El Gambrisino 2009-05

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Gemcrafters and Explorers Club "EL Gambrisino" Volume 51, Issue 5 May 2009 - 1 -

ELGAMBRISINOGem Crafters & Explorer's Club Bulletin, Las Cruces, NM

Affiliated with the AFMS and a member of the RMFMS

May 2009 - Volume 51, Issue 5

Notes from the Previous Meeting:

President Dave Smith led off the meeting with an announcement of Former President Denny Keith'spassing on April 17th. There was a discussion regarding the sending of cards and flowers and as thereare no set rules for such occasions in our club. Don Saathoff made a motion to set a limit of $100 forflowers. It was seconded and passed unanimously. Two cards were passed around for member'ssignatures after which Dave called for a moment of silence for remembrance of Denny. He will begreatly missed.

Don Saathoff then made an announcement: Seems a man came to him for an assay of an "Ingot ofSilver". He was told that it was part of a stash found in the back of the old Kingston Bank some time ago.It had been offered to him for $700. Don said he knew from the bright color that it wasn't silver but went

ahead with the assay which proved it to be solid solder. Don advised us all to "Be aware that there isa stash of solder out there for sale".

We had a number of guests with us. They didn't all sign our Log so I may have missed some ofthem. Terry Manion, William & Kathy Duermyer, Mike Cherry and Gail Leduc and a welcome back toformer member Cliff Pelton who rejoined the Club. My guest Gail Leduc was visiting from Michigan.We've been friends since we were nine and ten years old and I refuse to say how many years ago thatwas (however will say that it's a lot of them).

Secretary Susan Banning had new Name Tags for all. The membership cards that haven't beenpicked up yet will be put behind the name tags in the notebook so if you don't have yours yet look for itthere. Treasurer Lee Attaway told us that we have a total of $1,752 dollars.

The new RMFMS Insurance was effective March 25. They found a new source, the PhiladelphiaInsurance Co. which is charging about one half the amount that we were paying. A reminder that this is

not an accident policy but is for liability against a third party. You can check the RMFMS May Newsletterfor details if you wish. http://www.rmfms.org/newsletters/may2009.pdf

There will be a Mineral Meeting at Don Saathoffs Lab Wednesday the 22nd at 6:30 PM. Eric Fullerannounced a Field Trip for tomorrow. It will be to Iron Hill then to Magdalena Peak and depending ontime he might head for Slocum's Post (as known as Fort Mason) and/or a WWI bombing range.

Many thanks for the tasty refreshments hosted by Brenda Gadberry and Nancy & Doug McDonald.Eric then introduced our speaker for the evening - Virgil Leuth.

Mineral Meeting News:The meeting was held at Don Saathoff''s Lab on the Wednesday after the regular meeting. There

were about eight of us all told. Joe Mork and Dave Smith brought samples from their trips to various old

area mines and a lot of time was spent in the testing and discussions of them. Much talk, rock testing,looking up facts and even munching was accomplished. In other words a good time was had by all. Thenext meeting will be on the Wednesday following our May meeting, May 20th, same time, same place.Hope to see all you mineral lovers there.

You only need two tools in life - WD-40 and duct tape. If it doesn't move and should, use

the WD40. If it shouldn't move and does, use the duct tape.

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April's Speaker:

Virgil Leuth, Senior Mineralologist, NM Bureauof Geology and Mineral Resources and also thecurator of the Mineral Museum at NMT Socorro."WHAT'S GOING ON BENEATH YOUR FEET?MAGMAS, ORE DEPOSITS AND HOTSPRINGS ALONG THE RIO GRANDE RIFT.".

I will attempt to give a much shortenedoverview of this fascinating talk.

Most people think that geology is what'sgoing on the surface. We forget about what is

going on under us, never paying attention until ithappens to us-things such as volcanic eruptionsor tsunamis. There are two forces - 1 from theinside, tectonics and 1 from the outside, weatherand climate and it is the geologist's job tointerpret the interactions. They use a lot ofmethods in order to determine what and whereand why and the age of mineral deposits.

NM is tectonically active; for exampleSocorro is sitting over a magma chamber some15 kilometers below it. Our Organ Mountains

are some 27 million years old and Tuneco hassome of the oldest rocks in New Mexico. It alsohas a covering of topsoil from the Rio Grandewhich in time has become mineralized i.e. thebarite & fluorite deposits. It's an interesting factthat the west side of the Rio Grande Rift isheading toward California and the east side is

heading for Texas. This rift runs all the way upto Leadville, Co where it is just starting to tearapart whereas in our area it has been tearingapart for a very long time and is very wide. HotSprings (known as "Geological chemicalmessages from below") show up all along theRift.

