THE COCHISE COUNTY ROCK
Monthly Newsletter of the Sunsites Gem & Mineral Club
http://picasaweb.google.com/cochisecountyrock/
“Finding and Grinding Rocks in Cochise County, Arizona since 1965”
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The next GENERAL MEETING of the Sunsites Gem & Mineral Club is on Monday, Sept. 8, 2014 at 7:00pm in the Sunsites Community Center.
The PROGRAM for the evening will be presented by our members. PLEASE BRING SOME OF THE ROCKS AND GEMS THAT YOU HAVE COLLECTED OVER THE SUMMER. If you do not know what they are, it's OK, we'll try to figure out what you have. For your effort you will receive an extra raffle ticket at no charge.
As usual, we'll have a raffle item.....we have neat looking galena crystals that are imbedded in limestone collected from the Gunnison Hills area ( as 2 separate raffle items). We'll also have loose
galena crystals as an item as well as a large chunk of hematite collected from the Johnny Lyon hills. If you have something you would like to donate for future raffles, please add it to our raffle collection. We are running low.
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It's time to start thinking about Club Officers for 2015. The nominating committee will be named within the next few weeks and those names will appear in the October newsletter. At that time, if you have someone in mind as a club officer for 2015, you may call the chairman to possibly put their name on the ballot. Elections will be held at the November meeting ( 11/10/14) and the candidates names will appear in the November newsletter.
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PRESIDENTS REPORT
It's raining as I write this. Not one of your quickie thunderstorms but an all-day straight-down steady rain. I haven't cut the weeds since yesterday so, I guess I'll have to do that tomorrow. I won't be able to attend the September regular meeting. The Chihuahuan Desert Research Institute in Fort Davis, TX is having their annual auction and BBQ. A couple of fraternity brothers have set up a mining museum at the CDRI so we support it. It's not very big but very well done. The CDRI is part of one of the universities but I don't remember if it's UT or Sul Ross. UT also has an astronomical observatory at Ft. Davis with a very nice visitors center and frequent tours, so Ft Davis is a nice place to visit (on your way to Big Bend National Park).
Jack
OFFICERS 2014
President: Jack Light 520-824-4774
Vice President: Elliott Hendricks 520-471-8820
Secretary: Nadine Wirshing 520-507-3865
Treasurer: Walter Sigel 520-826-1009
Del. At Large: Carl Schnabel 520-826-0100
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Hospitality Coordinator:
Cheryl McLaughlin 520-507-1750
Financial Advisor:
Cheryl McLaughlin: 520-507-1750
Speaker Coordinator:
Don Hammer 520-384-3105
Field Trip Coordinator:
Carl Schnabel: 520-826-0100
Newsletter:
Zoe Schnabel 520-826-0100
FIELD TRIP Saturday September 13, 2014 DENDRITES
Dendrites in Limestone (sometimes called picture stone or painted stone) is an amazing original work of art by Mother Nature. The patterns occur naturally due to the staining of iron and manganese in the cracks of limestone. The minerals percolate from the stratum and recrystalize along the meandering water courses within the rock and are sometimes mistaken for fossilized plants. If you feel energetic, bring along a sledge hammer in an attempt to find fresh sharp specimens. As in any locale that has been published, the Steins Mountain area has been picked over but dendrites are present and a search is necessary. There are also many interesting AND beautiful yard rocks. If you are simply not interested in collecting dendrites, the trip is still very worth while considering the awesome views of the Peloncillo Mountains and also over looking Rte 10 into Arizona. This is the area of Rte 10 which runs into New Mexico with the massive rock outcropping on the N. side. We will meet at Wilcox Safeway at 8:30 a.m. and depart at 8:45 for an hours drive into New Mexico. High clearance vehicles are necessary as well as 4 wheel drive. The last 200 yards is a steep drive to the top of the hill at the bench, with loose rocky terrain. If you do not have 4 wheel drive you can always hike up the hill OR we can have a shuttle to bring you up. Bring your usual gear as well as sunscreen since the location is highly reflective (there is no shade). The area is mainly gravel with little grass but sturdy shoes are still recommended. Just in case you need it, our first aide kit will be available as it is on all field trips. Bring lots of drinking water.
CLUB CALENDAR
September 8 General Meeting Nov. 10 General Membership Meeting
October 2 Board Meeting Nov. 20 Board Meeting
October 13 General Membership Meeting Dec. 8 Christmas Dinner (tentative)
October 30 Board Meeting
REVISED Minutes from May 12 General Meeting to be approved at the September meeting
President Jack Light called the meeting to order at 7:10 pm.
Treasurers Report: Walter Sigel reported that we have $3,376.14 in our Treasury.
Old Business:
Jack Light told us that the cabinets from the old lab were taken out by the fire department and left in front of the old lab. He asked for volunteers to help him bring them to our new shed. Walter and Spike volunteered to help him. They would meet at 9am at the old lab.
