Royal Road Turquoise

FIELD TRIP: Nevada Chalcedony

Collectible Copper Sulfides

THE EARTHS TREASURES MINERALS AND JEWELRY

MAY 2016

Chinas Agates
Exclusive Insight into the Agate Novelties

ROCK & GEM rockngem.com

U.S. $5.99 Vol 46 No. 05 May 2016
Issue code: 2016-05 Display until 05/24/16

74470 02033

05
2

Can You Discover a New Carbonate Mineral? >>

VOL. 46 ISSUE 05

2 www.rockngem.com

Vol. 46, No. 05 May 2016

10

THE COPPER SULFIDES

Chalcocite, bornite and covellite

10

Regular Columns

16

Field Notes .......................... 6

Lapidary of the Month ....8
Bench Tips ......................... 32
Rock Science .................... 40
What to Cut ...................... 52
Picks & Pans ...................... 70
On the Rocks .................... 80
Parting Shot...................... 82

By Bob Jones

2016 AGATE EXPO:

CHINAS AGATE DEPOSITS

16

An exclusive insight into the agate novelties

from Middle Kingdom. By Joshua Ritter

THE CARBON MINERAL CHALLENGE 24

Can you discover a new carbon mineral?

By Steve Voynick

24

FIELD TRIP:

GOLDFIELDS GEMS

34

Collect chalcedony at a venerable Nevada site.

By Thomas Farley

54

ROCK & GEM KIDS

42

THE APPEAL OF SIDERITE

46

ROYAL ROAD TURQUOISE

54

Consider the cost when collecting this iron

carbonate. By Bob Jones
History and gems in New Mexico. By Helen

Serras-Herman

62

BRINGING BACK A STATE

TREASURE

42

62

The Fight to Reopen the Arizona Mining and

Mineral Museum Continues. By Ed Winbourne

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On The Cover

Rock & Gem (ISSN 0048-8453, USPS 486290)ispublishedmonthlybyBeckettMedia

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Notice: On rare occasions, typographical errors occur in prices

listed in magazine advertisements.
For this reason, advertisements appearing in Rock & Gem should be
considered as requests to inquire,
rather than as unconditional offers
to sell. All prices are subject to
change without notice.

Agate with a floater in

the suspended center,
from the Traditional
Mine at Dishuiya, China
(64 mm). (Joshua Ritter
photo)

Periodicals postage paid at Dallas, TX

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Rock & Gem

Field notes
READER LETTERS
Bench Tips
A quick note of thanks to you for the
Bench Tips section of your magazine. I enjoy Bob Rushs tips and clarity of presentation, and flip through a new copy to his area
firstbut I also enjoy the whole beautiful
publication. I take my old copies to the VA
clinic in The Dalles, Oregon, to leave in the
waiting room. Good job!
Bob Rising
Goldendale, WA
Missing Review
I am a longtime subscriber, and usually
read through it the day that it arrives. Its the
best rockhound magazine, in my opinion. I
enjoyed Bob Jones review of the book Agates of New Zealand on page 72. However,
the photo accompanying the article was for
a different book, Picture Jaspers. Will Bob be
doing a review on that book in a future issue?
Mel Buhr
via e-mail
A review of Picture Jaspers appears on
page 70 of this issue.
Editor

Outdated Terms
I feel that I must take issue with the author
of Gemstones (Rock & Gem Kids, February
2016, p. 42). The terms precious and semiprecious are antiquated and havent been
used in decades. This goes along with the
term blue white, which once was applied
to certain diamonds. Both The American
Gem Society and The Gemological Institute
of America discourage such usage. I question

6 www.rockngem.com

which experts the author may be referring

to. According to the article, if one was to
grade a low-grade diamond as an I3, as opposed to a fine Paraiba tourmaline, the diamond would still be termed as precious and
the tourmaline only semiprecious. An overly
saturated dark-blue sapphire would still be
rated as precious over a translucent, vividgreen jadeite being semiprecious. Hardness
is only one grading factor and alone is not
enough to pigeonhole a gemstone.
Finally, as stated, transparency is divided
into three categories: transparent, translucent and opaque. As one could see, each
gemstone will have its own, distinct character in this regard. Rarity, beauty and durability are the key factors. Only when these criteria are met is it a gemstone!
Richard Petrovic, Gemologist
via e-mail
Thank you for weighing in on the technical usage of precious and semiprecious
when applied to gemstones. Rock & Gem is
a hobby magazine geared toward a general audience, not a technical journal aimed
at professionals and specialists. On top of
that, my particular articles are geared to
kids and limited to about 250 words, which
does not allow a lot of room for nuances.
The fact is, gemstones have been categorized in different ways at different times
and in different cultures. In Western culture, dividing gemstones into precious and
semiprecious categories extends all the
way back to Greek and Roman times and
continues today in the popular culture and
vernacular. Walk into virtually any jewelry
store and ask to see their precious stones
and you most likely will be led to rubies,
emeralds, diamonds, and sapphires. Most
popular guidebooks on gems and minerals
geared to a general audience also make
this distinctionand, again, I stress that
this is the audience for whom I write.
I note in the article that experts will have
differing views as to what should be considered a precious gem. In the everyday world,
however, most folks continue to make the
precious/semiprecious distinction.
Jim Brace-Thompson
Amateur Mineral Enthusiast

EDITORIAL
BOB JONES
Senior Consulting Editor
LYNN VARON
Managing Editor
JIM BRACE-THOMPSON
MARC DAVIS
RUSS KANIUTH
BOB RUSH
HELEN SERRAS-HERMAN
STEVE VOYNICK
Regular Contributors
EDITORIAL SUBMISSIONS:
Lynn Varon / Rock & Gem
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e-mail: editor@rockngem.com

ART DEPARTMENT
LINDSEY JONES
Art Director
RAVIJOT SINGH
Designer
ROBYN AUSTIN
Contributing Designer

ADVERTISING
BILL DUMAS
Advertising Director,
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PRISCILLA TORRES
Advertising Sales
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TOM CARROLL
Rock & Gem
Ad Traffic Coordinator
ADVERTISING INQUIRIES:
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SANDEEP DUA
President
JAMES L. MILLER
Founder

Rock & Gem

lapidary

of
the

month
MAY 2016

ne of the things I like the most

about the lapidary arts is creating unique pieces that I can give as gifts
to my friends and family. It was this
thought that inspired me to take on a
project that ultimately took just under
500 hours to complete.
Most of the materials used were donated by friends at the San Diego Lapidary Society, who were eager to help
me with my first large-scale piece of
art. The final piece was gifted to a close
friend who is an expert in the ancient
martial arts, including live-steel sword
fighting.
The macuahuitl was an ancient
weapon used by the Maya and Aztecs.
It consisted of a club that had shards of
obsidian embedded in or attached with
pitch to the edges. I made this macuahuitl of native materials and designed it to be a ceremonial weapon, with intricate engravings and eight different types of obsidian.
The wooden base is made from recovered mahogany, and all the
shaping and carving was done with hand tools and the minor use
of a Dremel to clean up loose grains.
The eyes inside the skull were made from Guatemalan jade,
shaped and polished on a series of lapidary wheels, starting with
an 80 grit grinder and going up to a 600 grit sander. The final polish was done with tin oxide on a cotton wheel.
The 17 obsidian blades were rough-shaped with lapidary
wheels and then painstakingly flat-lapped on both sides, start-

ing with a 200 grit pad and going all

the way up to 8000 grit. They were
then polished using tin oxide on a
cotton wheel. They were embedded in a groove along the edge of
the weapon using a two-compound
epoxy.
When the obsidian had been embedded, three coats of tung oil were
applied to the wood over the course
of two weeks to preserve it. Then a
coating of polyurethane was added
for further protection.
Lastly, the handle was wrapped in
leather, suede side up, and attached
with leather glue.
The macuahuitl has engraving
and wood burning on both sides.
The large, lightning-shaped carving on one side is a recreation of a
tattoo on the person who received this. On the opposite side are
three smaller images. The top one is a portrayal of the Maya god
known as Ek Ahau, or the Black Captain. The middle panel is
a carved and wood-burned skull, representing a second tattoo
of the owner. Finally, the bottom panel is the Mayan glyph for
storm, which, conveniently, is the name of the weapons owner.
The types of obsidian used were green velvet, silver sheen,
snowflake, rainbow, silver velvet, black translucent, mahogany,
and mahogany lace.
Shai Azoulai
San Diego, CA

CONTEST RULES
Would you like to be named Lapidary of the Month? To enter the contest:
Write a 500-word step-by-step description of how you crafted your lapidary project from start to finish. Save it as a document file.
Take at least one sharp, close-up, color digital photo of the finished project. Photos must be high-resolution (300 dpi at
4 inches by 5 inches, minimum).
Attach your document file and digital photo (.tif or .jpg) to an e-mail and send it to editor@rockngem.com with the
subject line Lapidary of the Month.
E-mail the editor or call (972) 448-4626 with any questions about these requirements.

8 www.rockngem.com

Rock & Gem

Copper
Sulfides
the

Chalcocite, Bornite and Covellite

Story by Bob Jones

IROCKS.COM

halcocite, bornite and covellite are all good

sources of copper, but are quite different
chemically. One molecule of chalcocite
consists of two atoms of copper and one atom of sulfur
a copper sulfide. Bornite is more complex, consisting of
five atoms of copper, one atom of iron, and four atoms of
sulfura copper, iron sulfide. Covellite is the simplest of
the three, forming molecules with just one atom of copper and one atom of sulfuranother copper sulfide. All
can be primary minerals, but they are most often mined
as secondary minerals. All three can occur in the same
copper deposit, but some deposits are far better known
for one or the other
of these sulfides.

10

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Rock & Gem

LEFT: Hexagonal covellite

tablets are accompanied
by off-white druzy quartz
sprinkled with bright, brassy
pyrite crystals. (Leonard
mine, Butte, Montana)

Heritage auctions

FAR LEFT: An aesthetic

miniature specimen shows
extremely sharp bornite
crystals up to inch long
perched on a rolling, threedimensional matrix. (Wheal
Jewel, Cornwall, England)

May 2016

11

Copper sulfides
As primary minerals, these copper species
originate deep in the earths crust. In solution, they move up into cracks and faults in
the crust and are deposited. More spectacular
are the solutions that burst forth from cracks
between crustal plates as hot springs, called
black smokers. When the hot solutions strike
cold seawater, they immediately dump their
rich mineral load.
As metal sulfides, chalcocite, bornite and
covellite contain no oxygen, carbon dioxide, hydrate molecules, or other nonmetallic
molecules or elements. Yet, all can also be
found as secondary minerals. In fact, we have
mined greater tonnages of these as secondary
sulfides than as primary sulfides. Secondary
sulfides form as weathered products of earlier-deposited primary minerals. The primary
metal sulfides include such common species as
galena, chalcopyrite, sphalerite, molybdenite,
as well as our subject copper sulfides. Weathering always plays a role in releasing atoms of
metals, which combine with carbonate, sulfate,
arsenate radicals or oxygen and water to form
more complex species.
Until the 1920s, chalcocite, bornite and covellite were thought to be secondary minerals
that only formed when primary copper minerals like chalcopyrite or these copper sulfides
broke down and re-formed into something
new. Then, scientist Alan Bateman studied the
chalcocites from the Bristol, Connecticut, copper mine, which was worked very successfully
in the 1840s and 50s. Bateman was able to
show that the chalcocite and bornite at Bristol
had formed from the original copper-rich solutions that invaded the host sandstone rock.
Thus, he proved the sulfides in that copper
deposit were all primary minerals.
Similar work at Butte, Montana, showed the
covellite found there could be primary or secondary, depending on how it was deposited or
formed. During mining, these three sulfides
were most often found as secondary minerals;
in some cases, they were primary minerals that
weathered and re-formed as sulfides under
certain temperature, pH factor, pressure, and
the hydrothermal conditions. Batemans work,
which was published in Economic Geology, Vol.
18 (pp. 32, 122-166), changed the thinking
about these very important copper species.
Chalcoite crystals are very interesting. In

12

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an odd way, they are atomic chameleons,

since they take on monoclinic, orthorhombic, and even hexagonal forms. What gives?
For one thing, our scientific methods are
more refined now, and crystals that were
once considered orthorhombic are now said
to be monoclinic. But there is a hitch in
this. Given the right conditionsespecially
a high temperature during formationchalcocite crystals can be hexagonal.
Covellite, the simplest copper sulfide, forms
beautiful hexagonal crystals. Bornite, on the
other hand, is found in some isometric crystal
forms, ranging from the simple cube to more
complex dodecahedrons. Cubic bornite is very
uncommon, and the crystals are often quite
rounded; it is seldom found as really sharpedged crystals in any isometric form.
Of these three sulfides, covellite is probably
the most common mineral available today,
since it has been found in quantity as foliated,
nearly solid masses in the mine at Summitville
(Rio Grande County), Colorado. In the 1970s,
huge masses of brittle blades of covellite were
mined as ore. Much of the material had a
lovely brassy look, as the thin blades were
coated with chalcopyrite, pyrite or bornite. In
the early days of mining there, some amazing
3- and 4-inch-wide blades were found.
Most American collectors agree that the finest covellite crystal groups are from the nowclosed copper mines at Butte, which began
producing huge quantities of copper beginning in the 1860s. It continued to produce
for over 100 years, and countless fine covellite specimens were recovered. For quite a
period of time, Butte mines were operated on
a contract basis. Instead of employing miners
as company workers, the mine owners would
assign sections of the mine to independent
miners, who were paid based on how much
ore they mined. This led to some pretty risky
practices, but it made it possible for fine specimens to be saved, as the miners could sell
them for more than they were worth as ore!
One such miner, Ed McDole, was famous
among mineral dealers and collectors. He
had worked as a contract miner at Butte and
brought out a considerable number of superb
specimens. He later became a specimen
collector and visited countless abandoned
mines in the West, discovering huge quanti-

ties of mineral species. He had removed the

backseat from his old Lincoln Continental,
and would load up countless flats of fine
minerals, then drive around to collectors and
dealers across the West to make his sales.
Ed was responsible for finding and digging
quantities of fine bladed, yellow wulfenite
groups at the Hilltop mine in Arizona. He
is also noted for extracting amazing vivianite
crystals from the Blackbird District (Lemhi
County) of Idaho. His fame as a major specimen collector was recognized at the noted
Tucson Gem & Mineral Show when the Ed
McDole Award was instituted. The trophy was
awarded annually for, in Eds own words, The
best damned rock in the Show. My son Evan
was a recipient of that trophy one year!
Butte was a marvelous source of covellite crystals, something most copper mines
lacked. Not that covellite was rarefar from
it. It simply did not form noteworthy crystals
in many copper deposits.
The finest covellite crystals from Butte are
paper-thin hexagonal blades about an inch
across. They have formed in subparallel clusters, usually in small groups, seldom more
than a few inches across. The color of the
blades is a stunningly beautiful deep indigo,
and they very often flash a lovely purplish
iridescence. Some of the blades are found
with a light coating of brassy yellow pyrite or
chalcopyrite, so they have a golden hue.
Some of the covellite blades from Butte are
thick, as if a number of thin plates have joined
like poker chips standing on edge. These thick
crystals are at best -inch thick, but that is
far thicker than the usual paper-thin blades.
The problem with these lovely blue blades is
they are scarce. This is due in part to their
brittleness. They are so thin that any rough
handling during collecting will damage the
specimen. This effectively removes them from
the open market. Finely crystallized covellite
is not common anyway. Large masses of intergrown covellite are mined, but clusters of discrete crystals never were common after Butte
shut down. If you see a nicely crystallized
covellite for sale, snap it up! There are several
mines around the world that have produced
spectacular covellite specimens, and these do
show up occasionally. Again, they are highly
prized and very expensive.

Rock & Gem

A treelike
cluster of
3-dimensional,
thick bornites
comes from
Carn Brea
mine in
Cornwall.
IROCKS.COM

Covellite is
commonly
found with or
on other suldes, like pyrite. (Steward
mine, Butte,
Montana)
IROCKS.COM

This miniature
chalcocite is composed of a group of
intergrown, subparallel, platelike crystals
of lustrous brassy
yellow to violetcolored chalcocite.
(Lucky Friday Pocket,
Flambeau mine,
Wisconsin)
JOE BUDD

May 2016

13

Copper sulfides

Covellite occurred as both primary and secondary minerals at Butte, Montana.

Chalcocite is a little more available on the

market. But again, the classic sources of this
copper sulfide are closed. The best crystals
were found during a 10-year period of mining at Bristol, Connecticut, between 1846 and
1857. Quantities of very fine chalcocite crystal
specimens were recovered there. The copper
mines at Butte also produced fine chalcocite,
but again, those mines have been closed for 50
years. Cornwall, England, was another wonderful source of chalcocite when the mines
were operating before World War II.
A few mines in Cornwall continued to work
for several decades after World War II, including the Levant mine. A small number of fine
chalcocite specimens were found there, but
hardly enough to flood the market.
Chalcocite is a fascinating mineral because
of its variety of crystal formssometimes seen
on the same specimen. Scientists have finally
decided that chalcocite is a monoclinic crystal.
As such, it can form wonderful V twins and,
less often, wonderful trillings showing pseudohexagonal form. These form when six crystals
join together in a radial, or disklike, pattern. All
chalcocite crystals show parallel striations that
run the length of each crystal.

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In recent decades, the most exciting find of

chalcocite and bornite was in the Flambeau
mine, at Ladysmith, Wisconsin. This rich copper deposit was discovered by aerial survey and
was worked as an open-pit mine. I actually had
a chance to collect there once! My involvement
here was due to a former collecting companion
of mine, Casey Jones.
Casey went to school with my kids in Scottsdale, Arizona, and we sometimes went rockhounding together. As an adult, Casey was
visiting relatives in Wisconsin when the Flambeau mine was being opened. He managed
to connect with the mine managers and was
given the specimen-collecting contract. This
allowed him to extract quantities of superb
chalcocite and bornite specimensamong the
best ever found in Americaso long as he did
not interfere with mining work.
The chalcocite specimens Casey found
showed every crystal form the species can
have. Some specimens showed a lovely bluish
hue thanks to a bornite coating. Others were
golden, thanks to chalcopyrite crystals. Some
reached over an inch long and were extracted
as clusters approaching foot across.
The Ladysmith specimens were absorbed by

the collecting community as quickly as Casey

could dig them. Once copper mining at Ladysmith endednot because it ran out of ore,
but because it ran into a riverthe pit was
backfilled completely and a marvelous specimen locality was sealed off forever.
Fortunately, copper mines around the world
are still operating, and some are noted for their
chalcocite specimens. This would include Kinshi, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the
Telfer Gold mine, in Western Australia, and a
copper mine in Kazakhstan. These mines have
yielded fine specimens, but not in quantity.
Since fine chalcocite is eagerly sought by collectors, specimens almost never make it to the
shows, but are sold quietly by dealers to their
private customers.
The third copper sulfide, bornite, also contains iron atoms. Fine crystals of bornite are
even less common than chalcocite or covellite. Yet, if you were to actually count every
chalcocite, covelllite and bornite specimen on
the open market at this very moment, bornite
would win the count hands down. How can
this be when bornite is almost always mined
from huge, massive deposits that seldom yield
anything resembling fine crystals.

Rock & Gem

What accounts for the abundance of bornite

for sale is its lovely, iridescent bluish-purple
coloractually tarnish that forms on freshly
broken surfaces. In the 1800s, the mineral
bornite was referred to as variegated copper
ore, due to this rapid and very colorful tarnishing. This process is called epitaxial growth, a
common occurrence on a number of different mineral species. Because of this variegated
color, bornite is called peacock ore. Without
knowing it, you may have bornite in your collection if you have a nice chalcocite or covellite
with an unusually colorful surface.
Fine bornite crystal groups have come from
the old copper mine at Bristol, Connecticut,
and the mineral was common in Cornwall
ant one time. The famous specimen source at
Tsumeb, Namibia, produced very nice bornites, along with chalcocites. All these mines
are now closed. Some of the finest bornites
came from Messina (North Province), South
Africa. As luck would have it, this mine is still
open, but the number of fine collector crystals
is very limited.
Bornite crystals are most often seen as slightly rounded cubes and dodecahedral crystals
with a grayish-black color. Crystal surfaces are
seldom lustrous and may even have a slight
coppery hue on the surface. Crystal surfaces
may also appear to be ever-so-slightly pitted.
As attractive and appealing as bornite,
chalcocite and covellite are, their limited
availability make them hard to obtain and,
conversely, eagerly sought! Old collections,
and sometimes a museum, will offer one or
two of these sulfides for sale, but good ones
seldom reach the open market.
This does not mean you cannot enjoy these
sulfides. Major museums all have excellent
examples of these copper species, so watch for
them when you are enjoying show displays or
when you visit a museum. In particular, check
out the mineral displays in the new David
Friend Mineral Hall in the Peabody Museum
of Natural History, Yale University. There are
two reasons I can guarantee you will see some
marvelous chalcocite and bornite specimens in
this new hall. First, three Yale professors were
investors in the Bristol Copper mine during
its specimen-producing prime, and second, I
served on the new halls Advisory Board, along
with several other noted mineral collectors.
We made sure these copper sulfides were well
represented in the four displays!

May 2016

15

2016 Agate Expo

Chinas Agate

Deposits
An Exclusive Insight into the Agate
Novelties from Middle Kingdom
Story and Photos by Joshua Ritter

he agates from the Chinese

province of Hebei are extraordinary in their color and color
combinations, and therefore can definitely be counted among
the best agates in the
world. The commonly used
term fighting blood
agates

was introduced by a Chinese dealer who

called himself Fan Tom on the Internet
platform Facebook. Facebook was also
the first place agates were sold commercially and internationally on a grand scale.
The locality in which
the agates can be
found is situated
several hours
north of Beijing.