He explained the processes by whichmountains are formed and why ore deposits areusually found in these mountains. We learnedthat Sulfuric Acid (from below) reacts withlimestone to form gypsum. (Also learned thatJuarez has the largest Hydrofluoric Acid" plant inNA). This reaction along with water alsoproduces Jarosite which is potassium ironsulfate hydroxide, color yellowish brown and(this is a direct quote) is "The World's GreatestMineral on the planet and on Mars" -ergo mycapitalization of the mineral. As the potassiumbreaks down it makes the gas argon. Thishappens at a constant rate and is used with theaid of a nuclear reactor to help determine age ofthe Jarosite. Virgil age-dated samples ofJarosite taken from various deposits fromChihuahua, Mexico to Socorro, New Mexico andfound out that the samples ranged in age fromten million years to almost now. It is still formingfrom that same water that formed it ten million

years ago.

Jarosite has been found on Mars so thetheory is there has to be water, or had to havebeen at one time as it must have water toproduce it. With a Jarosite sample it can bedetermined when that water was there.However it will be at least 20 years before thenext trip to Mars for samples. Looks like Virgil isgoing to have to put off his retirement plans forawhile.

The lesson on dating rocks and why Jarositeis such an important mineral was fascinating andI only wish I could do it justice. This is a veryshort version and a lot of things had to beomitted. Those of you at the meeting werefortunate and those of you who weren't theresure missed a good one. Virgil Leuth is not onlyfull of information but shared it with us in a mostcolorful and entertaining way.

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Reminders & General Info:

Next meeting will be, as usual, the third Friday of the month, May 15th, Breland Hall on the NMSUcampus at 6:30 for social and 7 PM for the meeting. Val Peebles & Julie and Brecken Uhl will host therefreshments. Eric Fuller sent in the following announcement:

Mule Creek Memorial Day Camp Out FridayMay 22nd thru Monday May 25th.

Last Year Lee Attaway did some researchand helped us to find a great new Obsidiansite...Lee Attaway gets a Club At-A-Boy (well At-A-Girl in this case)! Anyone else who can findgood sites at the Mule Creek Camp out area willbe forever honored in the Club hall of Fame!

On this camp out please feel free to comeand go individually or in groups as you maydeem best. Maps are included. Large trailerscan easily make the Forest dry camp area justacross the cattle guard leaving Pine Cienega (onthe left or the right side) and before the right turn

to the main camp which has tight clearance andwet weather issues.

Kathy and I will probably leave the morning ofthe May 22nd and we will have to be back bylate afternoon May 25th. We usually try to get

there 1 or 2 days early to establish camping incase the Forest service decides to shut the

Forest down at the last moment due to firerestrictions. We have never been asked to leavedue to fire restriction closure when issued afterwe established camp so come on in.

For last minute communications and planchanges it would be best to RSVP me with yourintended dates of camping and your cell phone.Cell phone coverage is poor to spotty to none,but from the Brushy Mountain FAA Radar site itcan be made to happen in spots. As a side notethe Brushy Mountain FAA Radar Site was alsoset up as a hunting lodge for the presidents. I

am told JFK was there.See attachments for maps and information.

Leroy sent in an announcement for the next DAAS meeting. One our members, Faith Hutson, will begiving the talk that night. She's a world traveler and good speaker to boot and it would be nice if a lot ofus showed up to hear her talk.

MEETING ANNOUNCEMENT

The Doa Ana Archaeological Society will meet at 7 PM Tuesday, 12 May 2009, at the Good SamaritanAuditorium, 3011 Buena Vida Circle, Las Cruces. Faith Hutson, a professional sonographer and world traveler,

will give a PowerPoint program titled Malta throughout the Ages. She will give a synopsis of this island countryfrom its Megalithic temples to its recent past in terms of interest to a traveler and tourist. The meeting is free and

open to the public. Info: 575-524-9497.

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Here are a few of my favorite Mark Twain quotes for your enjoyment and enlightenment:

'If you don't read the newspaper you are uninformed, if you do read the newspaper you are

misinformed.'

'Suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a member of Congress.... But then I repeat

myself'.

'There is no distinctly Native American criminal class...except Congress'.

