The Cochise County Rock

Monthly Newsletter of the Sunsites Gem & Mineral Club

www.cochisecountyrock.org

“Finding and Grinding Rocks in Cochise County, Arizona since 1967”

February 2009

This issue edited by Don Hammer

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The next General Meeting of the Sunsites Gem & Mineral Club is on Monday February 9 at 7 pm. Jim Shilling will present the history of Texas Canyon. Jim’s ancestors homesteaded in the Texas Canyon area and Jim grew up there.

Minutes of Sunsites Gem and Mineral Club General Meeting January 12, 2009

President, Paul McKnight, called the meeting to order at 7:04 p.m.

New members, Priscilla Rumble, Georgia Twilegar, and Carole Thomas were welcomed, along with one guest.

Paul asked for a motion to approve the minutes as published of the last meeting. It was moved, seconded, and approved.

Treasurer, Walter Sigel, gave his report. The current balance in our checking account is $1,5554.10, with the CD remaining at $3,112.71. Walter noted that interest on the CD will be paid at maturity, January 28, of this year at 3.6%. The Board has decided to prolong the CD six more months.

Carl reported on behalf of the Treasury Audit Committee that all was found to be in order.

Paul asked for a motion to approve the Treasurer’s Report. It was moved, seconded, and approved.

The January field trip is to be on Saturday, the 24th. We will go to the Round Mountain Fire Agate area northwest of Lordsburg, NM. Refer to this month’s newsletter for details.

Robbyn presented the members with a possible method of raising funds for the Club. She proposed participating in the Pearce “Mile Long Yard Sale” held next October. After a brief discussion, it was decided to table the question until our next meeting in order to allow time for members to consider their individual participation as volunteers.

Announcements were made:

Larry shared that Lapidary classes are held on Thursday evenings at 6:30 p.m., in the Lapidary room located behind the Sunsites Fire Station.

Silver soldering and silver smithing are held Tuesday evenings. There are sign-up sheets on the front table if you would like to join any of these classes provided by the Club.

Paul asked that everyone sign the attendance sheet and also sign up for hospitality for the months ahead. Diane Dunn and Zoe were thanked for providing the refreshments for the evening.

Paul also informed the membership that Don and Joan had received sad news from Ardelle Churchill; her husband, Orville Churchill, passed away on Friday, the 9th of January. The Churchill’s joined the Club last fall. Orville’s funeral Mass will be held at 10 a.m. at St. Jude Thaddeus Church. We extend our sincere sympathy to Ardelle and her family.

Paul thanked everyone for coming, adjourning the meeting at 7:34 p.m. Intermission, refreshments, and the rock raffle followed.

Our program featured Dr. John Ware, who spoke to us on the Apachean culture and life ways.

Respectfully submitted,

Diane Brower

Acting Secretary

Report from the President

We are working toward being able to reduce our web site hosting fees to $0 per year. A new web site is being constructed at Google Sites. You can preview it at http://sites.google.com/site/cochisecountyrock/

It is a bit simpler than our current site, but it contains everything we need and is easier to maintain in addition to being free. It holds our newsletters, minutes for months in which we did not have a newsletter or months in which the newsletter did not contain the minutes, and a link to our new photos page at http://picasaweb.google.com/cochisecountyrock/

If anyone would like to volunteer to type up our old handwritten minutes from 1970 onward on their computer, we can add those to the website also.

We would like to put everyone's field trip photos on the photo site, so if you have any digital photos you can contribute, please either email them to me mcbuffalo@gmail.com or put them on a CD and bring them to the next meeting.

Thanks!

Paul McKnight

Contact Information

We have several club members that have not provided us with an email address or a phone number. When we have to change or cancel an event we notify the members by email or phone – there simply isn’t time to contact them by snail mail. On the morning of January 23 I canceled the January 24 field trip due to rain and notified all club members with email addresses and phoned those without email that were signed up. Fortunately two members that had not signed up and do not have email called me that morning to see if the field trip was on. It would not have been too swift if they had driven to Lordsburg and then discovered the trip was canceled. If you do not sign up for an event but plan to attend it please call Paul or Henri and let them know so you will be notified if any changes are necessary.