This Mujialiang
agate is everything a
high-end collector can
dream of. (~6 cm)

16

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Rock & Gem

A very brightcolored agate from

Wujiagou shows typical
intense-colored, rather
translucent bands.
(size: 65 mm)

May 2016

17

2016 Agate Expo

The name given to the agates probably
resulted from the attempt to translate the Chinese name for the agates into English without
knowing the actual translation used for this
term. The Chinese term describes a period of
Chinese history, the Warring States period. It
lasted from 475 BC until 221 BC. It was an
ensanguined period in which several principalities were battling each other. The most
commonly appearing color of the agates in
the first deposit discovered in this area is red,
like the blood shed at that time. This could be

30 km, and concentrations of agates can be

found in deposits that are scattered throughout this area. The agates vary strongly from
quarry to quarry and pit to pit in their color,
shape and inclusions.
Altogether, there are more than 50 different places that produce different kinds
of agates. To give all of them a separate
name and translate them into English would
probably only cause confusion. Local workers still divide the area into more than a
dozen different significant areas. Fan Tom

The backsides of the agates from Mujialiang (Middle Class Mine) show very different
colors than the insides are likely to. Consistently noticeable is the golf ball-like pattern of dimples on the skin of the agates. (sizes: ~4 cm to 7 cm)

the reason for the dramatic translation, used

by Fan Tom (a dramatic name, as well).
The actual name of the agates refers less to
the color of the agates, but to the fact that
grave goods have been found that incorporate
agates; for example, bracelets, crowns, and
sword pommels. These goods were found in
graves from the Warring States period, but in
province Liaoning and not province Hebei.
The agates probably also came from province
Liaoning, and this is where the actual name
of the agates comes from. A literal translation for the agates would be Warring States
period agate.
The source area reaches a diameter of about

18

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then lumped those into three main localities,

and it is probably the most reasonable to use
these designations.
The classification works as follows: Middle
Class Mine refers to the most northerly situated quarries; Traditional Mine refers to the
areas farthest south; and High Class Mine
refers to the most southerly located mines,
which also produce the most valuable agates.
The pieces that have been sold so far were
not always identified correctly, and also in
the rough have been slight mixtures of agates
from Middle Class Mine and Traditional
Mine. Agates from the most southern mines
were hardly available.

Middle Class Mine

The most interesting agates for the Western
market are probably the agates from Mujialiang, a.k.a. Middle Class Mine. These pieces
often show a rough and partially scarred skin.
Their shaped is often perfectly symmetrical,
and they have the widest range of color in
the whole mining area. The colors start with
the typical brown, dark yellow, dark red,
and some times slightly greenish, and range
through sky blue, pink, purple, white, and
neon yellow. Sometimes, you find all these
colors in them same stone! There is hardly any
color that cannot be seen in an agate at this
part of the mining area.
An often-appearing special feature in these
agates is the so-called chromatography, meaning a color change in the agate that occurs
independently of its bands. Another very
attractive feature is the beautiful and rarely
seen crystallized calcite crystals in drusy
centers. Amethyst druse is also found sometimes, in a graduation of color intensity from
very light to very deep purple. Furthermore,
pseudomorphs (voids formed by decomposed crystals and later refilled by silica) can
be found in these agates, as well as crystals
(mostly calcite) that are still present and just
surrounded by agate.
Traditional Mine
Agates of the most southerly mines are
of higher interest for the Chinese jewelry
market. The intensely colored, processed
stones are incredible eye-catchers in bracelets, necklaces and pendants. The skin of the
agates found at Traditional Mine (Dishuiya)
is much smoother in comparison to that
of its neighbors from Mujialiang. This fact
makes it more likely that they can be removed
from their host rock mostly undamaged. The
pieces found at this location can also show
outstanding colors, but not in the variety of
the more northern mining pits. Instead, they
are characterized by even more incredible
pseudomorphs and inclusions, which often
formed as plumelike structures. Amethyst
also appears in agate nodules from this spot
sometimes, and mostly shows a deep color
that makes a great contrast to the banded

Rock & Gem

2016 Agate Expo

This shows
a fantastic oater
with chromatography
in the suspended center.
The colors are very intense
and host rock is suspended
at the backside.
(64 mm)

May 2016

19

2016 Agate Expo

Keep up with

breaking news
in Rockhounding
between issues of

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at

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and

www.facebook.com/pages/Rock
-Gem-magazine/152002903583

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The Beadmeister for
Planet Earth Since 1977

1 800 338 2162

mail@beading.com

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agate. The name Traditional Mine is supposedly given to the area because it was the
first place in the whole area where agates had
been found. Tradition, taken literally, would
be an exaggeration, as the commercial mining
started just a little over five years ago.
High Class Mine
The most southerly mining region, High
Class Mine (Wujiagou), generally produces
the most intensely colored agates with the
purest coloring. For this reason, they command considerably higher prices compared
to agates from Dishuiya and Mujialiang. The
predominant hue is yellow, and they also have
a smooth skin, similar to the agates from
Dishuiya. Still, it is usually easy to differentiate where the agate comes from, as the rock
from which they are mined is much harder.
To avoid damaging the agates, miners often
leave a little bit of the mother rock attached to
the agates. The agates from Wujiagou are the
most similar to the agates found in province
Liaoning, from which the agates of Hebei
adapted their name. This might also be a
reason for the higher prices, as they are even
more eagerly sought after.
Deposits and Their Characteristics
In general, the deposits are located a couple
hundred meters above the level of the surrounding area. The chances of finding something in lower regions are not as high, as the
surface is mostly picked over. The whole area
looks like Swiss cheese. As far as the eye can
see, there are quarries, pits, and small holes.
The agates occur in different concentrations. In some places, there are large deposits;
in others only a few samples can be found.
At some of the places, mostly drusies occur,
and in others, a certain color predominates.
Breaking down the whole area into only three
main regions does help to identify the agates
roughly, but can also cause problems sometimes, as some of the agates are found in
between two of the main areas; therefore, they
can look very similar to both of the types.
Agates from Mujialiang (Middle Class Mine)
are easy to identify due to their scarred skin.
This mine, situated at the top of a moun-

Rock & Gem

ABOVE:The agate source area in the Chinese province of Hebei reaches a diameter
of about 30 km, and concentrations of
agates can be found in deposits that are
scattered throughout this area.
RIGHT: At the location on the opposite
side of the mountain of Mujialiang, an agate is still trapped in its host rock. Mostly
brown carbonate is now found in this mine.

tain range, is a couple hundred meters long,

but even in this narrow space, the pieces
vary notably. Many of the agates show a very
opaque banding that is not very sharp. The
colors of these agates are often pastel and
sometimes blurry. There are also agates with
very clear chalcedony and strongly contrasting banding. The typical agate from this zone
is brown, with chromatography turning them
a dark yellow. Carbonate spherulites can often
be found at the rim. The biggest samples from
this field can reach up to 25 cm, but are usually not very high grade.
To differentiate these from the agates from
the more southerly mines is more difficult,
as they both have a smooth surface. The
most common color found in pieces from
the Traditional Mine is dark red. Sometimes,
yellow, blue and purple can be mixed in. A
characteristic of this bed is inclusions, mostly
in the form of plumes.
At the High Class Mine, the most valuable and most intensely colored agates can
be found. A specific color is bright yellow. It
is not opaque as in the agates found at Mujialiang, but translucent. This is also the only
deposit in which agates with parallel banding,
also known as water level banding or Uruguay
banding, can be found. Shadow agates do

May 2016

appear in rare cases, but are usually not very

strong and do not compare to some Moroccan agates or Laguna agates from Mexico. In
extremely rare cases, weak shadows can also
be found at Mujialiang and other pits.
The reason for the extreme agate boom
north of Beijing can be found in Liaoning,
east of Hebei. Around the city of Fuxin exists
a long-lasting tradition of processing jewelry, specifically agates. Close to this city is a
deposit of agates that brings up truly incredible pieces. All colors are possible there, and
their quality and color intensity are said to
be unique in this world. In addition, there is
a historical value. This tradition reaches back
for over 2,000 years; jewelry found in old
graves dates back to this time. These discoveries also contributed to the agates in Hebei
being named Warring State period agates.
Many of these pieces get transformed into
beautiful carvings and have a high value in
the Chinese jewelry market; prices of several
hundred dollars for a broken piece only are

21

2016 Agate Expo

not unusual. Larger, complete, rough agates

can achieve prices of tens of thousand dollars.
These agates are not as attractive to the Western
specimen-collecting market, because the prices
are not affordable for most agate collectors.
Another difference in the agates found in
Hebei is that they dont appear amygdaloidal
in nodular shape, but occur in very hard rock.
Because of this, most of the agates are damaged. They form in no recognizable order in
very hard rock, similar to the newly discovered
agates at Bou Hamza, Morocco. Their shape is
neither seam-type agate nor spherical.
Agates from Wujiagou look closest to the
agates from Fuxin. The best pieces are also
easily priced in the four-digit region. The
size of the deposit at Fuxin is very restricted
and much smaller than the area in Hebei. To
be able to keep up with the high demand,
big producers at Fuxin have been looking
for alternative agate sources, and have come
across the agates a couple hours to the west.
Due to the increasing prosperity of China,
there is a growing middle class, and many
wealthy people are getting interested in luxury articles and also traditional work and art.
Current Situation
When it was discovered that very colorful agates could be found in the westerly
province of Hebei that look very similar

22

www.rockngem.com

Rock & Gem

From the outside, the agates from Wujiagou can look a lot like those from the mines a
little farther north, but they are mined out of harder rock,
so they are often broken or have some of the host
rock still attached. (sizes: 4 cm to 7.5 cm)

to the agates found at Fuxin, many of the

large jewelry companies, in an agreement
with the government, sent their workers
there to dig as many agates as they could.
This was just five years ago, and meanwhile
many thousands of tons of dead rock and
many tons of agates have been transported
to Fuxin. In the heyday, two to three years
ago, more than 10,000 people were working
there in the mountains to earn their living.
More than 100 excavators were running to
accelerate production.
By now, the production has slowed down.
About 3,000 local people and transplanted
workers are still working in the mines.
Excavators are rarely being used now. There
are two main reasons for this. First, many
of the pits and quarries are depleted to the
point that they no longer produce agates
that make mining still worthwhile. For
example, there is a big quarry on the direct
opposite side of the mountain from the
Middle Class Mine that now only produces
brown carbonate nodules, which contain
hardly any agate.
Second, even if the demand for quality
agates for the Chinese jewelry market is tremendous, it will still reach a certain point of
saturation at some time. Thus, the price of
agates from the more southerly mines, especially Wujiagou, has dropped in the last two

May 2016

years to almost a third of the amount achieved

in their heyday. Considering that some of the
mines have come to an end after such a short
time of mining, the prices are expected to go
up again in future.
The advantage of the lower prices at the
moment is that the agates become more attractive to American and European collectors.
(Large agates from Mujialiang are more expensive, as they can be better used for big carvings.)
Many a time, agates are cut at one side to see
whether the nodule contains carbonate only or
agate. If it does contain agate, you can also get a
rough idea of how it could look inside. Sometimes, a thin slab is cut off to test the quality. The
segment can still be used as a pendant.
China is still an adventurous and unpredictable country. There has been great progress in
fighting corruption and an intensification of
safety precautions, but this is mostly restricted
to bigger cities. In the mining area, there are
mafia-type organizations that force workers to
hand over some of their hard-earned money.
In the past, even the police confiscated agates
from miners indiscriminately.
My sister, who lived in China at the time
of my visit, helped me to understand the
customs and traditions. Without her, communication with my contacts would have been
impossible, and my journey would not have
been such a success!

23

Carbon
Mineral
Challenge
The

Can You Discover a

New Carbon Mineral?

Story and Photos by Steve Voynick

he Deep Carbon Observatory, an international group of biologists, physicists, mineralogists and chemists, is midway through a
decade-long, global research program aimed at better
understanding the chemical, physical and biological nature of the earths carbon-bearing systems. To
help reach this goal, the Deep Carbon Observatory
has announced its Carbon Mineral Challengea
worldwide call for assistance from both mineralogists
and amateur mineral collectors to help discover new
carbon-bearing minerals.
The carbonates, which basically consist of various
metals bonded to carbon and oxygen as the carbonate
ion (CO3)2-, are the largest class of carbon-bearing minerals. Collectors are familiar with the carbonate minerals, mainly through such species as calcite, smithsonite,
rhodochrosite, azurite and malachite. Many collectors
also acquire specimens of diamond and graphite, two of
carbons elemental forms.
24

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Rock & Gem

May 2016

25

The Carbon Mineral Challenge

Mineralogists currently recognize 406 carbon-bearing minerals and believe that at least
another 145 are still out there, waiting to be
discovered. The Carbon Mineral Challenge is
an opportunity for amateur mineral collectors
to make their mark in science by discovering
a never-before-described carbon mineral.
To aid amateur collectors in the identification of possible new carbon minerals, the
Carbon Mineral Challenge has made available the expert assistance of mineralogists
with state-of-the-art analytical tools. The Carbon Mineral Challenge also provides clues
about where to search and what some of the
undiscovered carbon minerals might actually
look like.
Carbon minerals are not the earths only
undiscovered minerals. Although more than
5,000 mineral species of all chemical compositions have already been identified, mineralogists estimate that another 1,500 are still
awaiting discovery.
But of all these undiscovered minerals,
many scientists are directing their attention to
those that contain carbon for a good reason:
Carbon is a very unusual element.
Elemental carbon was once thought to exist
only in three radically different, allotropic
forms: diamond, graphite, and amorphous
carbon. Diamond, which has a Mohs hardness of 10 and a specific gravity of 3.5, crystallizes in the isometric (cubic) system; graphite,
much softer at Mohs 1-2, has a specific gravity
of only 2.23 and crystallizes in the hexagonal
system. Amorphous carbon has no crystalline
structure and exists mainly as the primary
component of coal.
Mineralogists now recognize several other
allotropes of elemental carbon, including
lonsdaleite and chaoite, which form in the
extreme pressures of meteoric impact and are
known respectively as hexagonal diamond
and white carbon. The structure and physical properties of lonsdaleite and chaoite are
quite different from those of either diamond
or graphite.
Although carbon is the 15th most common element in the earths crust, it is not
truly abundant. The eight most common
elementsoxygen, silicon, aluminum, iron,

26

www.rockngem.com

calcium, sodium, potassium and magnesiumcomprise 98.5% of the crusts total

weight. Carbon, meanwhile, accounts for a
mere 0.02% of that weight.
Carbon atoms have four outer electrons and
can either give up those four electrons or
borrow four others to achieve stability. Unlike
other elements, carbon atoms can form four
types of strong bonds to create huge numbers
of chain and ring structures. Because of this
unusual bonding ability, carbon can combine
with most other natural elements. Carbon
also forms literally millions of chemical compounds, more, in fact, than those of all other
elements combined.
And thats just a small part of the carbon
story. Carbon is of unparalleled importance
in our lives. It provides most of our energy
and is the basic component of such advanced
materials as carbon fibers and composites.
Carbon is essential to all forms of life. Because
it bonds readily with hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, sulfur and phosphorus, carbon is the
basis of all life chemicals, from the simplest
sugars to the most complex proteins.
Carbon has great mobility and is constantly
being exchanged among rock, water, atmosphere, and the various forms of life. This
biogeochemical exchange, called the carbon
cycle, includes a short-term, surface cycle
and a long-term, or deep, carbon cycle.
In the surface cycle, carbon is exchanged
between life forms, oceans, and the atmosphere through such processes as photosynthesis and oxidation. This short-term
exchange takes place in just a few months to
a few decades.
Mineralogists, however, are more concerned
with the deep carbon cycle, which also interests mineral collectors. Although rocks and
minerals are often thought of in a distinctly
inorganic context, they actually have a profound and fascinating interrelationship with
life and are the core of the deep carbon cycle.
Limestone, a marine-sedimentary rock that
consists mainly of calcium carbonate (calcite),
is an example of this interrelatedness. Limestone has an organic origin in the skeletal
and exoskeletal remains of marine organisms.
More than three-quarters of all the carbon on

Earth is locked up in limestone.

Carbon is also the primary component of
such energy resources as coal, petroleum,
natural gas, and oil shale, all of which have
organic origins and develop from accumulated, buried, compacted and altered plant
remains.
The exchange of carbon to and from rock
takes place over millionsand even billions
of years. Carbon is exchanged when sulfide
minerals oxidize in the presence of groundwater and atmospheric oxygen. Groundwater
is often weak carbonic acid (H2CO3) that
forms when atmospheric carbon dioxide
(CO2) dissolves in water. When carbonic acid
reacts with metal sulfides, carbonate minerals
are among the products. In this oxidation
process, substantial amounts of carbon that
were first exchanged from the atmosphere to
water are subsequently exchanged from water
to rock.
The carbon that is locked up in limestone and fossil-energy deposits can also be
exchanged, but only over a very long period
of time. This long-term, deep cycle begins
when tectonic plates are subducted beneath
adjacent plates and then melted in the upper
mantle. The carbon contained in limestone
formations and coal deposits eventually
returns to the atmosphere as carbon dioxide
gas emitted in volcanic eruptions; some also
returns to the surface as carbonatite rock
(carbon-rich igneous rock) in sections of new
crust that form through the expansion of seabottom ridges.
A very small amount of this deep carbon
even returns to the surface as diamonds. In
the enormous pressures that exist at a depth
of about 100 miles, carbon crystallizes as diamond, which is sometimes carried upward by
magma in deeply sourced volcanic eruptions
that form diamondiferous kimberlite pipes at
the surface.
The remarkable mobility of carbon within
the deep carbon cycle is the basis for an
emerging scientific discipline that combines
earth science and biology. Known as geobiology or mineral ecology, this new field studies the various impacts of life on the earths
chemistry and geology.

Rock & Gem

sTeve voynick

The ArkensTone, irocks.com

sTeve voynick

Turquoise, a mineral that contains oxygen, is one of the thousands

of minerals that would not exist without the impact of life.

sTeve voynick

Very small amounts of carbon are returned from the earths upper mantle to the surface in the form of diamond.

Calcite, or calcium carbonate, is by far the most abundant carbonbearing mineral.This specimen is from Wenshan, China.

May 2016

The ArkensTone, irocks.com

The numerous marine fossils in this 8-inch plate of limestone

reflect the organic origin of this marine-sedimentary rock.

The ArkensTone, irocks.com

Seashells eventually become part of limestone deposits and are an

example of how carbon is exchanged between life forms and rock.

Rhodochrosite, or manganese carbonate, is another of the most

collectible of the carbon-bearing minerals.

27

The Carbon Mineral Challenge

arsenates, phosphates, molybdates, borates,
chromates and vanadates. This so-called
Great Oxygenation Event also caused the
die-off of many anaerobic organisms, marking the earths first great extinction.
Earth is the only known planet that supports
life, and its multitude of past and present life
forms have interacted with rocks and minerals to create a unique geobiological signature. This identifiable signature is the key to
the search for other planets in and beyond our
solar system that might have supported life in

Steve voynick

This interrelationship of life with rocks

and minerals is far more profound than it
might seem. Dr. Robert M. Hazen, senior
staff chemist at the Carnegie Institution for
Science in Washington, D.C., and executive
director of the Deep Carbon Observatory,
believes that, without life, less than one-third
of the earths more than 5,000 known minerals would exist. Expressed differently, more
than 3,000 of our recognized minerals exist
only because of the impact of life.
The first forms of life on Earth appeared

Blue azurite and green malachite are both carbonates, which is the largest class of
carbon-bearing minerals.

over 4 billion years ago. These were primitive, anaerobic organisms that survived in an
atmosphere devoid of free oxygen. Some 2.5
billion years ago, more advanced life forms,
known as cyanobacteria, began producing
free oxygen through the process of photosynthesis.
After a few hundred million more years,
cyanobacteria began producing more oxygen than was consumed in natural oxidation
processes, thus creating an atmosphere with
sufficient free oxygen to react with existing
minerals to create many new minerals, such
as oxides, hydroxides, carbonates, sulfates,

28

www.rockngem.com

the past, or that support life now. Increasing

our knowledge of carbon minerals and the
deep carbon cycle is critical to better defining
Earths geobiological signature, and thus to
enhancing our ability to recognize similar
geobiological signatures on other planets.
Discovering new carbon minerals is the goal
of the goal of the Carbon Mineral Challenge.
To estimate the number of undiscovered carbon minerals, Deep Carbon Observatory scientists employ Large Number of Rare Events
(LNRE) modeling, a mathematical-analysis
technique that considers such factors as the
distribution and chemical diversity of the

known carbon minerals. LNRE data is then

extrapolated to estimate the number of yetundiscovered carbon minerals.
The International Mineralogical Association, the global network of mineralogists
that keeps track of, and names, the steadily
increasing number of minerals, now lists 406
carbon minerals. It also recognizes about four
new carbon minerals each year. These known
carbon minerals have been reported to occur
at 82,922 localities worldwide. Using LNRE
data, Hazen and his Deep Carbon Observatory scientists estimate that at least 548 carbon minerals exist on Earthabout 145 more
than have yet been found.
Of the 406 known carbon minerals, 378
contain carbon and oxygen; 282 contain carbon and hydrogen; 133 contain calcium; and
100 contain sodium. Applying these chemical
ratios and other data to the estimated 145
undiscovered carbon minerals means that 129
will likely be combined with oxygen, 118
with hydrogen, 52 with calcium, and 60 with
sodium. (Because many new carbon minerals
will include several of these elements, the total
is greater than 406.)
Most new carbon minerals will therefore be
carbonates and hydrous carbonates that will
be poorly crystallized, colorless, and rare; they
will likely occur in small quantities in only a
few localities that have probably not yet been
thoroughly investigated.
Deep Carbon Observatory scientists believe
that amateur mineral collectors can help find
these elusive carbon minerals. Most mineralogists are too involved in other projects to
be familiar with all mineral localities, to seriously study the huge number of specimens
that are available, or to specifically search for
new minerals, says mineralogist and experimental geochemist Dr. Daniel Hummer, a
colleague of Hazen at the Carnegie Institution
for Science.
We therefore look at the amateur mineralcollecting community as a resource, Hummer
continues. Many of the thousands of amateur
mineral collectors are very knowledgeable.
They visit obscure and remote localities that
few scientists ever see. And because they
regularly attend gem-and-mineral shows and
buy, sell, and trade minerals in quantity, they

Rock & Gem

Steve voynick

Steve voynick

Oil shale, a sedimentary rock, contains substantial amounts of carbon from compacted
and altered plant material.