Eric Fuller is at it again. His friend Myron, who is now a member of our club, came up with anothertwist on the word Gambrisino. Check it out and let us know your thoughts. Here tis:

Mike "aka Myron" Cherry has a long interest in mining and prospecting. He was recently trying toacquire a book of laws and regs as compiled in 1851 by John A. Rockwell. I located 2 different digitalcopies of it on Goggle Books as a free down load (about 35 MB, over 660 pages).

Myron noted a reference to Gamboa's Mining Ordinance starting on the title page directly underVolume I. Myron was wondering if Gamboa could be the source word for Gambusino and now furtheraltered by us to Gambrisino.

Here are the web links and full title/description. The title page with the words Gamboa's Ordinancesfollows.

Spanish, Mexican Law, mines, land: Book found on WorldCat.org: www.worldcat.org/oclc/17818278

A Compilation of Spanish and Mexican law in relation to mines, and titles to real estate in force inCalifornia, Texas and New Mexico : and in the territories acquired under the Louisiana and Florida treaties,when annexed to the United States : volume I, containing a translation of the mining ordinances of New

Spain--Gamboa'smining ordinances--the laws in relation to mines of gold, silver and quicksilver, containedin the "Novisima recopilacin", and the "Recopilacin de las Indias", and in the decrees of the Cortes ofSpain and of Ferdinand VII : also of the laws and decrees of Mexico, on the subject of mines, colonization,and the right of foreigners to hold real estate : also, extracts from public documents, and from the laws ofCalifornia, in relation to mines and mineral lands : together with a digest of the common law, on the subjectof mines and mining

Author: John A Rockwell Publisher: New York: J.S. Voorhies, 1851.

Gale Digital Collections ebook:http://www.worldcat.org/wcpa/oclc/60720690?page=frame&url=http://www.gale.com/ModernLaw/%26checksum%3Db391915d9e919d369bdfcdd0a4b6c6cb&title=&linktype=digitalObject&detail=

Google Books has two different copies:Stanford Library Copy of:

http://books.google.com/books?id=2Rg4AAAAIAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=A+Compilation+of+Spanish+and+Mexican+law+in+relation+to+mines#PPA6,M1

New York Public Library:http://books.google.com/books?id=4qUJAAAAIAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=A+Compilation+of+Spanish+and+

Mexican+law+in+relation+to+mines#PPR1,M1

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Anyone have any thing to say on this one?

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Trips & Such:

I was unable to attend the field trip and Eric didn't get a report in to me so no report this month.

Last Minute News Flash:

We rec'd. the following letter from NMSU regarding our Scholarship offer:

On May 4, 2009, at 11:22 AM, Frank Ramos wrote:

Dear Robert,

My name is Frank Ramos; I am in charge of the scholarship committee at the NMSU Department ofGeological Sciences (pleasure meeting you). You had requested that I notify you of the 1st Gemcraftersand Explorers Club Scholarship winner. We have chosen Travis Avant for this award, he is a 1st yeargraduate student working with Dr Jeff Amato here at NMSU. I wanted to express my personal andprofessional gratitude for the Club's sponsorship of the scholarship. On behalf of the department andNMSU more broadly, thank you. Travis is aware that he will give a presentation of his work nextacademic year and will contact you regarding scheduling. Again, thank for your support of ourdepartment and our students. Scholarships such as this help a range of students to pursue their masters

and undergraduate research projects and your support is critical to our mission of offering the besteducational opportunities in the state.FCR

Frank C. RamosMichael Johnson Chair of GeochemistryDepartment of Geological SciencesNew Mexico State UniversityBox 30001, MSC 3ABLas Cruces, NM 88003Phone: 575 646 2511 Fax: 575 646-1056

Lee replied to him with corrected officer's name, etc.

Dear Frank,I am Lee Attaway, treasurer of the Gemcrafters and Explorers Club. Robert Keith was our president in2008; Dave Smith is our president this year.Our members will be glad to hear that a student has been selected by your committee to receive the $500and we will be looking forward to his presentation at a future club meeting.If you have copies of the two pages that Kristine Kitchens gave Dr. Nancy McMillan then you know that Iam waiting to hear about where to mail the $500 check and who or what account number to make thecheck payable to.

Since our club officers are subject to change every year I want to give you additional contacts.

Due to lack of space I condensed her letter somewhat but it looks like we finally have a recipient. Furtherinformation will follow as received.

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5 MINUTE CHOCOLATE MUG CAKE (Not really a rock topic but it is Chocolate!)4 tablespoons flour Add dry ingredients to mug, and mix well.4 tablespoons sugar Add the egg and mix thoroughly.