February Field Trip

We will go to the Round Mountain Fire Agate area NW of Lordsburg, NM. Plan to meet at the rest area at exit 20A in Lordsburg at 10:00 am on Saturday February 21 to leave at 10:15 which will put us on site about 11:15. Lordsburg exit 20 A is 70 miles from Willcox exit 340 so plan accordingly. There is a Chevron Quick Stop at that exit for coffee. The collecting area is huge – over a square mile so plan on spending the day. Actually there are two sites the better of which requires high clearance but if you don’t have high clearance there is plenty of chalcedony at the first site. The better site has areas where chalcedony covers over half of the surface including roses and nodules and some of the chalcedony has actual fire agate. Bring light digging tools, buckets or bags, drinking and rock washing water, lawn chairs, lunch and sun protection. If we have rain the trip will be postponed or canceled so check your email and the Web site and/or call Paul or Henri.

Lapidary and Silversmith Classes

Lapidary classes are in session on Thursday from 6:30 to 8:30 PM at the Lapidary Room behind the Fire Station. Show up or call Larry Strout at 826-3991. Larry is also available to teach silver soldering, a prerequisite to silver smithing. Keith McRobert will resume teaching silver smithing soon. Call Don Hammer at 384-3105. Come and join the fun of lapidary, silversmith, and wire wrap lessons. Interested, any questions? Wire Wrap - call Larry Strout 826-3991.

Dues

Dues are due. Bring your dues to the next meeting or mail your check to Sunsites Gem & Mineral Club, PO Box 87, Pearce, Arizona 85625.

Club Calendar:

February

9 General Meeting

21 Field Trip

26 Board Meeting

March

9 General Meeting

28 Field Trip

April

2 Board Meeting

13 General Meeting

18 Field Trip

30 Board Meeting

May

11 General Meeting

16 Field Trip

28 Board Meeting

June

6 Club Picnic

Upcoming Regional Events

February

Jan 30 – Feb 15 The Tucson show http://www.tucsongemshowguide.com/

27 – March 1 Denver Gem and Mineral Guild 2009 Show. Jefferson County Fairgrounds, Golden, CO. For information janiemube@comcast.net

March

12-15 The Deming Show. Jerry Abbey 575.546.4338

20-22 Albuquerque 40^th Annual Gem & Mineral Show. Minerals, fossils, jewelry, beads. Hours 10 am to 6 pm. For information call Paul Hlava 505-255-5478.

The Forming of Quartz Crystal

Quartz is formed by the chemical union of the two most common elements, silicon and oxygen. The compound created by this union is silicon-dioxide. The various free forms of silicon-dioxide compose almost 12% of the earth’s outer shell.

There are two main methods by which crystallization of quartz occurs: the cooling of molten magma (rock) and the “precipitation of colloidal silica out of a solution.”

By “precipitation” quartz will crystallize at relatively low temperature and pressure. The rocks on the earth’s surface and several feet deep are continually being broken down by weathering, erosion, and chemical action. As this occurs silica (SiO₂) is released. Water circulating down from the earth’s surface picks up the silica. The further the water travels down the more silica it carries until it reaches the saturation point at which time the water can not pick up any more silica.

As long as conditions are stable, the water stays as is, neither picking up or depositing silica. But conditions are rarely stable and the slightest change in temperature or pressure, or the entrance of a foreign material into the solution will cause the water to become super-saturated, forcing it to deposit some of the silica as a solid. Hence quartz crystal.

If conditions are favorable the silica atoms will flow together in a symmetrical manner, forming a hexagonal quartz crystal. The crystals are usually deposited in cracks and pockets formed by the cooling of the earth’s surface, faulting of the rock, and shifting of the earth.

Silicon-dioxide (quartz) has a glass like luster. It breaks with a conchoidal fracture, like the inside surface of a mussel shell. Quartz has a hardness of 7 on the Mohs scale, 3 points under that of diamond. It will scratch the hardest glass but cannot be scratched by the best steel knife blade.

Lapidary Equipment

Mike Anderson of the Blue Opal Art Gallery in Huachuca City has a used (1.5 hours) 8 inch grinding/polishing unit for sale. The unit has two silicon carbide wheels of 100 and 220 grit, one expanding drum, one polishing disc and motor, belts, recirculating water pump, etc. Price $750. If interested call Mike at 520.456.9202.

Club Officers for 2009

President: Paul McKnight 520-824-4054

V.President:Henri Van den Bos 520 384-0288

Secretary: Jim Brower 520 826-4672

Treasurer: Walter Sigel 520-826-1009

Delegate at Large: Larry Strout 520-826-3991

Hospitality Coord: Zoe Schnabel 520-826-0100

Past President: Don Hammer 520 384-3105