Satin spar is the fibrous variety of calcite

(calcium carbonate). Most of the Earths
carbon is in the form of calcite in limestone.

are able to study large numbers of specimens.

Hummer expects previously undiscovered
carbon minerals to turn up in both field
localities and existing collections. Because
most of these new minerals will be carbonates and hydrous carbonates, he suggests that
field collectors concentrate their search on
localities that are known to have yielded an
array of different carbonate minerals.
Localities that yield only calcite, as an
example, are not probable sources of new
carbon minerals, Hummer explains. Localities that are known to have yielded a variety
of carbonates or hydrous carbonates are more
likely places to find new carbon minerals.
Classic localities that are known for a
broad variety of carbonate minerals include
the Poudrette Quarry in Quebec, Canada;
Kukisvumchorr Mountain on Russias Kola
Peninsula; and the Warren district at Bisbee,
Arizona. But many lesser-known localities
with generally similar, carbonate-rich, mineralogical environments could also be potential
sources of new carbon minerals.
Hummer is confident that some new carbon minerals will also found in the existing
collections of museums, universities, mineral
dealers, and collectors. He also hopes that
the Carbon Mineral Challenge will encourage curators, dealers, and collectors to take
a closer look at all the specimens in their
collections.
Although new carbon minerals could exhibit any form or color, most will likely appear
as small, colorless, relatively soft crystals or
crusts on other minerals and in association
with other carbonates.
If collectors cannot identify a mineral, they
should first seek assistance from more-expe-

rienced collectors, gem-and-mineral clubs,

rock-shop owners, museum curators, or
earth-science instructors at nearby colleges
or universities. If the mineral still cannot be
identified, they should then contact one of
the Carbon Mineral Challenges advisoryboard mineralogists and partner laboratories, listed on the https://mineralchallenge.
net Web site. Collectors can select a participating mineralogist in their geographical
area and submit a query that includes a
concise physical description of the unidentified mineral; details about its locality; and,
if possible, a photograph that shows the
minerals basic features.
If the advisory-board mineralogist can identify the mineral, he or she will inform the collector of its identity. If not, the mineralogist
will request a sample of the mineral for analysis. This sample does not need to be large.
Individual crystals less than a millimeter (1/25
inch) in size can be analyzed, as can powdery
coatings and thin crusts.
The mineralogist will then analyze the
sample using electron-microprobe and X-ray
diffraction methods to determine its chemistry and crystal structure. If it appears that the
sample could represent a new carbon mineral
(or a new mineral of any chemical composition), the mineralogist will submit a proposal
on behalf of the collector to the International
Mineralogical Associations Committee on
New Minerals, Nomenclature and Classification (CNMNC).
In a process that may take a few weeks to
several months, IMA mineralogists will study
the mineral. If the IMA confirms the mineral
as a new species, the Carbon Mineral Challenge advisory-board mineralogist, together

May 2016

29

with the collector, will suggest appropriate

names for the new mineral. The CNMNC will
make the final decision on the name to ensure
that it does not conflict with any of the more
than 5,000 already recognized species.
The Carbon Mineral Challenge began in
December 2015 and will continue for almost
four years. The Deep Carbon Observatory
will publicly acknowledge each new find as
it is made and will celebrate all the newly
discovered carbon minerals at the culmination of the Carbon Mineral Challenge in
September 2019.
Participating in the Carbon Mineral Challenge
will be an interesting and educational activity
not only for individual collectors, but also for
gem-and-mineral clubs, many of which have
extensive collections that could be restudied
specifically for possible new carbon minerals.
Collectors who discover a new carbon mineral will have the satisfaction of contributing
to a greater understanding of the earths carbon cycle and advancing the ability to identify
mineralogical signs of life on other planets.
And there is always the possibility that a new
mineral will be named in honor of the collector who discovers it.
Simply visiting the Deep Carbon Observatory and Carbon Mineral Challenge Web
sites will provide collectors with a greater
appreciation of the interaction of life with
rocks and minerals. It will also provide a
better understanding of the complex role of
the carbon cycle in our current era of climate change. Regarding the latter, the massive
burning of coal and manufacturing of cement
from huge quantities of limestoneindustrial
activities that both release enormous quantities of carbon into the atmosphererepresent
a major, man-made disruption of the natural
deep carbon cycle.
Perhaps some Rock & Gem readers will be
among the collectors who discover a new
carbon mineral. So, good luck in the Carbon
Mineral Challenge and continue to enjoy your
specimens of calcite, azurite, rhodochrosite,
and all those other collectible carbonates, and
be on the lookout for any small, unusual,
hard-to-identify crystals or crusts that just
might represent a new carbon mineral.
For additional information about the carbon
cycle and the Deep Carbon Observatory, visit
https://deepcarbon.net; for the Carbon Mineral
Challenge, visit https://mineralchallenge.net.

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Rock & Gem

31

Bench tips
by BOB RUSH

Getting a Good Photo

phone. I struggled a bit with holding the
camera still, and while the photos came
out surprisingly well, they were still
not at the quality of those taken by my
camera.
I download the photos to my computer
using Windows Live Photo Gallery, which
I use to do the cropping and make any
necessary exposure corrections.

fter you spend a lot of time getting a

cab shaped, ground, sanded and polished just right, you should pay equal attention to getting a photo that best shows
off that hard work. Many lapidaries like to
post photos of their creations in various
forums or on social media like Facebook,
so a great photo is a must.
Often, the quality of the craftsmanship
of the item is diminished in the posted
photo. Frequently, I see the cab held in
the fingers or on the palm of the hand.
The first thing I notice is the dirt under
the fingernails or in the fingerprint lines,
or the cut on the finger. When the photo
was taken outdoors to take advantage of
the sun, I see the clouds, grass, trees, and
whatever else is in the scenery. I also see
cabs displayed flat on a busy background
of colored or patterned cloth, fitted into
the crystals of a crystal specimen, or held
in a triangular plastic cab stand. What I
really want to see is the cab, not distractions from the background.
I have devised a setup and means of
quickly displaying and photographing the
cab. I have a table with two type BCA, 100watt, blue photoflood bulbs mounted on
each side in flexible lamps. These lights can
be positioned so that they fully light the
specimen cab, but dont have a hot spot
that reflects back into the camera. I hold
the cab on a special stand that I fabricated

32 www.rockngem.com

from clear acrylic pieces. It consists of a

8-inch-thick, 2-inch-diameter circle, 3
inches of 8-inch clear rod, and a 8-inchthick thick, -inch-diameter circle. All of
these parts can be found already fabricated
at your local plastic store.
Cut a 1-inch piece of the 8-inch rod
and heat it at a spot inch from the end
over a small flame. Bend it to a 45 angle.
Glue the straight end to the center of the
2-inch disk. Glue the -inch disk onto the
bent end. The center rod can be made longer to accommodate a large cab or slab.
Next, I print a photo gradient for the
background. My favorite is pink and blue
in a slightly wavy pattern. I cut a -inch
cross into the center of the photo gradient
and stick the -inch end of the stand up
through it. I use a small round of doublesided, clear tape to hold the cab.
My camera is a Canon Rebel XT SLR
with a 18 - 55mm lens. Because the lights
are quite bright, the camera shutter speed
is also set quite fast, so the camera can be
hand held for the photo. I dont have a macro lens, so I put my camera on the highest
resolution setting to capture the maximum
number of pixels. This allows me to take a
clear photo from about 4 inches away, then
crop out the extra background to produce
a close-up and not lose much quality.
While writing this article, I decided
to try the camera on my new Samsung

Bob Rush has worked in

lapidary since 1958 and
metal work and jewelry
since 1972. He teaches
at clubs and at Camp
Paradise. Contact him at
rocksbob@sbcglobal.net.

Rock & Gem

33

The Goldeld Gemeld

Gem claims, outside Goldeld,
Nevada, are accessible without
four-wheel drive or a
high-clearance vehicle.

34

www.rockngem.com

Rock & Gem

Field Trip

Rock & Gem gives locality information for

reference purposes only. Readers should
never attempt to visit any of the sites
described in this publication without first
verifying that the location is open to collecting and obtaining the permission of the
landowner and/or mineral rights holder.

Goldfields

Gems

Collect Chalcedony at a
Venerable Nevada Site
Story and Photos by Thomas Farley

The local
stone is very
hard and takes a
brilliant polish.

venerable Nevada collecting site has

changed ownership and is now open
under new management. The current operators wish to say you are welcome to visit. Very
welcome, indeed.
S
Sharon
Artlip and Nadiah Beekum now own
and run the Goldfield Gemfield Gem claims
outside Goldfield, Nevada. The site is about 25
miles south of Tonopah and 190 miles north of
Las Vegas. Only four miles from U.S. Highway 95,
the site is accessible without four-wheel drive or a
high-clearance vehicle. Collecting is on the honor
system, with rocks going for a dollar a pound.
May 2016

35

ABOVE:The Gemeld information sign explains the rules for collecting and how to register, and provides brochures.
BELOW: Chalcedony and agate are nearly everywhere you step.

Five non-patented lode claims

make up the site. Chalcedony (calsed--n), in many forms, is the
main draw. Dendritic agate, bullseye agate, and rainbow agateall
chalcedony variationshave been
collected at Gemfield over the years.
Many times, the chalcedony cant
be broken down into a category. It
appears simply as rocks with tints of
red, pink, yellow and lavender, often
with bands and swirls of color.
Gemfields collecting history
began in 1962, when Earl Nesser staked his first claim for gemstones, called the New Jerusalem. Goldfield residents thought his
pursuit odd, as gold and silver were what local prospectors usually
looked for. Although gold may be finely disseminated through the
site, there was never enough to make the ground pay. Instead, gems
were always the focus, particularly chalcedony. One claim followed
after another until he had five.
Nesser opened the entire site to the public in 1966. Rockhounds
flocked to collect its variegated stones. While entertaining visitors,

36

www.rockngem.com

Nesser sold samples, sacks and truckloads of rocks to rock shops and private customers in the United States
and abroad. Gemfields fame grew.
Gem Trails of Nevada, by James
R. Mitchell (Gem Guides Book Co.,
1991), and the Western Gem Hunters Atlas, by Cyril R. Johnson (Cy
Johnson & Son, 2001), were just two
guidebooks to include the Goldfield
Gem Claims. In Gem Trails, Mitchell
marveled, It seems that the entire
mountain is made of top quality,
immensely colorful cutting material. Some of the most interesting
and colorful jasper and jasp-agate to be found anywhere is here, and
most is solid and takes an excellent polish.
The Bowman family, who were later owners of the claim, went
farther. They wrote in visitor handouts that, The Gemfield deposit is
probably the largest mass of colored gemstone quality chalcedony in
the United States.
The zenith of Gemfields fame, though, was probably reached in
October 1984. Thats when Lapidary Journal carried a lengthy article

Rock & Gem

about the site, written by Robert Ferguson.

Entitled A Visit to The Goldfield Gem
Claim, Fergusons article contained 21 photographs, many in color. The tall, lean and
desert tanned Earl Nesser provided anecdote
after anecdote. Notable among them was the
account of chalcedony boulders, weighing
tons, he sold to German clients who shipped
them home and turned the material into
tabletops. After slabbing, cracks and voids in
the chalcedony were filled with gold-colored
epoxy. The gaudy, but spectacular, end product can only be imagined.
In 1987, Nesser sold most of the interest
in his claims to the Camaldolese Hermits
of America, a Benedictine order of monks.
He retained ownership of the original New
Jerusalem Claim. The monks worked the
chalcedony into religious items, such as small
rocks inscribed with crosses. The monks
never lived in Goldfield, instead relying on
Nesser to ship them rocks. After a few short
years, the monks sold their claims in 1989
to Arthur and Georgia Burton. The Burtons
then acquired the New Jerusalem in 1999
from Nesser, who moved to Idaho. All five
claims were once again under the ownership
of a single person.
The Georgia Burton Bowman family continued operating the Goldfield Gemfield site
under the honor system. A payment box on
the property accepted money from rockhounds, and local residents forwarded these
payments to the Bowmans, who did not live
in Goldfield. Eventually, the payment box was
stolen, claim markers were vandalized, and
trash was dumped on the claims. In September 2015, Goldfield locals Artlip and Beekum
approached the Bowman family about buying
the claims. They felt that, as nearby residents,
they could better manage the property.
Artlip had been familiar with the collecting
site since the early 1980s, as her father, Slim
Sirnes, would often visit it. She enjoyed the
area as much for the serenity of rural Nevada
as for the rocks themselves. After the details
were worked out and the necessary paperwork filed, claim ownership transferred to
Artlip and Beekum at the end of September
2015. A new life had begun for an old site.
The claim owners want you to visit, but
they want you to sign in first. Doing so lets
people know you are on the ground, and signing in is a release of liability. Four different

May 2016

places in Goldfield keep visitor logs. These

same stores will also accept your payments
once you have collected your rocks:
Goldfield Art & Business Services
306 Crook Ave., P.O. Box 5
Goldfield, NV 89013
(775) 485-3789
Hidden Treasures
489 Bellevue Ave.
Goldfield, NV 89013
(775) 485-3761
Elite Trading
430 Crook Ave.
Goldfield, NV 89013
(775) 485-3783
Vanderfords Gold Strike
U.S. Highway 95 and 4th Street
Gemfield is easy to get to. Its right off U.S.
Highway 95, the main corridor between Las
Vegas and Reno. Two miles north of Goldfield, youll see a tall, green sign pointing to
the west. The Gemfield claims are four miles
down a fairly well-graded road, accessible for
almost any vehicle with normal clearance.
Four-wheel drive is not required; I would
advise, though, against taking RVs, due to a
lack of turnaround space.
Material collection is on the honor system. Collect as many specimens as you like,
then estimate the weight to the nearest pound
at $1 per pound. Drop off cash or a check
made payable to Goldfield Art & BS at one of
the above locations. You can also PayPal the
money to goldfieldart@yahoo.com.
Now back to the rocks. Take your time
when driving along the dirt road to the claim
that starts at U.S. Highway 95. You might see
wild burros or perhaps an antelope. Colorful
arrow signs point the way at each fork in the
road. After four miles, youll come to a small
parking spot with an information board and
brochures detailing the area (GPS coordinates: N 3744.370 W 11717.642).
The roads beyond the information sign are
for high-clearance, and perhaps four-wheeldrive, vehicles, but you can park at the sign
and hike to anywhere on the claim site. If you
have time to explore, there are springs, petroglyphs, and old kilns nearby. Check the USGS

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37

Montezuma Peak 7.5 quadrangle and Stanley

Pahers Illustrated Nevada Ghost Towns &
Desert Atlas (Nevada Publications, 2012).
I visited the claim site on a mid-week
day in late February. Sharon Artlip was kind
enough to shut down her store (Goldfield
Art & Business Services) to guide me and
another party to the area. Following her
vehicle wasnt really necessary because the
road was so well marked. It was nice of her
to do this, however, and I got a better idea of
what to look for.
As I got out of my truck, I tried to remember what little I knew about chalcedony. Most
often, I thought of it as a pale, milky or
opaque stone used for carving Victorian-era
cameos. Mitchell, in Gem Trails of Northern
California (Gem Guides Book Co., 2005),
defined it as a Clear and colorless agate
without patterns or inclusions. A translucent
or micro-crystalline form of quartz that is
often pale blue or gray with a nearly wax-like
luster. Yet, all the rocks I had seen at Artlips
store were a riot of color and patterns.
Minerals.net describes the word this way:
Chalcedony is often used specifically to
describe the white, gray, or blue translucent
type of Chalcedony, but its technical term
includes all additional varieties. Those varieties include agate, bloodstone, carnelian,
chrysoprase and jasper. And, of course, varieties such as agate can take many forms, such
as fire agate, eye agate, snakeskin agate, and
moss agate, all of them exhibiting banding or
different colors.
The Henry Holt Guide to Minerals, Rocks,
and Fossils (Hamilton, Wooley and Bishop,
The Hamlyn Publishing Co., 1974), reconciles
the colored and colorless face of chalcedony.
Chalcedony (SiO2) is the name given to
compact varieties of silica which compromise
minute quartz crystals with sub-microscopic
pores, it says. There are two main varieties:
chalcedony, which is uniformly coloured, and
agate, which is characterized by curved bands
or zones of differing colour [sic].
Leaving taxonomy to others, I walked
about the low hills of the site. The ground
was literally covered in places with broken
chalcedony. Artlip pointed to different areas
in which different colors of stones could be
found. The brochure she has developed was
handy, outlining the many areas of the claim.
Wanting only a few hand samples, I left my

38

www.rockngem.com

ABOVE: Bulls-eye agate coloring ranges

from the faded pastels in this specimen to
vibrant reds and yellows.
RIGHT:The approximate locations of various colored and banded rocks are marked
on this map of the Gemeld claims.

rock hammer and digging bar at the truck. It

was apparent that I could get what I wanted
simply by picking it off the ground.
A chalcedony boulder presented itself near
the top of the claim territory. It was over a
yard wide and high, a confusion of swirls and
patterns. I thought about how Nesser sold
these boulders, most of them probably even
larger, and how much they might weigh. A
dollar a pound? Id need a bigger pickup
and a bigger checkbook. Speaking of which,
Sharon and Nadia will negotiate a discount
for larger rocks.
While hand-size pieces were numerous,
it was obvious that garden-size pieces were
much fewer, and they would require work
to extract. At many places, you could see
where others had labored. One chalcedony pit
stood out; people had apparently displayed a
tremendous interest in a light-blue outcrop,
judging by past efforts. I was simply interested
in a piece that wasnt too vuggy, something I
could slab at my gem and mineral club. After
gathering a few pieces, I contented myself
with touring the grounds and taking in the
high-desert scenery.
Rural Nevadas tranquility is always captivating. As open BLM country, one could

camp here amongst the Joshua trees. Make

sure, though, to keep a clean camp and be
aware this is desert. Rattlesnakes, tarantulas, lizards, and other creatures call the area
home. Remember, too, that no mechanical
equipment is allowedpicks, shovels, and
hand tools only.
I noticed that Artlip took the other party
aside to show them the basics of gold panning. She had previously told me there was
black sand on the property, and I was now
intrigued. I got out my Whites GMT and
detected on the area she collected dirt from.
The black sand readings werent that high,
but I looked over only a few feet of ground.
As she panned the material out, I could see
there was some black sand. Since the Gemfield
claims are between two gold districts, perhaps
some flour gold could be found on these hills.

Rock & Gem

May 2016

finds, advising on what you might make out

of them.
Artlip says there are plenty of things to do
in Goldfield besides looking for chalcedony.
We have over a thousand miles of roads in
Esmeralda County that people can go rockhounding on. Theres plenty of off-road activities, as well as the tremendous historical sites
in town. There are hot springs, antelope, wild
horses, wild donkeys, and plenty of things
to do. Goldfield Days are the first week in
August. Its not that hot in the summer, so if
you are in Vegas, come on up. Were generally
15 to 20 degrees cooler.
A new heap leach gold mine may be opening near Goldfield. Its in the planning stage,
and is called the Gemfield mine. An open-pit
operation, it will have nothing to do with the
Gemfield Gem claims.
The Gemfield claims are on open ground
with little shade. Bring a hat, a long-sleeved
shirt, gloves, and plenty of water. At 5,000 feet
in elevation, it is dry. Take extra water and
food so you dont have to come back to town
before youre ready. Include a handkerchief,
goggles, and a spray bottle with all your regular rockhounding tools.
As to facilities, theres one small hotel in town,
connected with the Santa Fe Saloon. More lodging is in Tonopah, 26 miles away. The Dinky
Diner is the one restaurant in town and there
is one general store. There is no gas station in
town, so fuel up before you hit Goldfield. Expect
some places to be closed when they should be
open. Keep a list of phone numbers for all the
places you wish to visit. Many times, you can
call the owner and they will open their shop for
you. Find contact information for the Dinky
Diner and The Santa Fe Motel on the Goldfield Chamber of Commerce Web site, http://
goldfieldnevada.org/information.html.Dont be
afraid, too, to ask the townsfolk for directions
and information.
Contact Artlip to arrange a rock club field
trip, and members will get a discount, along
with a portion going back to the sponsoring club. She welcomes your e-mails at goldfieldart@yahoo.com, and every business in
Goldfield says that you are welcome. Very
welcome, indeed.
Thomas Farley is a freelance writer living in Las
Vegas. He is an ardent gold prospector and has
a strong interest in exploring rural Nevada.

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Artlip pointed out a gully she thought was

underlain by hardpan. We ruminated that a
false bedrock could result, which might be
worthy of prospecting. People are welcome,
she said, to try for gold if they like.
After an hour or two, I decided to go back
to Goldfield. I wanted to look up Bryan
Smalley at Hidden Treasures, the local rock
shop. He has a Facebook page, but no Web
site. I was very interested in what his store
might contain.
I returned to Sharon Artlips store for directions to Hidden Treasures. Goldfield Art &
Business Services is right on U.S. Highway 95
at Fifth Avenue. Youll see a large wooden sign
out front that proclaims Official Gemfield
Headquarters.
Outside, Artlip has plenty of rock from the
claims. Inside, if you ask, shell pull out a tray
of polished stones that have been worked up
from Gemfield rocks. She now directed me to
Bryans shop, which is several blocks off U.S.
Highway 95, at 489 Bellvue. Pick up a map
at the citys Chamber of Commerce to guide
you, or just ask someone walking around.
Goldfields 200 souls all know each other.
Goldfield is a sprawling ramshackle of
a town, its size befitting a place that once
claimed 20,000 citizens. Grand stone buildings remain, along with rough-hewn houses,
traditional homes, and singlewide trailers.
Slow down and look around; youll find something interesting at every corner. Art cars
worthy of Burning Man, an aluminum giraffe
named Cosmoits all in Gemfield.
Bryans corner store occupies two buildings
and has a little bit of everything: rocks from
the area, agates, fossils, collector minerals,
and more. He thought it was great that Artlip
was resurrecting the claims. Its good rock,
its good material, its been used off and on,
but the claim has never seriously been developed. Now, Artlip has the claims, shes here
in Goldfield, and theres now a chance to get
things going.
Bryan showed me carvings he had made,
noting the hardness of the local stone. He
said Gemfields chalcedony, when properly
heated, made great strikers for flintlock rifles.
All manner of knapping can be done with the
rock, from creating arrowheads to producing
stone knives. Bryan knew Earl Nesser, the
first claim owner, and can tell you stories
about him. He can also comment on your

Gem Collectors, HARD ASSET

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PO Box 1513 RG
Auburn, WA 98071-1513
Phone: 253.833.2760
FAX: 253.833.1418
Website: www.pioneergem.com
email: pioneergem@seanet.com

39

rock science
by STEVE VOYNICK

Zircon: The Rock of Ages

This Jack Hills zircon crystal, the oldest known terrestrial object, is dated at 4.374 billion years. The red crystal
appears blue in this cathodeluminescence image.

