - 3 Francis Pedneau sent the following to invite our members:
Where would you go if you wanted to find gems, minerals and fossils in Inyo County, learn how to make jewelry or join a local mineral club?
Find it all in one place at the 4th annual Eastern Sierra Gem and Mineral Show on Friday, Saturday and Sunday during the Tri-County Fair Home show, May 4th, 5th and 6th. There will be grab bags and activities for the kids, geode cutting, lapidary workshops, demonstrations of rock related subjects, displays of local specimens and dealers from across the western states selling all sorts of goodies. This event sponsored by the Lone Pine Gem and Mineral Society.
So rock on at the 4th annual Eastern Sierra Gem and Mineral show, hope to see you there. (760) 876-4319 Jeff Lines (760) 937-4498
May 12-13 2007, Reno, NV Reno Gem & Mineral Society Reno Livestock Events Center 1350 N. Wells Ave. Hours: Sat. 10 - 5; Sun. 10 - 4 John Peterson (775) 356-8820 Website: http://www.renorockclub.com/
May 18-20 2007, Redding, CA Superior California Gem & Mineral Association Shasta county Fairgrounds, Anderson, CA Hours: Fri, & Sat. 9 - 5; Sun. 10 - 4 Bill Seward (530) 365-8641
May 19-20 2007, Yucaipa, CA Yucaipa Valley Gem & Mineral Society Yucaipa Community Center 34900 Oak Glen Road Hours: Sat. 9 - 5; Sun. 10 - 4 Bill Jochimsen Website: /www.mysite.verizon.net/YucaipaGem/103.html
May 19-20 2007, Newbury Park, CA Conejo Valley Gem & Mineral Club Bochard Park 190 Reino Rd., Newbury Park, CA Hours: Sat. 9 - 5; Sun. 10 - 4:30 Robert Sankovich (805) 494-7734
May 26. 27. 28 2007, Weaverville, Trinity Gem & Mineral Society Lowden Park; 550 Washington St. Hours: Sat. & Sun. 10 - 5; Mon. 10-4 Jack renewing 778-3786
June 2-3 2007, Glendora, Glendora Gems 859 E. Sierra Madre
Hours: Sat. 10 - 5; Sun. 10 - 4
June 2-3 2007, La Habra, North Orange County Gem & Mineral Society La Habra Community Center 101 W. La Habra Blvd. Hours: 9 - 5 both days Don Warthen (626) 330-8974 Website: nocgms.com