New Business:
Jack will talk to David Makarewicz about the supplies needed for the electrical installation.
Don mentioned that Lora C.,a geologist for the Commonwealth mine, might possibly be willing to teach the lab. Presently she is not a member. Don has seen her lapidary work and has stated that it's quite acceptable.
Field Trip Report:
Carl Schnabel said that our trip to Courtland was fun, although the wind was extremely strong. Everyone found some chrysocola and some were lucky enough to find some turquoise.
Carl agreed to replace Henri as our field trip coordinator. The field trip for May will be to Hel vetia in the National Forest in Green Valley. We would need a high clearance vehicle with 4 wheel drive. It will be held on May 17. We will meet at the Rte 83 turnoff from Rte 10. Meet at 8:30 a.m.
June Picnic:
Cheryl passed around a food sign up sheet for the picnic which will be held in the old town of
Fairbanks on June 7th.
Program:
Don was unable to get the CD to work. It was refreshment time and we chatted for a bit.
Refreshments were provided by Cheryl, Bette and Zoe.
The Meeting was adjourned at 7:40pm
Respectfully submitted by Bette Greene, acting secretary for Nadine Wirshing
In the Summer issue of The Cochise County Rock, there was an article on How to Find Crystals.Hope you found some & will bring them for "Show and Tell" at the meeting! The following article was compiled from various web sources.
HOW TO CLEAN CRYSTALS
•REMOVING LIME CARBONATES, CALCITE, AND BARITE from Quartz Crystals.
First try cleaning them using ordinary White household vinegar and washing ammonia. Soak
your specimens for 8-12 hours in full-strength vinegar. Wash the crystals well and then soak them for an equal amount of time in washing ammonia. Rinse well and wipe dry. If they are not completely clean, repeat the process. You may need to repeat several times. Very resistant calcite encrustations, limonite or other tough mineral coatings on quartz may require you to wash them in a muriatic (dilute hydrochloric) acid solution.
WARNING:
If the specimen contains pyrite crystals muriatic acid will damage the pyrite. Also remember that calcite crystals should never be treated by this process. Muriatic acid (sold as concrete or pool cleaner is much stronger than simple vinegar or oxalic acid, and must be used with extreme caution. It can be found at hardware stores such as Ace, etc.
For cleaning you will need rubber gloves, goggles, large boxes of baking soda, 5 plastic buckets, and a secure outdoor space to work in:
•In the first DRY bucket put your DRY crystal specimens that need cleaning.
•Fill a second bucket with water for rinsing
•Your third and fourth bucket are filled with a strong baking soda solution to neutralize the acid.
•The fifth is for draining the muriatic solution into when you need to check the progress of the cleaning.
You can use the muriatic full strength or dilute it. If you DO dilute it remember to add the acid to the water. Wearing gloves and goggles, pour enough muriatic acid over the crystals to completely cover them. Be careful not to breathe the fumes from the acid!
Expect the solution to bubble vigorously if you are removing calcite or other alkaline minerals. In most cases you can leave the solution to work until this action stops. Check your quartz clusters after five minutes as sometimes they are held together by calcite and you will end up with a bunch of loose crystals.
When they are clean to your satisfaction you need to neutralize the acid. Remove them to the baking soda solution for 15 minutes, then proceed with rinsing. Because the acid has penetrated the specimen it is best to wash very thoroughly. A good rule of thumb is total washing time should be three times the duration the specimen was in acid. If you just briefly dipped it for 5 minutes to remove some calcite then a 15 minute wash will be adequate. If you left your quartz specimens in for for a full day, then you should rinse them for at least three days. Washing is basically placing your specimens in clean water and keeping the water clean as the acid diffuses out of the specimens. It is best if you can set a water supply on a slow trickle into the bucket to constantly provide clean water. Otherwise changing the water as often as possible will work.
PICNIC AT FAIRBANKS June 7, 2014
Those who attended the annual Sunsites Gem & Mineral Club picnic had a fun time eating & chatting at the picnic tables amongst the old trees in the picnic grove. Afterwards, we walked around the old town site and checked the school house (shown) which is now a library/store.
Renate: “First settled in the 1870's, the town was called Junction City when it began as a simple stagecoach stop. Construction of a rail road began in 1882 and became a depot for cattle and ore coming from Tombstone.”
Cheryl: “After the mining played out, the town began to fade away.”
Elliott & Walter: “ In 1887 the Bureau of Lands and Mines (BLM) acquired the land that was once a Mexican Land Grant and the area became part of the San Pedro Riparian Conservation Area.”
Carl: “In all, we had a nice time eating, talking, walking around the grounds and learning about the now Ghost Town, Fairbanks, Arizona. It was a beautiful day.”