DR. JOHN VALLEY, UNIV. WISCONSIN-MADISON

he oldest known terrestrial material

on Earth is a zircon crystal recovered
in 2001 from the Jack Hills in far-western Australia. Physically, this translucent,
red crystal, no bigger than the width of
a few human hairs, isnt much to look at.
Nevertheless, the Jack Hills zircon crystal
is a scientific giant. Radiometrically dated to an age of over 4 billion years, this
tiny crystal, which some researchers have
dubbed the rock of ages, is providing an
unprecedented glimpse into Earths earliest days.
Zircon, or zirconium silicate (ZrSiO4), is
a nesosilicate that crystallizes in the tetragonal system, most often as short prisms
with diagnostic square cross sections and
pyramidal terminations. Zircon crystals
are usually transparent to translucent and
exhibit a range of colors.
Geophysicists who radiometrically date
rocks call zircon a time capsule because
of its relative abundance, great durability,
and frequent traces of uranium, the last
being the key to radiometric dating.
At Mohs 7.5, zircon is substantially
harder than quartz; it has an indistinct
cleavage and very low reactivity. Hardness,
poor cleavage, and chemical inertness
combine to make zircon extremely durableexactly what is necessary for a crystal
to survive for billions of years.
Because of zirconiums chemical affinity
for uranium, zircon crystals often contain

40 www.rockngem.com

measurable traces of this radioactive metal. Sometimes the amount is so great that
zircon crystals undergo metamictization,
in which internal radiation degrades its
crystal lattice, alters colors, and decreases
both hardness and density.
Radiometric dating is based on known
rates of atomic decay, a spontaneous, energy-emitting process in which radioactive
elements and isotopes transform at precise
rates into other elements and isotopes. Decay rate is expressed in terms of half-life,
which is the time required for a radioactive isotope to lose 50% of its radioactivity.
Most isotopes have short half-lives of several days to several years. A few, however,
have extremely long half-lives, the longest
being the 4.468 billion-year half-life of the
uranium-238 isotope. The final product in
the uranium-238 decay chain is the stable
form of lead.
When igneous rocks solidify from
magma, radioactive isotopes are present in uniform ratios. By measuring the
uranium-lead ratios in a mineral sample,
geophysicists can determine the extent of
atomic decay, and thus calculate when the
sample crystallized.
When the Jack Hills zircon crystal was
discovered in Australia in 2001, it was
dated at over 4 billion years. But some
scientists questioned whether a terrestrial material could actually be that old
and challenged its calculated age on the
grounds that the lead atoms may have
concentrated in clusters within the crystal,
thus providing a false estimate of age.
But now a team of researchers led by Dr.
John Valley, professor of geochemistry at
the University of Wisconsin-Madison, has
developed a technique called atom-probe
tomography, which enabled them to image
single atoms of lead to precisely determine
the uranium-lead ratio. When Dr. Valley
published his findings in 2014, scientists
worldwide agreed with his dating of that
tiny piece of red zircon at 4.374 billion
years, 6 million years.
The Jack Hills zircon had therefore
crystallized only a few hundred million
years after the Earth formed as a red-hot
orb some 4.6 billion years ago. The first
600 million years following Earths formation is called the Hadean Eon, because
conditions at the time were thought to be
hell-like.

But the crystals age suggests that Earth

had cooled and developed a crust much
more rapidly during the Hadean Eon than
was previously thought. Furthermore,
based on the crystals oxygen-isotope ratios, Dr. Valley believes that liquid water
and possibly lifemay have already existed at the time this crystal formed.
With its durability and its trapped isotopes of uranium and oxygen, which are
providing new insight into the mysterious Hadean Eon, zircon is indeed a rock
of ages.

Zircon is called a time capsule because of its relative

abundance, great durability, and frequent traces of
uranium that make radiometric dating possible.

Steve Voynick is a science writer, mineral collector, former hardrock

miner, and the author
of books like Colorado
Rockhounding and New
Mexico Rockhounding.

Rock & Gem

41

Youngite
Youngite is not an official mineral, but the informal local name
for a mixture of brecciated jasper and agate. (Many varieties of
jasper and agate are given such informal names.) It is found near
Guernsey in eastern Wyoming and named for a Dr. Young, who
lived in nearby Torrington. If you would like to collect a piece of
your own, search the shores of Wyomings Guernsey and Glendo
reservoirs during periods of low water.
The interior of youngite consists of jasper ranging reddish-brown
to peach to salmon-pink. Perhaps due to earthquakes, that jasper
fractured. It then healed when cream-colored or grayish-blue
chalcedony filled spaces between the fractured jasper. It is often
found on walls of caves, where the outside of the rock formation
consists of druzy quartz crystals in botryoidal (grapelike) clusters. It takes a polish and can be used to make interesting cabochons for
jewelry. Under ultraviolet light, the chalcedony fluoresces green, making youngite desirable among fluorescent rock collectors.
Youngite was reported as a new gem material in the May/June 1961 issue of Rocks & Minerals magazine and it became common at
gem shows. However, today it is rare due in part to the greed of early collectors who pried chunks off cave walls. Many of these caves
were on state-owned land, where collecting was illegal. One person even used dynamite, which resulted in closure of the original locality near Hartville, Wyoming. May we all learn from this and use responsible and legal collecting practices as outlined in the Code of
Ethics of the American Federation of Mineralogical Societies (http://amfed.org/ethics.htm).
Jim Brace-Thompson

El Dorado Juniors in the Field

The El Dorado County Mineral & Gem Society
Juniors love everything about crystals. They dug for
crystals, they wire wrapped crystals, and they grew
crystals.
The juniors went to a crystal mine. From the mine
owners, they learned about the mine, the surrounding area, the early inhabitants, crystals shapes, and
how crystals are formed. It was a beautiful, sunny
day for digging in dirt. The kids dug and sifted the
dirt tailings for three hours. I think they would have
dug for three more hours if we had let them.
Each junior had a small bucket that they could fill
with crystals. High grading was a big job. They had a
very difficult time deciding which of their selected treasures to put in their bucket and which to give back to the tailing pile. With dirty,
smiling faces, they said thank you to the mine owners and goodbye to the tailings piles.
Jackie Cerrato, El Dorado County Mineral & Gem Society

42

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Rock & Gem

Washingtons State Rockhound Symbols

Washingtons state gem is something that you might not
think of as a gemstone. Petrified wood was given that designation in 1975. Although it lacks the sparkle and glitter
of precious gemstones, petrified wood can take a fine, mirrorlike polish.
You may be familiar with the petrified wood of Arizona,
famous for its vivid shades of red, yellow and purple. By contrast, much of the petrified wood from Washington is in tan,
yellow and brown shades, more like living wood. Some of it
looks like it could have come from your backyard woodpile!
Washington is famed for a great variety of petrified wood,
which has been opalized or agatized. The petrified material
in the well-known Ginkgo Petrified Forest State Park, near
Vantage, s not just ginkgo, but also pine, sycamore, hickory,
cypress and oak.
In 1998, thanks to a four-year effort by students from Wind- Washington petrified wood and fossil mammoth molar
sor Elementary School near Cheney, the state of Washington
designated a state fossil: the Columbian mammoth (Mammuthus columbi). Mammoths must be popular, because related species have
been named the state fossils of Nebraska (Mammuthus imperator) and Alaska (Mammuthus primigenius). Columbian mammoths once
ranged widely across North America, and their remains have been found scattered from Washington state to California and Florida, as
well as in Mexico and Central America. It lived during the Pleistocene Epoch, or The Ice Ages, some 10,000 to 1.6 million years ago.
Its big, grinding molar teeth are fairly common fossil finds in the state of Washington.
Jim Brace-Thompson

Scrambled Image

Photocopy and cut apart the

scrambled image. Number the
sections 1 through 9 from left
to right, working from top to
bottom. Rearrange the cut-out
squares so that the picture is
assembled correctly. Then, see
if you can identify the mineral.

Row 1: 7, 4, 6;
Row 2: 9, 2, 8;
Row 3: 3, 5, 1.
The mineral is quartz.
SOLUTION

May 2016

43

May 3 & May 4

ANAHEIM, CA

Searchers Gem & Mineral Society

Gem Show
Brookhurst Community Center
2271 W. Crescent Ave.,
Anaheim, CA
Sat. 10am 5pm,
Sun. 10am 4:30pm

May 13 15
SANTA ANA, CA

West Coast Gem, Mineral &

Fossil Show
Holiday Inn 2726 South Grand Ave.
Room #148 Santa Ana, CA 92705
Fri. & Sat. 10am 6pm,
Sun 10am 5pm

June 4 & 5
GLENDORA, CA

The Glendora Gems, Glendora

Invitational Gem and Mineral Show;
Goddard Middle School
Gymnasium, 859 E. Sierra Madre,
Glendora, CA 91741;
Saturday 10am 5pm,
Sunday 10am 4pm

July 28 30
FRANKLIN, NC

Franklin Faceters Frolic

The Factory, 1024 Georgia Rd.
(US 441), Franklin, NC 28734
Thur. Sat. 10am 5pm

THE ARKENSTONE

The Appeal of Siderite

The pegmatites of North Carolina yield ne examples of light yellow-brown siderite.

Consider the Cost When Collecting

This Iron Carbonate
Story by Bob Jones

iderite, a common iron carbonate, derives it name from sideros, the Greek name for iron. It
forms in low- to medium-temperature environments rich in that common metal. In many
ways, siderite closely resembles calcite and rhodochrosite, but it has a different color. If
you list the physical properties of calcite, youd see that they compare quite accurately with
those of siderite. As for rhodochrosite, siderite forms a series with that manganese mineral, as each
can hold atoms of the others cation metal, iron or manganese.
Iron is certainly one of the more common metals in the earths crust, so you might expect to find
siderite in a host of environments, such as ore veins, hydrothermal deposits and skarns.
Even when it forms in nice crystals, however, it has a recognition problem, as siderite does not
have the same appeal as calcite or rhodochrosite.

46

www.rockngem.com

Rock & Gem

iRocks.com

The Virtuous Lady mine produced delicate

siderite-pyrite casts after some unknown
mineral, called lady slippers.

This very interesting slice of rhodochrosite and siderite from Catamarca, Argentina, is a prime specimen of the two minerals that
form a series. (Jones collection)

May 2016

BoB Jones

in the early history of our country.

For example, during colonial days, an
unusual deposit of massive crystalline siderite was being worked at Mine Hill, near
Roxbury, Connecticut, for its iron. Mine Hill
was not a huge deposit and it would never
have been important in the later industrial
revolution of this country. You might say the
same thing for some of the very early worked
iron deposits in Pennsylvania and New York,
but in their day they were very important.

BoB Jones

Calcite boasts more than 300 different,

very showy crystal forms, and rhodochrosite
is a collector star, thanks to its vivid pink
to red color. Siderite, on the other hand, is
usually a dull to resinous brown. It can have
a reddish hue, be slightly greenish, and even
a very light tan color, but it cannot equal the
popularity of calcite or rhodochrosite.
Its most attractive form is small, almost
microscopic crystals that develop as tight
coatings on matrix and have a bright, iridescent brown hue. Large, undulating masses
of this form of siderite are quite attractive
and worthy of exhibit. Since siderite lacks
the spectacular crystal forms of calcite and
the color of rhodochrosite and other species, however, it is seldom seen prominently
displayed at shows or in museums.
For the average collector, there is a plus
side of this siderite problem: cost. The vast
majority of siderite specimens do not command the high prices seen in many other
species. This is good news for many of us,
since there is a good variety of reasonably
priced siderite forms that are well worth
owning and enjoying. Dont expect to find
such specimens among the so-called highend mineral dealers. Luckily for the average
collector, most mineral dealers dont fall into
this category.
In site of its modest appeal, there is much
to be said for many siderites. Some collectorsthis one includedfind the history of
a mineral species reason enough to own a
good specimen. After all, as an iron carbonate, siderite is a fairly easy mineral to smelt,
so in some cases it played an important role

I collected at Mine Hill in the 1950s. The

ore consisted of massive crystalline siderite.
Some nice crystals were reported there, but
they were rare indeed. On my many visits,
I never found any crystals, only massive
crystalline pieces of reddish-brown siderite
whose curved surfaces had high luster, along
with some pyrite. The Mine Hill siderite ore
was smelted, and the resulting iron was used
in making canons and other instruments of
war, and for tool making at a time when this
country was in its infancy. That makes Mine
Hill siderite something special to me. A
specimen from here will never win a prize,
but if you like minerals with a little story
attached, Mine Hill siderite is a good one.
Im sure there are many locality specimens
from old mines with the same appeal.
On a personal note, Mine Hill was the second mineral deposit I visited shortly after
getting out of the Air Force after World War
II. On the Mine Hill dumps, you could find
large, resinous, brown cleavages of crystalline siderite. We also found nice, small
pyritohedrons of pyrite with the crystalline siderite, so visits there were always
worthwhile.
Everyone is familiar with the beautiful
banded, pink-to-red rhodochrosite from the
Catamarca area of Argentina. It has been
mined for centuries. Today, we slice stalactites of it and polish the resulting disks,
or lapidaries carve it and shape it into eggs
and beads and anything else that suits the
imagination. Argentine rhodochrosite costs
plenty when you want a nice piece, but how
many collectors and stone artists are familiar

La Taillat, France, is known for its classic siderite crystals associated

with fine quartz. (Groben collection)

47

48

www.rockngem.com

BoB Jones

Siderite often develops as a late-forming mineral on ore minerals like this stephanite, from
Pribram (Bohemia), Czech Republic. (Groben collection)

BoB Jones

with the equally attractive banded siderite

that occurs with the gorgeous red manganese carbonate we all enjoy? How often have
you seen carvings, slices, spheres, eggs, or
other objects made from Catamarca banded
siderite?
You might, by chance, run across a rhodochrosite from Argentina with a trace of
brown-banded siderite as a perimeter border
or part of the overall specimen, but thats
about it. What better example of the collecting attitude of miners, dealers and collectors where bright color is concerned? The
vibrant pink to red rhodochrosite is eagerly
mined, while the not-so-appealing brown
siderite is not! For this reason alone, few
collectors realize that very attractive banded
iron carbonate siderite occurs with Catamarca rhodochrosite. Blame it on siderites less
vibrant color.
I have a wonderful slice of rhodochrositesiderite from Catamarca. Its nothing valuable and cost me less than $50, but it is
a winner in my collection because it is a
great example of the chemical relationship
between these two carbonate minerals. They
are chemical cousins and can even exchange
their metal cations, iron and manganese,
under the right conditions, which affects
their color. Rhodochrosite is a manganese
carbonate and siderite is an iron carbonate,
but each can contain some of the other
minerals metal cations, since iron and manganese atoms are very much alike.
My rhodochrosite-siderite slice has a pink
dividing band between the brown siderite
and red rhodochrosite. The manganese in
the rhodochrosite is partially replaced, causing a slight increase in its iron content and
a color change. The siderite itself darkens
as its banding moves away from the dividing boundary, though the rhodochrosite
banding does not seem to reflect this same
change. It is specimens like this that move
a collection away from the showy aspect of
collecting to the more serious, scientific side
of the hobby.
Fortunately, there are some forms of siderite that are very attractive, very appealing
and, in one or two cases, considered classic
examples of exceptional siderite species. The
French mine Le Taillat (Allevard, Isere) has
produced what are now considered classic

The most famous siderite pseudomorph is this cast after fluorite from the Virtuous Lady
mine, in Devon, England. Both chalcopyrite and quartz formed inside the hollow cast. (Natural History Museum, London)

examples of siderite. Crystals from here were

reported to reach 6 inches on edge and have
slightly curving faces. Their color is light to
dark brown and the crystal faces are lustrous.
These French siderite crystals are associated
with water-clear hexagonal quartz crystals.
Specimens are very showy and were once

found in quantity.
Perhaps the largest siderite crystals found
came to light in a quarry exposing a very
complex sodalite-syenite and alkaline pegmatite deposit on Mount St. Hilaire, in Quebec, Canada. This remarkable deposit has
produced a wonderful assortment of rare to

Rock & Gem

uncommon species including synchesite and

the oddest form of rhodochrosite Ive ever
seen. The rhodochrosite is a mahogany brown
in flat, hexagonal, interlocking disklike crystals. I wonder about the iron content of these
odd rhodochrosites. The siderites of Mount
St. Hilaire are perfect rhombs, some of them
twinned, in crystals that reach as much as 10
inches on an edge. One penetrating twin I had
was about 7 inches across and was decorated
with small crystals of stilbite.
The beauty of this deposit was its accessibility to collectors and clubs for several
years. Specimens of a great variety of species,
ranging from micromounts to cabinet size,
were collected by amateurs and professionals
alike. Canadian museums today are particularly rich in fine specimens from Mount St.
Hilaire, a locality that is now closed.
Several mines in Bolivia are known for fine
rhombic siderite crystals. There has been a
concerted effort lately by American mineral
dealers to spend time in Bolivia, and their
efforts are paying off with the appearance
of pyrite, bournonite, vivianite, and the like.
Hopefully, specimens from some of Bolivias
better-known siderite localities will appear
again in the marketplace. One such locality is
Colavi, Bolivia, which produced a somewhat
odd form of siderite. These were nice rhombs
measuring 1 to 2 inches on an edge.
The color of these simple crystals was a soft
velvety brown, velvety because the crystal
faces were completed covered with submicrocrystals of siderite. Some of the finer
examples of these odd siderites were in the
Dr. Mark Bandy collection, now in The Los
Angeles County Museum.
Here in America, we have had our share of
siderite sources. The gold mine at Gilman,
Colorado, was known at one time for its very
lovely, light-tan, curved or saddle-shaped
crystals of siderite. These oddly shaped crystals formed due to the natural offset of the
internal molecular structure of the siderite,
which is responsible for the slightly curved
faces of many siderite crystals. Specimens
from here were several inches across, and the
crystals were always tightly packed and covered the matrix. On very rare occasion, I see
a Gilman siderite for sale. They are always
reasonably priced, but are just a glimmer of
what was, at one time, a vast quantity of very

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49

BoB Jones

This is a superb example of a siderite pseudomorph after another mineral. In this

case, the mineral was high-temperature
calcite. (private collection)

inexpensive specimens.
The Pikes Peak area of Colorado, world
famous for its topaz, amazonite, and smoky
quartz, also produces some nice siderite as
an accessory mineral. This means it gets
eclipsed by the more valuable species. The
siderite is often replaced by goethite and
even hematite, which makes these specimens
worth considering.
Here in Arizona, there are a couple of
mines that have produced quantities of siderite specimens. One old mine, the Blue
Dick, once produced huge slabs of iridescent siderite, brownish-red in color and
completely covering the matrix. The specimens were very attractive if the siderite was
undamaged. The mineral completely covered
the matrix with microcrystals, but no clearly
visible euhedral crystals formed there.
The Campbell mine, at Bisbee, Arizona,
is well known for its druzy siderite masses.
The crystals are microscopic, but completely
cover the matrix. The better specimens have a
brilliant iridescence. Such specimens are very
attractive, but again, are eclipsed by the more
attractive and much more valuable copper
species found in the same deposit.
One easily recognized classic siderite type
comes from Neudorf (Harz Mountains),
Germany. The siderites are nothing exceptional. They have a very nice, rich brown
color, and the slightly curved crystals are seldom more than inch on an edge. Perched
atop them is one of two superb crystal species: galena or bournonite.

50

www.rockngem.com

Rock & Gem

BoB Jones

In Americas colonial days, siderite was smelted in stone furnaces to produce iron.

The galena is highly modified, showing

a typical cubic upper face surrounded by
dodecahedron modifications, a classic in its
own right. The bournonite crystals do not
compete with the world-classic cogwheel
crystals from England and China, but can
be sharply tabular or twinned, in inch-long
crystals whose sides are deeply grooved with
re-entrant angles. These, too, are classic, but
not because of the siderite!
The best of all the classic siderites have
come from the Virtuous Lady mine, at Buckland Monachorum, Devon, England. Named
in honor of Queen Victoria, the mine was
once owned by the Williams family, whose
collection I enjoyed while in England.
This now-closed mine produced two examples of what is called an epimorph, a cast
image of a species that is no longer present in
the specimen. One epimorph is siderite cast
after fluorite cubes. The other is siderite after
some unknown mineral that is often thought
to be barite.
Ive seen several of the siderite after fluorite
casts. The missing fluorite was cubic. I say
was as it is no longer there, having been
dissolved away. On very rare occasions, one
of these amazing specimens will appear for
sale, but priced far beyond reach of this
writer and most other collectors. The best-

May 2016

known example of this type of epimorph is

in the Natural History Museum, London.
It has been frequently photographed and
displayed and is exceptional. Other species
On the floor of the open cast is a group
of chalcopyrite crystals, crowned by white
quartz crystals.
The second type of Virtuous Lady epimorph is a bit more common, but not by
much. Called lady slippers, they are siderite
casts after some unknown species, sometimes
with tiny pyrite crystals. The casts are virtually flat, and are wide at one end and taper
to a point, just as an actual slipper does. The
larger lady slipper casts are several inches
long and a couple of inches wide at the heel
end. Most are broken, as they are very thin
and fragile, but even a broken lady slipper
siderite would be a classic prize to own. I
have only seen these amazing casts for sale
once or twice over the past 50 years!
As you visit mineral shows, particularly the
small local shows, keep an eye out for a nice
siderite to add to your collection. Its a common mineral that can offer you a bit of American history or be an example of a well-known
locality. The nicest thing about siderite is that
it is attractive and can offer you a chance
to own a species that is usually reasonably
priceda rare breed these days!

51

what to cut
by RUSS KANIUTH
What to Cut

Sonoran Dendritic Rhyolite

S

RUSS KANIUTH

JEFF HANSEN

ps

onoran Dendritic
rhyolite is becoming
a widely used lapidary
material, and for good
reason! It has color and
style and is really easy to
work with. Gemologist
John Heusler named it
roughly four years ago in
Quartzsite, Arizona. The
stone, which comes from
Villa Hidalgo, Mexico,
has vibrant colors and
almost abstract paintingtype patterns. The most
sought after variation has
a steel-blue background
and white-outlined maroon dendrites.
Sonoran Dendritic rhyolite reminds
me of Apache rhyolite and Owyhee jasper, but with a flare of color unmatched
by the others. This material is perfect for
just about every lapidary endeavor, as almost every square inch is usable. It cuts,
grinds and shapes with ease.
The material is widely available online
and at most big rock shows where rough
lapidary material is sold. Buying slabs is a
sure-fire way to get the pattern selection
you desire most, but theres something to
be said for purchasing a piece of rough
and exploring each cut for yourself.
I like working with a variety of patterns, and frame each cabochon so that
the dendrites form a picture. The patterns in some of the cabs I have cut look
much like branches of Japanese cherry
blossoms stretched out across the cab;
others look like a mountain peak with a
lone cherry tree in bloom on top. There
are so many variations that the designs
that can be made are endless.
Most of the rough I have come across
has a dirty/oxidized coating (rind) and
much of the pattern is invisible, so I like
to grind little windows on each side of the
rough stone to see what patterns are showing. This way, I can choose which side and
direction to start cutting from.
With this being said, understand that
the patterns will change with each cut.
Most stones will give you a sister slab
(close to identical), allowing you to basically make the same cab twice. With Sonoran Dendritic rhyolite, this isnt always

52 www.rockngem.com

the case; the patterns seem to change with

almost every cut. The hardness of this
stone is approximately Mohs 3, so cutting
it is a dream.
Cabbing this material is relatively easy,
but has a few drawbacks. First, its one of
those stones that never really takes a mirror-gloss finish. Most of the time, its closer
to a satin finish, up to a high sheen. Some
of the methods I have tried yielded satinfinish cabs; however, I noticed that I did
gain a better finish if I ran it all the way
up to a 50,000 grit polishing wheel. Most
lapidaries usually dont have grits this fine,
so there is another method of cabbing this
material to obtain a high sheen that almost
anyone can achieve.
John F. Heusler taught me to shape the

cab in the normal fashion and run it through

your regular routine,
stopping at the 3000 grit
wheel. He relayed that, in
his experience, it works
best with 3000 grit Nova
brand wheels that are run
dry. When utilizing this
method, be sure to wear
a respirator mask so you
are not inhaling all the
dust it will create.
Work in short spurts,
checking your cab occasionally to be sure its
not getting too hot, which
will cause fractures. This
will be as far as you need
to go; the cab should take on a nice highsheen to glossy finish in no time.
Cabbing this material is much like
working with chrysocolla or serpentine;
its so soft that you have to use a light
touch when shaping it or you risk the
chance of creating flat spots or rounding over the girdle too far. I find that
this material is sturdy enough and stable
enough to shape into long, sharp points,
such as standard teardrop shapes, if you
use care.
With softer materials like this, it is
best to start out on a less-abrasive grinding wheel. I normally start shaping my
preforms on the 220 grit grinding wheel
and just get the essential shape, then
move on to the 280 to 320 grit wheels.
I prefer to cab with the soft Nova-style
wheels, which work great for this particular material.
Sonoran Dendritic rhyolite has managed to become a fan favorite in a very
short time, and is easily found online, on
either eBay or your favorite Facebook rock
groups that sell slabs and rough. I highly
recommend giving it a try; its easy to work
with and makes beautiful cabochons and
pieces of jewelry.
Russ Kaniuth is the owner of Sunset Ridge Lapidary Arts and the cofounder of the Cabs and
Slabs Facebook group.
See his work at www.
sunsetridgelapidary.com.

Rock & Gem

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55

TURQUOISE

HELEN SERRAS-HERMAN

ROYAL
ROAD

History and Gems in New Mexico

Story by Helen Serras-Herman

n 1519, soon after Columbus came to America, the Spanish established the seaport of Veracruz in todays Gulf of Mexico. From there, they stretched their explorations through major
routes, known as the Royal Roads. The first leg of the Camino Real (Royal Road) follows
the route taken by Conquistador Hernn Corts in 1519 from Veracruz to Tenochtitlan,
now Mexico City. The Royal Roads were controlled by the King of Spain or his representatives, and
were often called The Kings Highway.
The main road to the interior of the northern land is known as El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro
(the Royal Road of the Interior). It was established in 1598, when Don Juan de Oate made his
famous expedition. The road runs 1,600 miles, almost parallel to the Rio Grande River, and dissects todays Mexico. Originating in Mexico City, it heads north through Zacatecas and Chihuahua, enters the United States through El Paso, and heads north through the state of New Mexico,
ending in Santa Fe.

54

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Rock & Gem

TIM EVANSON/WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

hides, peyote cactus, pigments and minerals,

particularly turquoise; the southern tribes
brought exotic feathers, live macaws, copper
bells, and shells. It was also an emigrant trail,
bringing thousands of Spanish and Mexican
colonists to New Mexico. El Camino Real
de Tierra Adentro is the oldest and longest
used highway in Mexico and the United
States. For 300 years, this north-south artery
was the lifeblood of commerce and trading.
It actually died in 1885 with the arrival of
the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe (AT&SF)
Railroad, but was brought back to life when
it was designated a historic trail. Museums
and sites are highlighted along its path.
In late October 2015, my husband, Andrew,
and I were heading to Santa Fe for the 2015
SW Festival of the Arts, an arts and crafts
show into which I was juried and exhibited.
The show was held at the stunning Hilton
Santa Fe Buffalo Thunder Resort, a few miles
north of Santa Fe. Our travels followed the
Camino Real route in New Mexico, and with
history and gems in mind, we visited three
sites along this historic route.
A spectacular specimen of Cerrillos turquoise resides in the National Museum of Natural
History, in Washington, D.C.

de Tierra Adentro became known as the

Chihuahua Trail.
The Royal Road of the Interior followed
pre-existing trade routes established much
earlier by Mesoamerican and North American tribes. The northern tribes traded salt,

HELEN SERRAS-HERMAN

HELEN SERRAS-HERMAN

Santa Fe was the capital of New Spain

from 1603 until 1821, at which time the
Spanish empire fell and the region became
part of the Mexican state. The Santa Fe Trail
opened with the arrival of William Becknells
traders from Missouri, and El Camino Real

El Camino Real International

Heritage Center & Historic Trail Site
Driving north on Interstate 25 in New
Mexico, we stopped at a rest area 35 miles
north of the town of Truth or Consequences,
which is about an equal distance south of
the town of Socorro. There, a large sign
was advertising the nearby El Camino Real

There are many beautiful mineral specimens on the shelves at Casa Grande Trading Post,
Petting Zoo & Mining Museum. Some are local turquoise, azurite and quartz that owner
Todd Brown trims with his saw.

May 2016

The town of Cerrillos, 15 miles south of

Santa Fe, is full of mining history and is situated on the historic Turquoise Trail.

55

56

www.rockngem.com

A cabinet at the Turquoise Mining Museum displays a wide range of beautiful New Mexico
minerals, featuring turquoise from several mines.

HELEN SERRAS-HERMAN

International Heritage Center and museum.

Only a couple miles north of the rest area
exit on I-25 North is Exit #115, which loops
back toward the rest area and then heads five
miles east into the desert, to El Camino Real
International Heritage Center & Historic
Trail Site.
Heritage Center and museum is a huge,
contemporary building overlooking the
northern end of the desert known as the
Jornada del Muerto (Journey of Death),
a feared and waterless region with deep
arroyos, canyons and quicksand that made
travel treacherous and extremely slow. The
center is one of New Mexicos newest state
museums. It was established by Congress
in 2000, opened its doors to the public in
November 2005, and celebrated its 10th
anniversary in 2015.
The El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro
National Historic Trail runs through the
heart of the Rio Grande Valley. The trail
is co-administered by the Bureau of Land
Management (BLM) and the National Park
Service (NPS), and trail sites are located on
private, municipal, tribal, federal and state
lands (www.nps.gov/elca/index.htm). There
are many sites and museums to visit along
this historic trail. Some are listed on the
official list by NPS, while others are not.
Pueblos, towns and villages along this trail
are some of the oldest settlements in North
America.
The visitor center is full of award-winning
exhibits, an interpretive learning center, and
artifacts that tell the history and heritage of
The Royal Road of the Interior. All displays
are in both English and Spanish. A short film
runs continuously in the theater.
A replica of the entire Plaza de Zacatecas as
it appeared 300 years ago is on display, complete with fountains, arches and a mission
faade with belfry and bells. Also an entire
shop (tienda) is set up with all items necessary for everyday life. The exhibits, graphic
design displays, photographs, clothing and
artifacts all attempt to give the visitor an
understanding of how it was to travel along
the Camino Real during those times, when
goods were transported in carts and wagons
drawn by oxen or mules. People travelled
on foot or on horseback, and at an average

HELEN SERRAS-HERMAN

ROYAL ROAD TURQUOISE

This selection of Todd Browns specimens from the Cerrillos Mining district includes green
turquoise (left) from the Little Chalchihuitl mine, blue turquoise (right) from the Little
Blue Bell mine, and white variscite from the White Angel mine (center).

of eight to 10 miles per day, it was a five- to

six-month journey each way. They used the
caretta, a two-wheeled ox-drawn cart built
entirely of wood without any nails or metal.
Although it looks very primitive, it was very
hardy. An authentically built replica is part
of the living history display.
Many merchants left every fall New Mexico
heading south for the trade fairs in New
Spain. The trip to Chihuahua lasted 40 days.

Traders carried products of the land: buffalo,

deer and bear hides, jerky, tallow, coarse
wool weavings, moccasins, nuts, sheep and
salt, which was very important for the refining of silver ore. The Spanish merchants from
the south brought iron tools, shawls, painted
chests and copper pots, porcelain and silk
from China, leather goods and shoes, along
with chocolate, tobacco, paper and ink.
One of the interesting facts that drew my

Rock & Gem

HELEN SERRAS-HERMAN

Galena from the Cerrillos Hills, seen at the Turquoise Mining Museum, was important for
glazing traditional Rio Grande pottery.

attention at the center was that the Camino

Real was used to transfer slaves and miners
from the north to the copper and silver mines
of the south. Once again, we are reminded of
the importance of mining and the scores of
laborers it tookand still takesto produce
our valuable metals and minerals.
The Spanish became aware of silver ore
around the city of Zacatecas in 1546, when
local Indians showed Captain Juan de Tolosa
some ore (Following the Royal Road, Hal
Jackson, University of New Mexico Press,
2006). In the years to follow, silver was
mined all around Zacatecas. Today, there
are still 15 mining districts in Zacatecas that
produce silver, lead, zinc, gold, phosphorite,
wollastonite, fluorite and barium. Zacatecas
is the largest producer of silver in the world,
providing 17% of the worlds production.
In 1598, Don Juan de Oate led an expedition of 400 Spanish settlers into northern
Mexico (New Spain at the time) and into
New Mexico with the goal of the pacification
of the Pueblos and the colonization of New
Mexico (New Mexicos Royal Road, Max L.
Moorhead, University of Oklahoma Press,
1958). Oate was the son of a wealthy silver
baron in Zacatecas, and received a contract
from the Crown to settle new lands and look
for gold and silver.
There are exhibit cases at the El Camino

May 2016

Real International Heritage Center with

beautiful repouss silver worka metalworking technique in which the silver is
hammered from the reverse side to create
a design in low relief. Another case was full
of local mineral specimens, including rough
turquoise. We found an extensive book
inventory at the small gift shop.
For information, hours and admission,
visit www.caminorealheritage.org or http://
elcaminoreal.org/new/friends_camino/
index.html.
Cerrillos Turquoise Mine Tour
& Museum
On our return trip from Santa Fe, we
stopped at the town of Cerrillos for our
pre-arranged turquoise mine tour, organized
by the Casa Grande Trading Post & Mining
Museum.
The town of Cerrillos (little hills) is full
of mining history. Situated 15 miles south
of Santa Fe, at an elevation of 5,688 feet,
Cerrillos is also on another historic trail: the
Turquoise Trail.
The Turquoise Trail is a 65-mile drive
along state Route 14, which was designated
a National Scenic Byway in 2000. The trail
starts in Santa Fe, and ends just south of
Interstate 40 at the town of Tijeras, 15 miles
east of Albuquerque (www.turquoisetrail.

57

HELEN SERRAS-HERMAN

HELEN SERRAS-HERMAN

ROYAL ROAD TURQUOISE

Todd Brown gave a demonstration of how

he trims the Cerrillos turquoise and prepares it for cutting into cabochons.

The Turquoise Mining Museum is a treasure trove of minerals, dioramas, historic photos,
mine chronicles, bottles, antiques, and old mining equipment that tells the story of times
gone by.

org). The Turquoise Trail passes the old mining towns of Cerrillos, Madrid and Golden,
which are now packed with arts-and-crafts
shops and restaurants. A beautiful colorful flier titled Travel the historic Turquoise
Trail identifies more than 60 attractions
along its way. The town of Cerrillos was once
seriously considered for the capital of New
Mexico, but today its a picturesque town
with dirt streets, reminiscent of historic Old
West towns.
The low, arid hills around Cerrillos are
formed from ancient volcanoes and have a
distinctive cone shape. The Cerrillos Hills
mining district has been known since AD
700, when the early Pueblo people mined
and traded turquoise (History of the Los Cerrillos Mining area, Homer E. Milford, 2013),
long before the arrival of the Spanish.
Archeologists have found more than
200,000 turquoise pieces at various sites at
Chaco Canyon, the major ancestral Pueblo
Indian site in northwestern New Mexico.
Originally, the Cerrillos Hills, about 124
miles away from Chaco Canyon, were
thought to be the origin of all the turquoise.
Recent studies, however, based on copperto-hydrogen isotope ratios that prove the
geological source, have linked it to various
turquoise mines in Colorado, New Mexico,
Nevada, and southeastern California. This
confirms the existence of a massive trade

network (www.livescience.com/44703-tur
quoise-trade-network-revealed.html).
The Indian word chalchihuitl is taken from
the Aztec word for green, used rather for
the Mesoamerican jade than for turquoise. I
was surprised to hear, however, that in New
Mexico, chalchihuitl is used for turquoise,
and one of the turquoise mines is called
the Little Chalchihuitl mine. Researching the
topic, I found out that it is a 100-year old
debate of whether chalchihuitl refers to
jade or turquoise between J.E. Pogue (The
Turquoise, 1915), W.F Foshag (Chalchihuitla study in jade, 1955) and others, described
in the article Turquoise in the Cerrillos Hills
(Lapidary Journal, Nov. 1962, Merril O.
Murphy).
Although the first lead mining undertaken
in the region by Pueblo Indians was in AD
1300 (History of the Los Cerrillos Mining
area, Milford), the lead strike of 1879 created
the boom for the more recent community.
During the decade of 1880-90, 21 saloons,
four hotels, and two churches served the
flood of miners. Placer gold, lead, zinc and
silver came out of the Mina del Tiro, Bethsheba, La Luz, Ruelena, and the Santa Rosa
Mines. Turquoise came from the Chalchihuitl, Castillian and Tiffany mines. Galena
and lead ores were very important for glazing traditional Rio Grande pottery.
At the village of Cerrillos, we briefly

58

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stopped at the historic marker, and then

headed to the Casa Grande Trading Post,
Petting Zoo & Mining Museum. The owners,
Todd and Patricia Brown, built the 28-room
adobe-brick hacienda, museum, and gift
shop. Todd came to Cerrillos from New
York at the age of 17 and made this town
his home (Cerrillos Adventures and Beyond,
Todd Brown).
I had called in advance and made reservations with Todd for the Turquoise Mine
Tour. The private tour he offers takes about
two hours and involves some hiking and hill
climbing that is moderately strenuous. Our
first stop was on top of a hill where remnants
of mining equipment, a water cistern, and
a miners house are still noticeable. Todd
shared with us the history of the turquoise
mining in open pits and underground tunnels of the area, as well as how galena and
lead were so important for pottery glazing.
We were allowed to pick up a few pieces of
turquoise, which was actually more rock
with a dusting of turquoise!
We visited a couple more locations, all on
private property. We drove in Todds vehicle,
and in order to reach the mining areas, we
had to open and close several private property gates with posted signs, which Todd
has permission to do. We visited the site of
one of the historic open-pit mining areas,
which produced a lot of turquoise. Today,

Rock & Gem

it is considered a state historic site, but it is

still privately owned. Negotiations are currently underway for the county or state to
acquire it and open it for visitors. Todd is the
propertys custodian, and is allowed to take
visitors in, but photos from that site are not
allowed to be published.
Once we returned to the Casa Grande
Trading Post and Cerrillos Turquoise Mining Museum, we took a tour of Todds lapidary workshopmostly indoors, but with a
big tile saw outdoors. There were many mineral specimens on the shelves: some local
turquoise, azurite and quartz that he trims
with his saw, and sells.
The mining museum is a treasure trove.
Minerals, dioramas, historic photos, bottles,
antiques, and old mining equipment tell the
local story of times gone by. The museum is
full mine chronicles, memorabilia, everyday
objects, kitchen appliances from another era,
pots, pottery and china, deer antlers, and
mine lamps. These odds n ends of Cerrillos cover tables, fill display cases, hang from
the ceiling, and are displayed on the walls. A
cabinet holds a wide range of beautiful New
Mexico minerals, featuring turquoise from
several mines.
The gift shop, before the entrance to the
mining museum, is full of minerals and
jewelry handmade by the owners. They feature green turquoise from their claim The
Little Chalchihuitl, which Todd discovered
38 years ago around Grand Central Mountain in the Cerrillos Mining district; blue
turquoise from the Little Blue Bell mine,
which is part of the old American Turquoise
Mines, worked between 1895 and 1912;
and white variscite from their White Angel
mine. Personally, I found the white variscite
interesting and unusual, and I purchased a
few pieces. To see photos from their mines
and specimens, visit www.cerrillosturquoise.
com. For tour reservations, contact Todd at
(505) 438-3008 or brownp@yahoo.com.

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The Turquoise Museum

We left Cerrillos and drove south on the
scenic byway state Route 14 through the
towns of Madrid and Golden. Our next stop
was the Turquoise Museum, located in a
strip mall in downtown Albuquerque. From

May 2016

59

HELEN SERRAS-HERMAN

ROYAL ROAD TURQUOISE

the outside it is very unassuming, but inside

it is an educational and visual delight.
Two tours (11 a.m. and 1 p.m.) of the collection are offered daily; you cannot view the
collections on your own. The hour-and-ahalf tour begins in a replica of a mine tunnel,
which opens to a fabulous museum.
The museum and the collection are the
lifetime work of five generations of the Zachary and Lowry families. A wall display tells
the loving family story of Jesse C. Zack
Zachary Jr., known as the Turquoise King,
who passed away in 1999. He started cutting
turquoise at the age of 9, learning all about
turquoise from his father, J.C. Zachary Sr.
Returning from World War II, he resumed
his lapidary business. He specialized in turquoise and was able to travel the world looking for the gem.
Joe Dan Lowry, who is Zacks son-inlaw, is a leading expert on turquoise. He is
also the founder and curator of the Turquoise Museum. Joe Dan and his son, Joe P.
Lowry, are also the co-authors of two great

60

www.rockngem.com

HELEN SERRAS-HERMAN

The hour-and-a-half tour at the Turquoise Museum, in Albuquerque, begins in a replica mine tunnel, which opens into a fabulous museum.

The Casa Grande Trading Post, Petting Zoo & Mining Museum, located in Cerrillos, New
Mexico, is on another historic trail, the Turquoise Trail.

books on turquoise: Turquoise: the World

Story of a Fascinating Gemstone (Gibbs
Smith, 2010) and Turquoise Unearthed
(Rio Nuevo Publishers, 2002).

The displays of natural turquoise at the

Turquoise Museum tell the story of turquoise, from mining to jewelry. Educational
exhibits full of spectacular specimens from

Rock & Gem

80 mines worldwideNative American,

Mesoamerican, European, South American
and Asianhelp the visitor understand the
importance of turquoise in our lives. It is
considered the largest collection of highgrade turquoise in the world.
There are displays on the formation of
turquoise, the global geological occurrences,
mining history and techniques, which vary
from mine to mine, and treatments of turquoise. There are graphic displays and exhibits on grading turquoise, based on three
categories: the rarity of the mine source,
the clarity (with or without matrix), and the
color of the stone.
There are many cases with remarkable turquoise rough from every American mine,
cut specimens, and jewelry, displayed along
magazine articles, brochures and artifacts.
Our young tour guide was Jacob Lowry,
Joe Dans grandson, who is very knowledgeable about turquoise and the collection.
After the tour, I was able to speak to Joe
P, who allowed me to take photos inside
the Turquoise Museum. We started talking
about turquoise: what is really stabilized or
enhanced; what should be called natural or
enhanced; truths and misconceptions; our
love for turquoise; American vs. Chinese
turquoise; how limited the quantity the Cerrillos turquoise is and how its production
has been exaggerated; how the Tyrone mine
in New Mexico has produced the best turquoise in that state; and that the Aztecs must
have used Mexican turquoise rather than
American. This fascinating man has a lot of
experience with turquoise, and is definitely a
man of strong convictions, passionate about
turquoise and family. We left four hours
later, considering ourselves very fortunate
that we had met.
The Turquoise Museum is located at 2107
Central Ave. NW. For hours and admission,
visit http://turquoisemuseum.com.

Helen Serras-Herman is an acclaimed gem

sculptor and gemologist (FGA) with over 32
years of experience and a 2003 Lapidary Hall
of Fame inductee. See her work at www.gemart
center.com and on Facebook page at Gem Art
Center/ Helen Serras-Herman.

May 2016

61

Bringing Back a

State Treasure

The building that housed the Arizona Mining and Mineral Museum was built in 1921 in the revival Moorish style.

The Fight to Reopen the Arizona

Mining and Mineral Museum Continues
Story by Ed Winbourne/Photos Courtesy the
Arizona Mining and Mineral Museum

s Rock & Gem readers have

been made aware, the Arizona
Mining and Mineral Museum
was closed in 2010 (see Americas Missing Museum, by Bob Jones, September
2013). In an operation conducted in an
atmosphere of near-complete secrecy
on the part of the Arizona Historical
Society and then-Governor Brewer, the
museum was taken from the people of
Arizona.

62

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Its location made the museum a regular stop for tens of thousands of schoolchildren on eld trips to the state capital.

Rock & Gem

The museum educated the public about copper mining, a major Arizona industry since the 19th century.

The fight to reopen it has been an uphill

struggle that began as soon as the doors
closed behind the employees and volunteers,
who were shunted out of the facility with no
advance notice. That fight has entered a new
stage, and support to make the final push
to bring this Arizona treasure back to life is
growing.
The last legislative session saw the Arizona Senate and House of Representatives
vote overwhelmingly to reopen the shuttered Arizona Mining and Mineral Museum.
This was a rare instance of bipartisan action.
Despite this show of political support, however, Governor Ducey vetoed the measure.
Unfortunately, the governors rejection came
too late in the session for the legislature to
override the veto.
The reason the governor gave for the veto
was that there was no plan, or organizational
structure, to carry out the reorganization.
This was and is patently false, as Senate Bill

May 2016

1200, which was sponsored by Senator Gail

Griffin, called for the museum to transfer
the existing Mineral Museum budget from
the Arizona Historical Society (AHS) to
the Arizona Geological Survey. The AHS
receives $360,000 per year to maintain the
now-vacant building. In addition to that,
AHS receives $67,000 for a curator to watch
over the empty building, which was built in
1921 in the revival Moorish style.
The Senate bill, as written, is revenue neutral; no additional monies are required from
the state. The existing budget is simply transferred from the AHS to the Arizona Geological Survey. The director of the Arizona
Geological Survey Society, Lee Allison, was
fully informed of the new role the survey was
to take on and embraced it.
Governor Brewer closed the museum
in 2010 under the guise of repurposing
the building to celebrate the centennial of
Arizona statehood. That plan failed when

only a very small fraction of the projected

$15,000,000 needed for renovations construction of displays was raised. The buildings location, at 1502 W. Washington Street,
is only five blocks from the Arizona Statehouse. For nearly 64 years, the Mining and
Mineral Museum was a showcase for one of
the building blocks of our great state, mining,
as well as Arizonas diverse riches of minerals,
the most of any state in the Union.
Its location made it a regular stop for tens
of thousands of schoolchildren on field trips
to our state capital. Science teachers would
organize their field trips to expose students
to the museums superb collection of mineral
specimens, meteorites, fossils and fluorescents. A working stamp mill and other mining equipment gave young people a real taste
of this important industry. Arizona is popularly said to be founded on the five Cs:
cotton, cattle, climate, copper and citrus.
Copper can be considered the most impor-

63

ARIZONA MUSEUM
tant component of Arizonas mineral wealth.
Students could also attend classes on
jewelry making and wire wrapping. They
had the opportunity to talk to, and receive
instruction from, the many volunteers, some
of whom were experts in geology, mining
engineering, and lapidary arts, the mineral collection, and the function of mining
equipment.
An issue that was brought out at the legislative hearings on Senate bill 1200 is the
whereabouts and condition of the worldclass collection of minerals, fossils, moon
rocks, and meteorites that the museum
owned. No record is available of what happened to them. In response to one rumor
that specimens from the collection had been
sold on eBay, the legislature instructed the
Attorney Generals office to investigate. The
AG found that the rumor was baseless, but
that did not end speculation as to where all
the specimens are.
It is known that some are in the basement
of the museum building and the fluorescent
collection is being held by the Earth Science
Center at Arizona State University, but that
does not account for all of the specimens. It is
also uncertain where the contents of the gift
shop have gone. The shop was a very successful part of the museum, generating significant
income, and at the time of the AHS takeover
had a valuable stock of material, including
books, jewelry, and specimens of minerals
and fossils. No inventory was taken of the
shops contents, as was mandated, when the
AHS took over the building.
The museum was also home to an extensive
lapidary shop, manned by volunteers who
were ready, willing and able to share their
knowledge. Thousands of residents of the
greater Phoenix area took classes in everything from rock cutting and polishing to
fashioning cabochons and silversmithing.
All the equipment was lost in the takeover
by the AHS, with little hope of it ever returning, as the equipment was old and the cost of
replacement is prohibitive.
The fight to reopen the museum has
entered a new stage. A core of longtime Arizona rockhounds and museum supporters,
dubbed Wild Indians by AHS members

64

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Rock & Gem

Display cabinets feature mineral specimens from Ajo, Morenci, and other important Arizona copper-mining areas.

(http://cammaz.net/2015/05/10/an-openletter-to-the-membe rs-of-the-arizona-historical-society/)a name the group is happy

to acceptare carrying on. In the legislature,
Senator Griffin is once again leading the
effort. She is preparing to reintroduce a bill
to reopen the museum and to build the
necessary support for its passage. Museum
supporters have expanded their efforts to
raise support for their efforts by establishing the Coalition of Advocates for Mineral
Museums in Arizona (www.CAMMAZ.net).
The leader of the Wild Indians, Richard
Zimmerman, has established a blog on the
CAMMAZ site. He and other members of
the coalition have spoken at rockhounding

May 2016

clubs, at schools, and on TV. They work

every day to educate the public on how great
a void has been created by the closing of the
museum and what is being done to bring it
back to life.
In conjunction with the work of the legislature, last year, thousands of Arizonans
signed petitions to reopen the museum that
were delivered to the Governor. This year,
the coalition will resume that effort, and
it hopes to use social media to reinforce
the fact that the popular will is to see the
museum reopened.
It is important to regain the momentum
that led to legislative victory last spring. As
of this writing, the bill has been passed

65

ARIZONA MUSEUM

The museum was home to an extensive lapidary shop, manned by volunteers who were
willing to share their knowledge.

by the state Senate and is in hearings in

the House. The Arizona Historical Society,
which has control of the empty building has
come out in open opposition to reestablishing the museum in that building.
Every effort is being made to spread the

word that the fight to reopen the Arizona

Mining and Mineral Museum is very much
alive. To follow that effort and show support for bringing back to life one of the
true treasures of Arizona, log on to www.
CAMAZ.net.

A working stamp mill and other displays of mining equipment gave young people a sense
of an industry that is very important to Arizona.

66

www.rockngem.com

Rock & Gem

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www.crystalgrove.com
in mind. Fluorescent minerals and UV
OpAL
lights. www.tlzenterprises.com FE16
tHE rOCKDOC WILL NO t BE
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uNDErSOLD! On-Line only, worldLast Chance Mine-Creede, Colorado.
wide Opals and other precious gems.
Looking for retiree who wants to
Call, email or write; (985)790-0861,
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October as mine greeter and possible
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NELSON LApIDArY EQuIpMENt,
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If your equipment needs repairs,
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sistent Opal suppliers in the indusNelson at P.O. Box 716, Salome, AZ
t r y. F r e e C a t a l o g . K N I G H T S ,
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Box 411, Waitsfield, VT 05673. (802)
Gilbert, AZ. used Facetron Faceting
496-3707. Email: knights@madriver.com
Machine. Good condition, works
well. Laps included. $2,200 firm.
rOCK SHOpS
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pOCONO rOCK SHOp ! pA Inside
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MINErALS
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Rare Minerals and classic specimens
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Scottsdale, AZ 6060 East Thomas
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buyers of mines, rough material, rock
stabilizers, turquoise, fire-agate, public dealers welcome. (602) 620-3999
Cash or Credit Card only.
FL15
QuArtZSItE, AZ: Mary Ellen Jasper
rough huge selection; Quality Rough,
Slabs, Turquoise; Tumble Mix rough;
Lapidary Equipment; Dec-Feb, MonSat, 10-4; Hwy 50-95 Rock Shop,
645 N. Central Blvd (Hwy 95N),
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775-781-2047
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www.thoseblastedthings.com Your
first stop for a large selection of
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pipestone with quantity discounts
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our website and take a virtual tour
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exit off of I90, 1/2 block north by the
big buffalo. Easy on/off of the interstate. Check out our commercial on
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Millers Mineral Mine, Gettysburg,
PA. We offer quality pieces for the
collector and the metaphysical seeker.
We speak your language! Specimens
from around the world with a focus
on Peru and South America. SHOP
HOURS BY APPOINTMENT. 2599
Heidlersburg Road, Gettysburg,
PA 17325 (717) 339-9338 or
Admin@MillersMineralMine.com
FE16
Orlando FL, Mineral, Fossil and
Artifacts store. Many minerals, gems, cabochons and fossils,
including Florida material: Tampa
Bay Coral rough. Ancient Artifacts &
Treasures, 1999 W. Fairbanks Ave.,
Winter Park Florida. 407-678-9300,
www.mcintosh55.com
KJ15
Big Bear Lake CA Gems of the West
sells minerals, gems, cabochons,
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janet@gemsofthewest.co
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premier showroom for rocks, minerals, fossils, jewelry making supplies,
beads, designer cabochons, and
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glue on Beaver Tail bails, Slip-on
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George, Ontario, Canada, N0E 1N0.
www.roberthalloriginals.com
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als & equipment, tools plus cutting,
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elist worldvingems@gmail.com. Red, purple, mixed colors: $5 lb.
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69

Easy Steps Video

Step-by-Step Method
Jewelry Design
Jewelry Crafting
Gem Cutting
Lapidary, Faceting, Carving, Wire Work,
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Repair, Wax Casting and more.
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70

www.rockngem.com

picks & pans

NEWS and REVIEWS
Picture Jaspers from the Northwest
by Hans Gamma and Lauritz A. Jensen
The reviewers interest is more inclined
toward crystallized minerals than lapidary
materials, but once I started to read this text I
could not put it down.
The specific detail offered for classifying the
huge variety of different jaspers that occur in
the 3 million acres of the Owyee jasper area was
fascinating. Every collector of these wonderful
semiprecious gems will find this text a vital addition to their library.
The authors spent countless hours exploring, $39 (Hans Gamma, P.O. Box 18424, Fountain
studying and collecting in this vast area. They
Hills, AZ 85269; www.wolrdofjaspers.com)
also studied material in private collections and
talked to rockhounds and jasper miners in the area. The result is the most accurate and
detailed description of the various Owyhee area jaspers now available.
The specific areas included in the text are Bruneau Canyon, Willow Creek, Owyhee,
Blue Mountain, and McDermitt. The authors explain how the region developed as a caldera overlain by volcanic ash rich in iron oxides, which contributed to the later development of the colorful jaspers every lapidary admires.
Using photographs of each locality, accompanied by copious photographs of the
jaspers found in each locality, the text gives the reader a very useful guide in recognizing the differences in each areas jaspers.
Useful commentary is given on the potential for collecting, the involvement of the
federal government, and the status of existing jasper mines in this region, which is still
rich in gem material.
For those who own and collect jaspers from the Owyhee area, which spans across
Idaho, Oregon and Nevada, this text is an excellent and necessary reference.
Bob Jones

Collectors Guide to Crawfordsville Crinoids

by William W. Morgan
The reader might think that all fossil crinoids are
the same, but just a casual look at the photographs
and drawings of the crinoids in this text will convince
you that the fossils from the limestone region around
Crawfordsville, Indiana, are really special. They are, in
fact, considered the finest examples of this unusual
life form.
Crinoids are echinoderms, marine animals that anchor themselves in shallow seas, with feathery feeding
arms that give them the look of a flower. The finegrained quality of the gray limestone in which these fossils are found has preserved in great detail and numbers
these plantlike fossils.
The abundance and quality of the Crawfordsville
$19.99 (Schiffer Publishing Ltd., 4880
Lower Valley Rd., Atglen, PA 19310; crinoids, resulting from an environment that was virtually undisturbed during their life span, make them
info@schifferbooks.com)
special. Scientists come to this area to study and collect these creatures, which have existed on Earth for millions of years.
The author, using more than 100 close-up photos and excellent diagrams, reveals the
exceptional detail found in the crinoid fossils from this area. The excellent preparation
work done on them reveals why Crawfordville crinoids are so highly prized.
Anyone who is fascinated by these really odd life forms will find this 96-page text
informative and be challenged to know more about this area and its superb examples of
an early life form.
Bob Jones

Rock & Gem

The

R&G Shopper

Welcome to the ROCK&GEM Shopper, the one-stop shopping place for your rockhounding and lapidary needs. Every month
many thousands of shoppers will browse through this convenient shopping section.
To be part of the Shopper, call Priscilla Torres at: 972.448.9131 or email: ptorres@beckett.com

MONTANA AGATE
Rough, slabs, cabs, freeform carvings,
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on Montana Agate.
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MINERALS, FOSSILS, POLISHED
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71

Mark Your Calendar!

how

Dates

Submit show date information at least four months in advance using the electronic form at www.rockngem.com.

April 2016-May 2016

29-1KALAMAZOO, MICHIGAN: Annual show;
Kalamazoo Geological and Mineral Society,
Kalamazoo County Expo Center; 2900 Lake
Street; Fri. 4 -8 , Sat. 10 -6 , Sun. 10 -5 ; $3
Admission, Children under 12 free; At Kalamazoo
Rock, Gem, Jewelry, Fossil and Mineral Show!
See a full size replica skull of the largest T-Rex
ever discovered Occupying almost 20,000 sq.
ft. of show space the show is a fun filled event
for the whole family. At the show explore and
discover the world of rocks, minerals, meteorites
and fossils. Pick a gem and select a setting, or
select a polish stone and have it wired rapped to
take home a unique piece of jewelry unlike any
other in town. Pan for gold, learn about silver
smithing, play a game, polish a Petoskey stone,
crack open a geode, build a mineral collection,
search out fossils, buy some beads; all this and
more can be done at the Show. Learn about
geology through the many KGMS members displays; hands on educational activities provided
by Western Michigan University. Hourly door
prizes and a grand prize drawing. KGMS is a
501(c)3 not for profit, educational organization;
all show proceeds support geological education including scholarships to Western Michigan
University. ; contact Jerry VanNocker, 13101 East
Armour Lane, Battle Creek, MI 49014, 269 979
3348; e-mail: show@KalamazooRockClub.org;
Web site: KalamazooRockClub.org
29-1SANTA ROSA, CALIFORNIA: Wholesale

and retail show; Gem Faire Inc, Sonoma County

Fairgrounds; 1350 Bennett Valley Rd; Fri. 12-6,
Sat. 10-6, Sun. 10-5; $7 Admission, Children
under 11 free; Fine jewelry, precious & semi-precious gemstones, millions of beads, crystals, gold
& silver, minerals & much more at manufacturers
prices. Exhibitors from around the world will be
on site. Jewelry repair & cleaning while you shop.
Free hourly door prizes.; contact Yooy Nelson,
503-252-8300; e-mail: info@gemfaire.com;
Web site: http://www.gemfaire.com
Retail
show; Treasures of the Earth Gem, Mineral
& Jewelry Shows, Virginia Beach Convention
Center; 1000 19th Street; Fri. 12-6, Sat. 10-5,
Sun. 10-5; Adults $5, Students 16 and under free;
Vendors from across the United States bring a
variety of merchandise. Their items include 14K
and sterling silver, classic, estate, fashion and
handmade jewelry. Loose stones, beads and
findings, pearls, mineral specimens, rocks, crys-

29-1VIRGINIA BEACH, VIRGINIA:

72 www.rockngem.com

tals, lapidary supplies. Jewelers and wire wrappers who can design, remount and set stones
and make repairs on site. Display of rocks and
minerals and demonstrations of lapidary arts by
the two Gem and Mineral Societies of the area. ;
contact Jane Westbrook, PO Box 59, Gloucester
Point, VA 23062, (804)-642-2011; e-mail:
ellen@treasuresoftheearth.com; Web site:
www.treasuresoftheearth.com
30-1RICHMOND,

BRITISH

COLUMBIA,

Annual show; Richmond Gem

& Mineral Society, Richmond Arts & Cultural
Centre; 7700 Minoru Gate, Canada; Sat. 10
am-5 pm, Sun. 10 am-4 pm; Admission is a
Donation; 55th Annual Gem & Mineral Show
\55 SHADES OF TURQUOISE\. Vendors featuring handcrafted jewelry, gems, rocks and
slabs. Member displays. Mini seminars. Silent
auction. Kid\s activities. Demonstrations. Door
prizes--And much, much more. Admission by
donation. Free parking.; contact Lisa Kew; e-mail:
lisakew@shaw.ca;
Web
site:
richmondbclapidary.wordpress.com

CANADA:

30-1WACO, TEXAS: Annual show; Waco Gem

and Mineral Club, Extraco Event Center; 4601
Bosque Blvd; Sat. 9-6, Sun. 10-5; $5 Admission,
Children $1.00; Scouts in uniform get in free to
our 56th annual show.; contact J. Bennett, 1238
Kirkland Hill Rd., Axtell, TX 76624, 2545486839;
e-mail: showchair@wacogemandmineral.org;
Web site: www.wacogemandmineral.org
30-1WACO, TEXAS: Annual show; Waco Gem
and Mineral Club, Extraco Events Center; 4601
Bosque Blvd.; Sat. 9-6, Sun. 10-5; $5 Admission,
Children $1; Scouts in Uniform get in Free. Tickets
are good for both Show days. ; contact Jennifer
Bennett, TX; e-mail: bennettje70@gmail.com;
Web site: www.wacogemandmineral.org
30-1EVERETT, WASHINGTON: 63rd Annual
Gem, Jewelry and Mineral Show; Everett Rock
and Gem Club, Everett Community College;
Walt Price Student Fitness Center, 2206 Tower
Street; Sat. 10-6, Sun. 10-5; free; Dealers,
demonstrations, door prizes, raffle drawing,
kids activities, silent auction, exhibits and displays, food.; contact Fritz Mack, 425 232 0809;
e-mail: rockngemmack1@gmail.com; Web site:
www.everettrockclub.com
WISCONSIN: Annual
show; Heart of Wisconsin Gem & Mineral Society,
Marshfield High School field house; 1401 Becker
Rd; Sat. 10-5, Sun. 10-4; Free Admission; 42nd
annual show featuring dealers, displays, speak-

30-1MARSHFIELD,

ers, kids activities, continuous silent auctions,

door prizes. Free admission, donations accepted for scholarships; contact Cynthia Kelman,
1403 N Broadway Ave, Marshfield, WI 54449,
(715)-387-8782; e-mail: kelman@tznet.com
30-1YORK, PENNSYLVANIA: Annual show;

Intergalactic Bead Show, York Expo Center; 334

Carlisle Ave; Sat. 10-5, Sun. 10-5; Admission
$4-$5; Do you love great quality and prices?
Then shop The Intergalactic Bead Show! Our
shows provide attendees with the worlds finest and rarest beads, precious stones, gems,
freshwater pearls and an exquisite collection of
finished jewelry. Shop quality. Shop Intergalactic
Bead Shows. ; contact Shawnna Whitson;
e-mail: Info@beadshows.com; Web site:
www.beadshows.com
30-1PINECFREST, FLORIDA: Show and sale;

Miami Mineralogical and Lapidary Guild, Evelyn

Greer Park; 8200 SW 124 Street; Sat. 10-5, Sun.
10-5; Adults $4, Free Admission for children
under 12; The Miami Mineralogical and Lapidary
Guild (MMLG) is holding a Gem, Jewelry,
Mineral, and Fossil. There will be exhibits, displays, demonstrations, raffles, and vendors
showcasing mineral & fossil specimens, gemstones, fine jewelry, and artisan-crafted collectibles. Childrens activities include jewelry-making
sessions, surprise grab-bags, gem prospecting,
and geode splitting. ; contact Sandy Mielke, 2434
Swanson Avenue, Miami, FL 33133, (305)-8586967; e-mail: webguy@mmlg-inc.org; Web site:
www.miamigemandmineral.com
30-1FORT DODGE, IOWA: Annual show; River
Valley Rockhounrd Inc, ICCC East Campus; 2031
Quail Avenue; Sat. 9-5, Sun. 11-4; Admission $1,
Children free; There will be displays, door prizes,
and free specimens for children. ; contact Robert
Wolf, 3521 10th Ave. North, Fort Dodge, IA
50501, (515)-955-2818; e-mail: midnightwriter@
frontiernet.net
30-1PITTSTON, PENNSYLVANIA: Annual
show; MSNEPA, St Joes Oblates; 1880 highway 315; Sat. 10-5, Sun. 10-4; Adults $3,
Children free; There will be minerals, fossils,
crystals, gems and beading supplies, kids
activities, food prizes and raffles, free mineral
and fossil ID, and free presentations.; contact
Linda Williams, PA, (717)-319-8334; e-mail:
lwilliams@excaliburinsmgmt.com
30-1TOPSFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS: Annual

show; North Shore Rock & Mineral Club, Tops

field Fairgrounds; Rte 1 North; Sat. 9-5, Sun.

10-4; Adults $6, Seniors $4, Students under
12 free; Minerals, fossils, gem stones, jewelry, and much more. Exhibits, gold panning,
hourly door prizes, mineral and fossil identification, geode cracking and other activities.;
contact Joe Weisberg, (781)-861-6653; e-mail:
nsr mc@verizon.net;
Web
site:
www.northshorerock.org
30 -1 NORTH

CHARLESTON,

SOUTH

CAROLINA: Annual show; Lowcountry Gem

& Mineral Society, Inc., Charleston Area

Convention Center; 5000 Coliseum Dr.; Sat.
10-5, Sun. 10-5; Free Admission; The Gem Show
is held as a component of the North Charleston
Arts Festival. Lapidary demonstrations, hourly
door prizes, fossil mining & geode cracking
are just a few of the activities.; contact Karen
Havenstein, (843)-795-2956; e-mail: webmaster@lowcountrygemandmineralsociety.org; Web
site: www.lowcountrygemandmineralsociety.org

May 2016
5-7LOGAN, UTAH: Annual show; Cache
Rock and Gem Club, Bridgerland Applied Tech.
Center; 1000 West 1400 North; Thu. 10-8, Fri.
10-8, Sat. 9-6; Free Admission; Rocks, minerals,
fossils, displays, educational exhibits, hands-on
demos, supplies, vendors & door prizes. Many
activities for kids. Snacks available.; contact
Craig Stewart, 583 Harmony Place, Brigham
City, UT 84302, (435)-730-5556; e-mail:
candmstewart@msn.com;
Web
site:
cacherockclub.weebly.com
6-8FRANKLIN, NORTH CAROLINA: Annual

show; Gem & Mineral Society of Franklin, NC,

Carpenter Building; 1288 Georgia Rd.(US441);
Fri. 10-5, Sat. 10-5, Sun. 10-4; Free Admission;
Finished gold and silver jewelry, silver and
gold findings, minerals, fossils, cab & facet
rough, demonstrations, and much more.; contact Norman Holbert, 180 Camelot Estates
Road, Franklin, NC 28734, 828 634-0350;
e-mail: normholbert@comcast.net; Web site:
www.fgmm.org
Show and
sale; McPherson Gem & Mineral Club, 4-H
Building and Grounds; 710 W Woodside; Fri.
9-6, Sat. 9-6, Sun. 10:30-3; Free Admission;
McPherson Gem & Mineral Clubs 24th Annual
Show and Sale. Vendors from across the US
featuring precious and semi-precious gems,
minerals, fossils, petrified wood, handcrafted
jewelry, lapidary work, slabs, cabs and much,
much more. Hourly door prizes and a kids
spin all three days. Auction Saturday at 7:15
PM. ; contact Kim Vasper, 1489 Janasu Road,
McPherson, KS 67460, 620755415; e-mail:
kimvasper@yahoo.com;
Web
site:
www.wedigrocks.org

6-8MCPHERSON,

KANSAS:

6-8COSTA MESA, CALIFORNIA: Wholesale

and retail show; Gem Faire Inc, OC Fair & Event

Center; 88 Fair Dr; Fri. 12-6, Sat. 10-6, Sun.

10-5; $7 Admission, Children under 11 free; Fine
jewelry, precious & semi-precious gemstones,
millions of beads, crystals, gold & silver, minerals & much more at manufacturers prices.
Exhibitors from around the world will be on site.
Jewelry repair & cleaning while you shop. Free
hourly door prizes. ; contact Yooy Nelson, 503252-8300; e-mail: info@gemfaire.com; Web site:
http://www.gemfaire.com
6-8HALLSVILLE, MISSOURI: Show and sale;

Central Missouri Rock and Lapidary Club, Bob

LeMone Building; 500 Route OO; Fri. 12-7, Sat.
9-5, Sun. 10-4; Adultd $6, 60+ and youth 12-18
$3.00, Seniors/Children 12-18 $3, Chlidren 11
and under free; Demonstrations and mineral
exhibits and rock ID. Special childrens activities
and kidz mine. Many dealers from the Midwest.
Fossils, gemstones rare and precious, stones
for cabbing and rough along with findings and
jewelry ready to wear. Geode cutting is available
at time of purchase. Silent auctions will be held
every day along with door prizes and a snack
bar with hot food is available. GPS will bring you
right to the front door. Only 15 minutes north of
Columbia.; contact Esta Helms, Columbia, MO,
(573)-567-0237; Web site: http://cmrlc.org
6-8MARIETTA, GEORGIA: Annual show;

Georgia Mineral Society, Cobb County Civic

Center ; 548 South Marietta Pkwy SE; Fri.
10-6, Sat. 10-6, Sun. 12-5; Free Admission;
The Georgia Mineral Societys 48th Annual
Mothers Day Weekend Gem, Mineral, Jewelry,
and Fossil Show. Door Prizes! Special door prize
for students! Win a great prize for yourself and
for your school! ; contact Shelley Stubbs, (678)612-7293; e-mail: mayshow@gamineral.org;
Web site: www.gamineral.org
7-7WATERLOO, ONTARIO, CANADA: Annual

show; KW Gem and Mineral Club, Waterloo

Community Arts Centre; 25 Regina Street South,
Canada; Sat. 10-4; Free Admission; The KW
Gem and Mineral Club invites everyone to our
annual Gem and Mineral Show. Find gemstones,
rocks, minerals and hand crafted jewelry, displays, fossils, beads and demonstrations. ; contact Donna Hollander, (519)-571-1418; Web site:
http://www.calaverite.com/kwgmc/
7-8ROSEBURG, OREGON: 46th Annual Show

; Umpqua Gem and Mineral Club, Douglas

County Fairgrounds; I-5 Exit 123; Sat. 9 am-5
pm, Sun. 10 am-4 pm; Admission is free!; dealers, demonstrators, silent auction, raffle, & kids
activities; contact Sue Woodman, (541) 6723486; e-mail: rocksandhorses3@gmail.com
7-8BILLINGS, MONTANA: Annual

show;
Billings Gem and Mineral Club, Al Bedoo Shrine
Auditorium; 1125 Broadwater Avenue; Sat. 10-5,
Sun. 10-4; $3 Admission, Children under 12 free;
$1 discount coupon in Billings Gazette newspaper; contact Doug True, 406 670 0506; e-mail:
dtruefossils12@yahoo.com

7-8RENO, NEVADA: Annual show; Reno Gem

and Mineral Society, Reno-Sparks Livestock
Event Center; 1350 N. Wells Ave; Sat. 10-5, Sun.
10-4; Adults $6, Seniors/Students $4, Children
free; This is the 51st Annual Jackpot of Gems
Show featuring over 50 club member displays.
There are hourly door prizes, and over 25 dealers bringing beautiful gems from all over the
world. There are over a dozen demonstrations
on how to make beautiful jewelry. ; contact Steve
Norman, 1653 Topeka Circle, Sparks, NV 89434,
775-358-7322; e-mail: snorm11@hotmail.com;
Web site: www.renorockhounds.com
TEXAS: Annual show;
Lubbock Gem & Mineral Society, Lubbock
Memorial Civic Center; 1501 Mac Davis Lane;
Sat. 10-06, Sun. 10-05; Adults $4, Seniors $3,
Students $2, Children free; 58th Annual show
and Sale; This year the Lubbock Gem & Mineral
Society is Hosting the South Central Federation
Convention (SCFMS), at the Lubbock Memorial
Civic Center. Vendors with jewelry, loose stones,
rough, cabs, slabs, geodes, beads, gemstones,
mineral Specimens, crystals, fossils, spheres,
and lapidary tools. Hourly door prizes.Our kids
area will have games and grab bags, and we
will feature displays by our youth. Proceeds
support the LGMS (501(c)(3) organization), and
scholarships in the Earth Sciences at Texas
Tech.; contact Walter Beneze, 4204 45th Street,
Lubbock, TX 79413, 806-797-5832; e-mail:
walt@lubbockgemandmineral.org; Web site:
www.lubbockgemandmineral.org

7-8LUBBOCK,

7-8ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA: Annual show;

Searchers Gem & Mineral Club, Brookhurst

Community Center; 2271 W. Crescent Ave ; Sat.
10-5, Sun. 10-4:30 ; Free Admission; Searchers
57th Annual Gem & Mineral Show Door Prizes,
gemstones, minerals, jewelry, demonstrations,
silent auctions, exhibits, gold panning, dealers,
free and low cost childrens activities, raffles.;
contact Debra Tanner, 1148 E Sycamore Ave,
Orange, CA 92866, (714)-329-0290; e-mail:
Debra.Tanner@rockwellcollins.com; Web site:
www.searchersrocks.org
7-8BRAINERD, MINNESOTA: Annual show;

Cuyuna Rock, Gem, & Mineral Society, Crow

Wing County Fairgrounds; 2000 S.E. 13th St.;
Sat. 9-5, Sun. 10-4; Adults/Seniors $1 Admission,
Students/Children Free Admission; 14th Annual.
Exhibits, crafts, art, jewelry, demonstrations,
displays, flint knappers, ask the Wizard of Rocks,
kids korner activities, free prizes for kids, door
prizes, rock cutting, great concessions. All
people in uniform and disabled free.; contact
Sharon Smith, 2630 Beauty Lake Rd. S.W.,
Nisswa, MN 56468, (218)-829-4992; e-mail:
sharon@agatesrock.com;
Web
site:
www.cuyunarockclub.org
7-8BOZEMAN, MONTANA: Annual show;
Bozeman Gem and Mineral Club, Gallatin
County Fairgrounds; 901 North Black Avenue

Continued on Next Page

73

at Tamerack St; Sat. 10-5, Sun. 10-4; $3, 12

& under free; Over 15 dealers, gem, mineral, jewelry, fossils and beads. Member &
dealer displays, silent auction, grab bags, garnet tables and raffles. Including a separate
raffle of a large museum-quality mineral specimen. $1. off Mothers Day (Sunday) coupons in
Bozeman Chronicle.; contact Jerry Hancock,
PO Box 11001, Bozeman, MT 59719; e-mail:
jaegers@bresnan.net
7-8BOULDER, NEVADA: Annual show;
Southern Nevada Gem & Mineral Society,
Boulder City, NV; Parks and Recreation
Building; Sat. 9-6, Sun. 9-4; Free Admission;
contact Sheri Johnson, (702)-525-0256; e-mail:
sngms2013@gmail.com;
Web
site:
http://www.snvgms.org/showpage.htm
7-8GRAND JUNCTION, COLORADO: Annual

show; Grand Junction, Two Rivers Convention

Center; 159 Main Street, corner of 1st and
Main; Sat. 9-6, Sun. 9-4; Adults/Seniors $3,
Students $1, Children under 11 free; Our 69th
Annual show has dealers featuring rocks, gems,
minerals, fossils, jewelry, beads and more, demonstrators, special exhibits, silent auction, grab
bags, door prizes, kids corner, faceting competition and a black light display of minerals
sponsored by the Math and Science Center.;
contact Chuck Duncan, (970)-270-8068; e-mail:
dchuck3111@yahoo.com
7-8KINGMAN , ARIZONA: Annual show;
Mohave County Gemstoners Club, Kingman
Academy of Learning; 3420 N. Burbank; Sat.
9-5, Sun. 9-4; Free Admission; We will have
an educational room and a kids play area
with diggings for rocks and fossils. ; contact Robert Pedersen, 3760 N. Steel Ave. ,
Kingman, AZ 86409, (928)-692-8910; Web site:
www.gemstoners.org
7-8ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA: Annual show;

13 -15 SACR AMENTO,

CALIFORN IA:

Wholesale and retail show; Gem Faire Inc,

Scottish Rite Center; 6151 H St; Fri. 12-6, Sat.
10-6, Sun. 10-5; $7 Admission, Children under
11 free; Fine jewelry, precious & semi-precious
gemstones, millions of beads, crystals, gold
& silver, minerals & much more at manufacturers prices. Exhibitors from around the
world will be on site. Jewelry repair & cleaning while you shop. Free hourly door prizes.;
contact Yooy Nelson, 503-252-8300; e-mail:
info@gemfaire.com;
Web
site:
http://www.gemfaire.com
Annual
show; Wasatch Gem Society, Salt Lake County
Equestrian Park and Events Center; 2100 West
11400 South; Fri. 10-6, Sat. 10-6, Sun. 10-4; $2
Admission, Children under 12 free; Come see
thousands of rocks, minerals and fossils. Lots
of great dealers and large selection of club
tables for kids and adults. Beautiful showcases
displaying the wonders of the rock and mineral world.; contact Roberta Chase, PO Box
1397, Sandy, UT 84091, 801-966-0639; e-mail:
chase12@comcast.net;
Web
site:
www.wasatchgemsociety.com

13-15SOUTH

JORDAN

UTAH:

13-15YUCAIPA, CALIFORNIA: Annual show;

Yucaipa Valley Gem and Mineral SOciety,
Yucaipa Music and Arts Festival; Yucaipa
Boulevard; Fri. 6 -9 , Sat. 11 -10 , Sun. 12-6 ;
Free Admission; Highlights of the show include
20 top quality dealers with awesome deals on
unique and rare gems, rough rock, minerals, fossils, jewelry, beads, and more; educational and
hands-on activities and demonstrations; kids
activities; raffle with wonderful prizes, including
cash, lapidary, and many other prizes from local
merchants and dealers ; contact Lee Peterson,
31059 Nice ave., Mentone, CA 92359, (909)794-0731; e-mail: res09ayd@verizon.net; Web
site: http://yvgms.org

Searchers Gem and Mineral Society, Brookhurst

13-15JOPLIN, MISSOURI: Annual show; Tri-

Community Center; 2271 W. Crescent Ave.;

State Gem & Mineral Society, Joplin Museum;

504 Schifferdecker Ave; Fri. 9-5, Sat. 9-5, Sun.
9-3; Free Admission; 10th Annual Spring Rock
Swap. Show will be held inside Joplin Museum
this year. Located in historic Schifferdecker
Park at the intersection of 7th street and
Schifferdecker Ave. Joplin MO 64801. For information please email, I am deaf.; contact Chris
Wiseman; e-mail: jmc-cwiseman@sbcglobal.net

Sat. 10-5, Sun. 10-4:30; Free Admission; Door

prizes, childrens activities, magnificent mineral
displays, gold panning, demonstrations of cabochon making, gem carving, jewelry making and
more, incredible vendors and the best silent
auction around!; contact Margaret Hogarth,
P.O. Box 3492, Anaheim, CA 92803, (909)-5977033; e-mail: hogarth.m@gmail.com; Web site:
www.searchersrocks.org
13-15SANTA ANA, CALIFORNIA: Wholesale

and retail show; LLD Productions, Holiday InnOrange County Airport; 2726 S Grand Ave; Fri.
10-6, Sat. 10-6, Sun. 10-5; Free Admission; 80
vendors selling minerals, fossils, gemstones,
lapidary materials, decorator items, jewelry,
beads and more.; contact Regina Aumente,
PO Box 665, Bernalillo, NM 87004, 505-867-

14 -14 BIGLERVILLE,

PENNSYLVANIA:

Swap & Sale; Franklin County & Cen Penn

R & M Clubs, South Mountain Fairgrounds;
615 Narrows Road; Sat. 8-3; Adults/Seniors
$1, Students/Children free; Located in outdoor covered Pavilion with electric and food
stand.; contact Tom Smith, 10 Roger Ave,
Shippensburg, PA 17257, (717)-552-6554; e-mail:
tsmith1012@comcast.net

0425; e-mail: mzexpos@gmail.com; Web site:

14-14ARLINGTON , TEXAS: annual swap

www.mzexpos.com

meet; Arlington

74 www.rockngem.com

Gem

and

Mineral

club,

Arlington club house; 1408 Gibbons Rd; Sat.

7-2; Free Admission; Outdoor swap meet with
all things lapidary/jewelry/metal-smithing/
glass. Equipment, saws grinders and no telling what else, rocks to cabochons, crystals,
metal working equipment and no telling what
all. Pot luck in the clubhouse at noon.; contact
Jack Spinks, 661 E Main ste #200, Apt 236,
Midlothian, TX 76065, (469)-515-6358; e-mail:
jlspinks@sbcglobal.net;
Web
site:
agemclub.com
14-15WAUWATOSA, WISCONSIN: Annual

show; Wisconsin Geological Society, Muellner

Bldg - Hart Park; 72nd and W. State St ;
Sat. 10:00am-5:00pm, Sun. 10:00 am-5:00 pm;
Adults $3.00 or 2/5.00, Children are Free; The
show features 20+ dealers from all over the
Midwest who sell lapidary supplies, tools, books,
rough material, slabs, finished specimens, cabochons, jewelry, carvings, fossils, and more.
Childrens activities, exhibits, displays and presentations round out the show. The show will
be held indoors at the Muellner Building at Hart
Park in Wauwatosa, WI. The Park Entrance
is at 72nd and W. State St. Wauwatosa WI.
(about 6 miles west of downtown Milwaukee
and 1 mile north of I94). Admission $3.00, 2 for
$5.00, accompanied children under 16 Free.
Parking is Free. ; contact Paul Schmidt, 8213
Red Arrow Ct., Wauwatosa, WI 53213, (414)
771-8668; e-mail: pvs@wi.rr.com; Web site:
www.wisgeologicalsociety.com
14-15HERMISTON, OREGON: Annual show;

Hatrockhounds Gem and Mineral Society,

Hermiston Conference Center; 415 Highway
395 South; Sat. 10-5, Sun. 10-4; Adults $3,
Children 12 and under free with adult; contact
Mike
Filarski,
(541)-571-2593;
e-mail:
stonemorlin1@netscape.net
14-15N. CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA:

Annual show; Intergalactic Bead Show, College

Center @ Trident Technical College; 7000 Rivers
Ave; Sat. 10-5, Fri. 10-5; Admission $4-$5; Do
you love great quality and prices? Then shop
The Intergalactic Bead Show! Our shows provide attendees with the worlds finest and rarest beads, precious stones, gems, freshwater
pearls and an exquisite collection of finished
jewelry. Shop quality. Shop Intergalactic Bead
Shows. Visit www.beadshows.com for more
information. ; contact Shawnna Whitson; e-mail:
Info@beadshows.com;
Web
site:
www.beadshows.com
14-15MAYS LANDING, NEW JERSEY: Annual

show; Cape-Atlantic Rockhounds , CapeAtlantic Rockhounds Clubhouse; 2641 Cologne

Ave. ; Sat. 9-5, Sun. 9-5; Free Admission;
Rain or shine! Food on premise. ; contact
Billie Brockhum, (609)-879-1179; Web site:
http://www.capeatlanticrockhounds.com/
14-15NORTH OLMSTED, OHIO: Annual show;
Parma Lapidary, Soccer Sportsplex; 31515

Continued on Page 76

Tyson Wells
Arizonas Largest Winter Attraction!

TYSON WELLS 35th ANNUAL

TYSON WELLS

SELL-A-RAMA

Arts & Crafts Fair

Rock-Gems-Arts-Crafts Show

JAN 29Th FEB 7Th, 2016, A 10-DAY ShOW

JAN. 15Th 24Th, 2016, A 10-DAY ShOW South-West Corner of I-10 Freeway and highway 95,
Quartzsite, Arizona.
A 25-ACRE OUTDOOR SPECTACULAR
An Unbelievable Variety Displayed on 2.2 Miles of Aisle Frontage

An unbelievable variety displayed on 1.5 miles of aisle frontage:

Gems Rocks Minerals Arts

Crafts hobbies Jewelry
Silver & Goldsmithing Faceting
Precious Metals Antiques Coins

Gems Rocks Minerals Arts

Crafts hobbies Jewelry
Silver & Goldsmithing Faceting
Precious Metals Antiques Coins

FREE ADMISSION FREE PARKING

Tyson Wells

LOCATION AND DETAILS: S.W. Corner of I-10 Freeway and Highway 95, Quartzsite,
Arizona, home of the largest show of its kind. Takes days to see it all. A buyers and sellers
market of the world. Smooth, fine graveled, dust controlled, packed surface for selling, parking
and camping in the beautiful desert setting of Arizonas La Posa Valley. Live on your show
spaces or in our on-premises no-hookup campground with water and dump station. Honey
wagon available. Easy access in and out of show. Over 850 selling spaces on 25 acres. This
is a must see event.

P.o. Box 60, Quartzsite, AZ 85346

Show Office Phone: (928) 927-6364 For R.V. Office: (928) 927-6365

e-mail: tysonwells@tds.net

www. t ys onwel l s . com

Keep up with

breaking news
in Rockhounding between issues of

Rock&Gem
at

www.rockngem.com
and

www.facebook.com/pages/Rock-Gem-magazine/152002903583
75

Lorain Rd.; Sat. 10-5, Sun. 10-5; Admission $6;

Join us as the Parma Lapidary Club hosts it 48th
Annual Cleveland Gems and Jewelry Show!
Tickets are good for both Saturday and Sunday.
The show will include jewelry arts, gems, minerals, fossils, geodes, custom & handmade jewelry, and beads available for purchase. There will
also be exhibits, live demos, kids corner, silent
auctions and much more. On Sunday (1p to 3p)
an expert in vintage jewelry will identify and give
you a verbal est. of value for your jewelry pieces
for free!; contact Karl Creed, 273 Finchfield
Circle, Macedonia, OH 44056, (330)-840-9422;
e-mail: cjm101@hotmail.com; Web site: www.
parmalapidary.com
14-15ST. JOSEPH , MICHIGAN: Show and
sale; Blossomland Gem & Mineral Society,
Lake Michigan Catholic Elementary School;
3165 Washington Ave.; Sat. 9-6, Sun. 12-6; Free
Admission; contact Nancy Wolfe, (269)-9834900
20-22SANTA

BARBARA,

CALIFORNIA:

Wholesale and retail show; Gem Faire Inc,

Earl Warren Showgrounds; 3400 Calle Real;
Fri. 12-6, Sat. 10-6, Sun. 10-5; $7 Admission,
Children under 11 free; Fine jewelry, precious
& semi-precious gemstones, millions of beads,
crystals, gold & silver, minerals & much more
at manufacturers prices. Exhibitors from around
the world will be on site. Jewelry repair &
cleaning while you shop. Free hourly door
prizes. ; contact Yooy Nelson, 503-252-8300;
e-mail:
info@gemfaire.com; Web
site:
http://www.gemfaire.com
21-21FAIRLESS HILLS, PENNSYLVANIA:

Annual show; Rock & Mineral Club of Lower Bucks

County, PA, First United Methodist Church; 840
Trenton Road; Sat. 9-4; Admission $2, Children
free admission; Rocks, minerals, fossils, lapidary
arts, jewelry & all things related to the earth sciences. ; contact Eric Brosius, 157 Cobalt Ridge Dr.
S., Levittwon, PA 19057, (215)-945-1039; e-mail:
ebrosiusrock@aol.com;
Web
site:
http://rockandmineralclub.wix.com/lowerbuckscountypa
21-22HAMILTON, MONTANA: Annual show;

Bitterroot Gem and Mineral , Ravalli County

Fairgrounds; First Interstate Center, 100
Old Corvallis Road; Sat. 10-6, Sun. 10-5; $2
Admission, Children under 12 free; $5 per family; contact Steve Vieth, (406)-381-7597; e-mail:
viethsteve88@gmail.com
21-22SHOW LOW, ARIZONA: Annual show;
White Mountain Gem & Mineral Club, Elks Club;
805 E. Whipple; Sat. 12-7, Sun. 12-5; Adults $2,
Seniros 70+ free, Children 18 & under free; Door
Prizes hourly, raffle, silent auction, egg carton
collection for children, field trip on Saturday,
local & professional vendors, daily demonstrations, display cases, fossils, gems, minerals and
fluorescents.; contact Rick Olson, (928)-2510949; e-mail: walkaround@earthlink.net; Web
site: whitemountain-azrockclub.org

76 www.rockngem.com

21-22TAMPA, FLORIDA: Annual show;

Intergalactic Bead Show, FL State Fairgrounds ;
4800 US - 301 ; Sat. 10-5, Sun. 10-5; Admission
$4-$5; Do you love great quality and prices?
Then shop The Intergalactic Bead Show! Our
shows provide attendees with the worlds finest and rarest beads, precious stones, gems,
freshwater pearls and an exquisite collection of
finished jewelry. Shop quality. Shop Intergalactic
Bead Shows. ; contact Shawnna Whitson;
e-mail: Info@beadshows.com; Web site:
www.beadshows.com
21-22BENNINGTON, VERMONT: Annual
show; Southwestern Vermont Mineral Club,
Grace Christian School; 104 Kocher Drive; Sat.
10-5, Sun. 10-3; Admission $5; Gem sluice for
kids. Door prizes.; contact William Cotrofeld , PO
Box 235, East Arlington, VT 05252, (802)-3756782; e-mail: cotrofeldauto@comcast.net
21-22LAKEVIEW, OREGON: Annual show;

Tallman Rock Chippers, Lake Co. Fairgrounds;

1400 N 4th; Sat. 10-5, Sun. 10-4; Free Admissin
or Donations; We have a good variety of vendors
for the weekend. Activities for kids. Field trips for
those interested in local rock and the Oregon
Sunstone (leave 8am each day).; contact LeRoy
Johnson, 39 N L St, Lakeview, OR 97630, (541)947-4267; e-mail: lostmymarblesor@yahoo.com
VIRGINIA: Annual show;
Treasures Of The Earth Gem & Jewelry Shows,
Salem Civiv Center; 1001 Boulevard; Fri. 10:00
AM-6:00 PM, Sat. 10:00 am-6:00 pm, Sun.
11:00 am-5:00 pm; Adults $5 (Good all 3 days),
Free under age 16; Jewelry makers, goldsmiths
and silversmiths from all over the U.S. who can
reconstruct, repair, design or make original
jewelry from customer-selected gems, stones,
opals and crystals. Wire wrap, wire sculpture,
stone beads, pearls, stone setting, amber,
opal, mineral and fossil dealers. Hourly door
prizes including a Ring with a precious stone
that will be given as a Grand Prize.; contact
Van Wimmer - Show Director, 5273 Bradshaw
Road, Salem, VA 24153, (540) 384-6047; e-mail:
vawimmer@verizon.net;
Web
site:
www.toteshows.net

27-29SALEM,

27-30SCOTTSBLUFF, NEBRASKA: Annual

show; Panhandle Rock and Gem Club,

Riverside Zoo Campground; 1600 S Beltline
Hwy. W.; Daily 8-5; Free Admission; contact Dale Tikalsky, (308)-631-7814; e-mail:
rockhound0720@hotmail.com
28-29WHEATON, ILLINOIS: Annual show;

Chicagoland Gems & Minerals Association

(CGMA), DuPage County Fairgrounds; 2015
Manchester Rd.; Sat. 10 -6 , Sun. 10 -5 ; Adults
$5, Seniors $3, Students $3, Children under 13
free; Chicagoland Gems & Minerals Association
(CGMA) 40th Anniversary Gem, Mineral, Jewelry
and Fossil Show. Our Ruby Jubilee! Over 30
retail and wholesale dealers, special exhibits,
gold panning, silent auction, door prizes, Kids

Korner, demonstrations of jewelry making, silversmithing, wire-wrapping, cabochon-making,

opal cutting, gem trees, faceting, and more.
Air-conditioned. Food available. Special block
of hotel rooms at discounted rates through May
6.; contact Jeanine Mielecki, (312)-623-1554;
e-mail: jaynine9@aol.com or cgma@sbcglobal.net;
Web site: www.cgma.squarespace.com
28-29FORT WORTH, TEXAS: Annual show;

Fort Worth Gem and Mineral Club, AmonG.

Carter Exhibit Building, Will Rogers Memorial
Center; 3401 W. Lancaster; Sat. 9-6, Sun. 10-5;
Adults $5, Seniors $4, Students $4, Children
under 16 free; 65th annual Gem, Jewelry, Bead,
Fossil and Mineral Show and Sale. Exhibits,
kids games. Hourly door prizes, silent auction
and grand prize raffle.; contact Steve Hiliard, PO
Box 418, Decatur, TX 76234, (817)-925-5760;
e-mail: fwgmc@embarqmail.com; Web site:
fortworthgemandmineralclub.org
28-29BILOXI, MISSISSIPPI: Annual show;
Harrison County Gem and Mineral Society,
Joppa Shrine Temple; 13280 Shriners Blvd,
N Ex 41 off I-10; Sat. 9-5, Sun. 9-4; Adults $5,
CHildren under 12 free; There will be demonstrations, displays, door prizes & kids activities.; contact William Smith, (251)-937-3529;
e-mail: gulfportgems@gmail.com; Web site:
gulfportgems.org
28-29SEDONA, ARIZONA: Annual show;
CKM Productions, LLC, Sedona Red Rock High
School ; 995 Upper Red Rock Loop Road ;
Sat. 10-5, Sun. 10-4; Admission $3, Children
free; The Annual Spring Mineral and Jewelry
Expo and Sale. Vendors from across the region
will be offering unique and interesting mineral specimens, crystals, gemstones, jewelry,
beads, fossils, findings and cutting material at
competitive prices. Many of our artisans have
created original jewelry designs, and our gem
and mineral vendors will have specimens on
display in both natural and cut-and-polished
states. An hourly raffle will be held for a chance
to win one of many beautiful prizes to be offered
throughout the show. This is a fun and educational experience the entire family will enjoy. ;
contact Greg Capatch, 106 Vista Bonita Drive,
Sedona, AZ 86336, (928)-554-4615; e-mail:
gregcapatch@yahoo.com;
Web
site:
https://www.facebook.com/CKMProductionsLLC/

June 2016
3-4PRICE, UTAH: Annual show; Patrick

Braun, Carbon County Event Center; 310 South

Fairgrounds Road; Daily 10-7, Daily 10-7; Free
Admission; 10th Annual Castle Country Rock,
Fossil and Mineral Show. Please join us for this
free family event. Fossils, minerals, gemstones,
beads, jewelry, petrified wood, lapidary equipment, demonstrations and much, much more. ;
contact Patrick Braun, (435)-381-5192; e-mail:
Braunlapidary@hotmail.com

MAY AND JUNE OPAL SPECIAL:

DISCOVERED IN 1965 JUST A FEW MILES NORTH WEST OF THE SMALL DUSTY OPAL MINING
TOWN OF COOBER PEDY, LIES A PRODUCTIVE OPALFIELD NAMED TURKEY RIDGE
known for its colorful and stable opal. And during my 2014 opal buying trip to Australia I visited a father/son opal mining team at their claim in Turkey Ridge and
bought several stunning opal parcels. CPTRMR-3oz: 3 ounce lots of small, very bright Turkey Ridge opal suitable for cutting ring or small pendant stones. 3
ounces: $175.00 plus $10.00 shipping.

Amidst a desert turned green from heavy unexpected rains, lie fresh opal workings at Turkey Ridge. And hopefully these new mines will be prosperous for the
adventurous miners with a love for opal and risky business.

THE VILLAGE SMITHY OPALS, INC.

Proprietors Steve & Darlene

P.O. Box 21704, Billings, MT 59104-1704 Phone: 406-651-4947 Mobile: 406-208-2577
E-mail: vsmithy@bresnan.net Website: www.villagesmithyopals.com

77

Index to Advertisers

ROC K & GE M
Customer Service

TO ORDER A SUBSCRIPTION: For fastest service,

Agate Days .................................................................. 71

Lasco Diamond Products ............................................. 67

Amateur Geologist ....................................................... 44

LotOTumbler ................................................................ 71

Arrowhead Lapidary & Supply ...................................... 39

Lortone, Inc. ................................................................ 79

Au-Rus Wax Patterns ................................................... 71

Martin Zinn Expositions, LLC.......................................... 5

BCA Minerals ............................................................... 71

MarZee Lapidary Tuturial DVDs................................... 71

Barnhouse ................................................................... 67

Mineralab .................................................................... 59

Barranca Diamond ....................................................... 41

Montana Agate ............................................................ 45

Blaine Reed. ................................................................ 71

Minnesota Lapidary Supply Corp............................ 37, 39

Bill Egleston................................................................. 45

Mississippi gulf coast. ................................................. 41

Cabstar ........................................................................ 71

Museum Rocks ............................................................ 61

paid for your subscription more than four weeks before you

New Era....................................................................... 50

received another bill, send a copy of your cancelled check

Optima Gems............................................................... 51

along with your bill to Rock & Gem, 4635 McEwen Road,

Pioneer Gem Corp........................................................ 39

Dallas, TX 75244 or e-mail subscriptions@beckett.com with

Raytech Industries ....................................................... 22

the copies attached.

Celestial Earth Minerals ............................................... 67

Craftstones .................................................................. 74
Copper Agates ............................................................. 71
Covington Engineering ............................................. 9, 67
Columbus Rock and Mineral ........................................ 64
Crystal Cave ................................................................ 71
Deming........................................................................ 64
Desert Gardens. ........................................................... 49
Diamond Pacific Tool Corp. .......................................... C4
Easy Steps Video ......................................................... 70
EmeraldsRare.com ...................................................... 33
Feather River Lapidary ................................................. 44
Fire Mountain Gems .................................................... C3

subscribe online using our secure server at www.beckett.

com. Or send a check or money order for $27.95 for 12
monthly issues to Rock & Gem Subscriptions, 4635 McEwen
Road, Dallas, TX 75244.
IF YOU HAVE PAID FOR YOUR SUBSCRIPTION
BUT STILL RECEIVE A BILL: The check and the
invoice may have crossed in the mail. It may take up to four
weeks to process your check, so if you wrote the check less
than four weeks ago, disregard the bill you received. If you

Rockhounds................................................................. 77

TO SOLVE A SU BSCRI PTION PROBLEM:

Royal Peacock ............................................................. 77

Remember, it may take up to eight weeks to change an

Joseph Stachura Co, Inc. ............................................. 37

address and 6-8 weeks to start a new subscription. Please

Superior Agates ........................................................... 71

give us time to get your magazine to you, and if it still

South Pacific ............................................................... 20

doesnt arrive, please e-mail us at subscriptions@beckett.

Stevens ....................................................................... 29

com or call (866) 287-9383. If you are receiving duplicate

Tellus Museum ............................................................ 66

subscriptions, e-mail subscriptions@beckett.com.

The Gem Shop ....................................................... 33, 45

RENEWALS: It can take 6-8 weeks to process your

The Mineral Gallery...................................................... 71

renewal, so dont wait! Renew early so you dont miss an

Tom Courtright ............................................................ 45

issue. You can renew online at www.beckett.com using the

Topaz Mountain Adventures......................................... 71

Inet number listed on the address label of your magazine,

Tru-Square Metal Products .......................................... 30

or just return the renewal form with your check or money

Gilmans ...................................................................... 29

Tyson Wells ................................................................. 75

order. Please do not send cash! If you renew your subscrip-

Golden Eagle ............................................................... 41

U.S. Geological Supply ........................................... 41, 44

tion before your expiration date, well extend your existing

Hughes Associates ...................................................... 65

Ultra Tec ...................................................................... C2

subscription. Providing your Inet number will ensure that a

Jarvi Tool Co. .............................................................. 59

UV Tools ...................................................................... 70

duplicate subscription will not be entered. You wont lose

Jesco........................................................................... 65

The Universe Collection/Sylmar ................................... 23

any issues by renewing early, and youll guarantee that you

Johnson Brothers .................................................. 49, 59

The Village Smithy Opals, Inc....................................... 77

JS Gems ...................................................................... 50

Wasatch. ..................................................................... 61

REPLACEMENT COPIES: Send a photo of your dam-

Kingsley North, Inc....................................... 3, 15, 30, 70

Whittmore Durgin Glass Co. ......................................... 71

aged copy and a request for a replacement to subcrip-

Knights ........................................................................ 71

William Holland School ................................................ 22

tions@beckett.com or Rock & Gem, 4635 McEwen Road,

Kristalle ....................................................................... 79

World of Jaspers.......................................................... 44

Foothills ....................................................................... 66
John E. Garsow Gems & Minerals ................................ 45
Gem & Lapidary Wholesalers, Inc. ............................... 21
Gem Faire, Inc. ............................................................ 57

wont miss any!

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HOW TO PLACE AN AD IN Rock & Gem: Please
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com or at (623) 327-3525.
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contact Amit Sharma via e-mail at asharma@beckett.com
or at (972) 448-9003.
VISIT US AT www.rockngem.com.

78

LORTONE, inc

Manufacturing Lapidary Equipment locally for over 50 years!

Tumblers
Flat Laps
Trim Saws
Arbors
Slab Saws
Abrasives

12130 Cyrus Way, Mukilteo, WA 98275 Phone: (425) 493-1600 Fax: (425) 493-9494
e-mail: equipment@lortone.com www.lortone.com

79

on the rocks
by BOB JONES

PUBLIC DOMAIN

HERITAGE AUCTIONS

Wulfenite: Arizonas Signature Mineral

The Glove mine, near Tucson, produced quantities of superb wulfenite specimens like this one.

TTENTION ROCKHOUNDS: We
need your help! A legislative bill (HB
2496) has been introduced into the Arizona state legislature, and we need all Arizona residents to ask their legislators and
senators to get behind this bill and pass it.
The bill will have wulfenite declared the
Arizona State Mineral. Please contact your
representatives in the state legislature and
urge support the bill. You can also write
to Rep. Mark Finchem and Senator Steve
Smith, c/o Arizona State Capitol, 700 W.
Washington Ave., Phoenix, AZ 85007. Tell
them you are a resident who supports the
passage of HB 2496.
Nonresidents who own property in
Arizona or come to Arizona to collect or
buy minerals, attend the great shows, and
participate in other mineral-related activities can also contact these legislators. Explain your participation in Arizonas mineral activities and your interest in seeing
wulfenite being named the state mineral.
Mineral collecting and mineral and gem
sales in Arizona are major generators of
tax income, and the legislature needs to
be reminded of that! Tucson alone attracts
well over 100,000 visitors to its mineral and
gem shows each year. Quartzsite, the site of

80 www.rockngem.com

another well-attended show, is the winter

playground of tens of thousands of out-ofstaters who can help here.
Most Arizona rockhounds have collected this wonderful lead molybdate, and
people all over the world have admired the
specimens of wulfenite found in Arizona.
It has been featured in books, on magazine
covers, and in special mineral displays.
There is no way to even estimate how many
people have come to Arizona to collect this
and other minerals.
The wulfenite blades from the Red Cloud
mine in La Paz County are recognized all
over the world as the most beautiful from
any source. First found in 1880s, crystals
from the Red Cloud mine are featured in a
host of natural history museums, including
those at the Smithsonian Institution and
Harvard and Yale universities. The mineral
hall at the University of Arizonas Flandrau
Planetarium has a wonderful selection of
Arizona wulfenite specimens, including
some from the Red Cloud mine.
If the Red Cloud mine was the only
source of fine wulfenite found in Arizona,
HB 2496 would not stand a chance of being passed, but the states wulfenite sources
are too numerous to count. Localities range

Etruscan jewelry artists were able to make extremely

tiny gold granules, so their designs were more elegant.

from near the Colorado River, east to the

Clifton-Morenci area, near the New Mexico border; and from the border of Mexico,
north to central Arizona. Even the famous
silver mines at Tombstone have produced
fine wulfenite.
In the 1950s, a small cave was encountered in the Glove mine, just a few miles
south of Tucson. That deposit produced
huge quantities of superb, orange wulfenite. In the Defiance mine, a watercourse was
opened and found to be lined with distinctive yellow-brown wulfenite blades in great
quantity. The wulfenite mined at Tiger was
a source of molybdenum, a major metal
during World War II. These are just a few of
the more than 100 sources of wulfenite in
Arizona. Surely, this beautiful crystallized
lead molybdate wulfenite should be chosen
as Arizonas state mineral.
If you are an Arizona resident, please
contact your representatives in the state
legislature as well as the two gentlemen
Rock & Gem

listed above. Nonresident mineral collectors can also contact these gentlemen to
thank them for submitting HB 2496 and
offer them your support. Act as soon as
possible to help pass HB 2496.
Another colorful mineral from Arizona
is chrysocolla, a copper silicate hydroxide. It is by far the most common copper
silicate in the world, but it has never been
given the attention wulfenite has received.
At any desert copper mine, this green
to blue-green mineral is found coating
rocks, filling cracks, and forming brittle
crusts. Sometimes, it is infused into normally colorless minerals, making them a
lovely blue.
The origin and meaning of the name
chrysocolla are a little strange. The name
literally translates to gold glue. How the
heck did that happen? Actually, there is
a very logical explanation. It goes back
to pre-Roman times, when a civilization
known as the Etruscans thrived on the
Italian Peninsula. The Etruscans developed some of the finest gold objects ever
made. Excavations of Etruscan tombs have
brought to light wonderful examples of
gold work highlighted by a skillful technique known as granulation.
Granulation is a process whereby tiny
spherules of a metal are fastened to a sheet
of metal to form a design. While the earlier
Sumarians had used gold beads of some
size, the Etruscans were able to make extremely tiny granules, so their designs were
more elegant.
When the Etruscans were absorbed by
the Romans around 500 B.C., the gold
granulation technique seems to have been
ignored and finally forgotten. It only came
to light when Etruscan tombs were opened
in the 18th and 19th centuries and lovely
pieces of gold granulation were found.
Jewelry artists in those days were unable
to emulate the way the Etruscans had soldered or welded the gold granules to the
gold object.
The technique was finally re-created
in the early decades of the 20th century
by several artists, including H A P Littledale, Hans Wilm and Elizabeth Treskow.
They found that the Etruscans were using,
among other substances, a copper mineral
flux to cause the beads to fuse to the gold
plate. They noted that the gold plate used
was thin, which allowed heat to be controlled, and the technique of gold granulation came back into vogue.
In the days of the Etruscans, the mineral
used in the fusion process was described as
a green stone containing copper. The description is based on the Greek words for
gold (chryss) and glue (klla), which
give us the mineral name chrysocolla.
Artists obtained chrysocolla from the copper-mining activities.
Among early metal prospectors, chrysocolla was very popular because the presMay 2016

IROCKS.COM

ARIZONA CHRYSOCOLLA

In the days of the Etruscans, the mineral used in the fusion process was described as a green stone containing
copperchrysocolla. (Ray mine, Arizona, specimen)

ence of chrysocolla staining and coatings

on exposed rock surfaces signals a potentially rich copper deposit. Here in Arizona,
chrysocolla-stained boulders are common
around copper mines, and in the 1800s,
this staining served con artists well. They
would locate a blue-stained outcrop, immediately stake claims, and hustle wealthy
Easterners into investing in copper deposit long before the presence of significant
copper was even proved. The deposit that
was later developed at Ajo was the result of
one such scam in the mid-1800s.
Most field collectors ignore chrysocolla
when they are around a copper mine, since
it is usually in the form of a stain or thin
coating on country rock. Today, this bluestained rock it is popular with landscapers,
stone masons, and interior decorators. You
can see it in stone facings on buildings,
stone fences, fireplace dcor.
The problem with chrysocolla is its tendency to chip, crack and flake when it occurs in pure form. Thick seams of chrysocolla are very attractive when exposed,
but the mineral is so brittle that it is really
useless in that form. Sometimes, chrysocolla occurs associated with malachite, and
massive pieces of this material are quite
attractive and can be stable. Years ago,
while working on an article for the Arizona
Mining Association, I visited the open-pit
mine at Bagdad, where a wonderfully wide
seam of alternating layers of malachite and
chrysocolla had been exposed. The seam
ran vertically up two 40-foot benches of
the pit. Much of the material already mined
was piled high in the middle of the pit floor
with a huge sign on it that said, No collecting. We were there to see and photograph
the seam and had to obey the sign. Some
of this material proved to be showy enough

and stable enough to be trimmed down

into showy display specimens.
For collectors, there are two especially
popular forms of chrysocolla; in both cases, it is associated with a form of quartz:
chalcedony or druzy quartz. When chrysocolla is infused into colorless chalcedony,
it gives this cutting-grade material a lovely,
limpid blue color and is given the name
gem silica.
Another collectible form of chrysocolla is found as stalactites in open seams
of copper mines. Chrysocolla sometimes
develops in a gel-like state and can form
small stalactites as it oozes along a pocket
surface. When later solutions that are rich
in silica enter the same seam or pocket,
it can coat the lovely blue, but very brittle, stalactites and crystallize over them.
When a large occurrence of such druzy
quartz-chrysocolla was encountered during mining at Ray, the company hired a
skilled collector to gather all the stalactites, assemble them into auction lots, and
offer them to collectors and dealers who
were eager to own such beautiful examples of a normally difficult-to-collect blue
copper silicate.
These are only two examples of Arizonas
mineral wealth. Dont forget to write your
Arizona legislator, urging the adoption of
wulfenite as the state mineral.
Bob Jones holds the Carnegie Mineralogical Award, is a member of the
Rockhound Hall of Fame,
and has been writing
for Rock & Gem since its
inception. He lectures
about minerals, and has
written several books
and video scripts.

81

Parting shot
MINERALS and JEWELRY

Sphalerite on Quartz
Sphalerite perches on translucent, stumpy quartz crystals. The glowing red-orange color with yellow highlights is unusual and interesting.
(Rucheng mine, Chenzhou, Hunan Province, China)
JOE BUDD PHOTO/IROCKS.COM

82 www.rockngem.com

Rock & Gem