2 tablespoons cocoa Pour in the milk and oil and mix well.1 egg Add the chocolate chips (if using) and3 tablespoons milk vanilla extract and mix again.3 tablespoons oil

3 tablespoons chocolate chips (optional)A small splash of vanilla extract1 large coffee mug (MicroSafe).Put your mug in the microwave and cook for 3 minutes at 1000 watts. The cake will rise over the top of the mug, but don't be alarmed!Allow to cool a little, and tip out onto a plate if desired. Then EAT!(This can serve 2 if you want to feel slightly more virtuous).

And why is this the most dangerous cake recipe in the world?Because now we are all only 5 minutes away from chocolate cake at any time of the day or night.From the test kitchen of Cookie Saathoff - her verdict: "not to bad"!

Mystery Location?

This should be no mystery to those of you whogo on Club Field trips as we have driven bythis old homestead on many occasions. All Iwill tell you is that it's close to Las Cruces onthe way to an old mine site. Let's see howmany rockhounds can tell me where this lonelyold rather large homestead is located.

Please send me an e-mail with your [email protected]

Last month's Mystery Location, as sent in by Joe Mork, camefrom the well known Robledo Quarry area. Before the areawas blow to bits it was well know and hunted by all local fossilhunters. Many amazing things were found there, this verytypical plate being one of them.

Apparently no one in our club (except Joe and me) has everhunted fossils in the Robledos as no one even tried to guesswhere it was from.

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Articles of Interest:

TALC - THE MINERAL THAT WON THE WAR

By Walt Margerum, from The Mineralogical Society of Southern California (July 02)

If your only contact with talc is the powder that comes from cans, the above statement may seemabsurd, but it is not far from the truth. Ben M. Page in California Division of Mines Special Report 8Talc Deposits of Steatite Grade, Inyo County California states Steatite is exceptionally pure talc

suitable for the manufacture of high-frequency radio insulators and for other exacting uses. It was acritical mineral during World War II. At the beginning of the war there was a single major domesticsource, the Talc City mine, Inyo County California. During WWII the government decreed that all thesteatite was to be used in high-frequency radios. There are two definitions of steatite, themineralogical definition of massive talc, and the commercial one. The commercial definition ofsteatite is that it is talc having less than 1.5% lime (CaO), 1.5% Ferric oxide (Fe2O3), and 4% alumina(Al2O3) as impurities. It was used in two forms. Blocks of Lava talc were machined into the desiredshape and then fired to make ceramic insulators. The second and more common method was togrind the talc, and mix it with a binder. This mixture was then molded into the desired shape andfired.

During and after WWII the Southern Inyo Mountains were extensively prospected and 18 talc mines

were put into operation. All have since closed, and most have been abandoned. The most extensivedeposits were at the Talc City Hills located north of Darwin. The talc is a dull gray, and makes foruninteresting specimens at best. But if you do not have any in your collection you do not have themineral that won the war. If you still wonder why I call it that, the most important high-frequency radio itwas used in was called RADAR!

Here are some handyTALC TIPS:

- In icy weather, rub talc on your automobile door seals to prevent the doors from frosting up.- If you have problems with rabbits getting into your garden, spread a band of scented talcum powder

around the garden border to keep them out. Rabbits don't like the smell and will not cross thepowder. It really works!

- Grease on upholstered furniture can be removed by sprinkling talcum powder over the mark. Letstand for 15 minutes or until grease is absorbed. Brush off the powder. Repeat if necessary.

- For squeaky clean crystal glasses, wash them in a mixture of water and talc and dry with a teatowel.

- If your automobile engine is leaking oil and you can't find the source, try dusting the clean enginesurfaces with talcum powder. The powder will absorb the oil and you'll be able to follow the oil's trailin the talc.

- Stop floor boards from squeaking by sprinkling liberal amounts of talcum powder over the area andcover with a cloth. Walk over the area repeatedly to work the powder into the cracks. Add morepowder and repeat. This should silence the squeak.

- Talcum powder can help frustrated golfers to practice putting indoors during the winter months! Dipthe golf ball in talcum powder and position the ball so that the club at impact hits the back of thepowdered ball. After the putt, examine the clubface and you will see the point where you contactedthe ball.

- If you wet the pages of a book accidentally, sprinkle each page with talc and spread it with a softcloth. Leave the book under a weight for a few days and then brush off the excess talc. The pages ofyour book will be like new again.

- To keep your scissors from getting sticky when you are cutting a sticky surface, dust the blades withtalcum powder before cutting.

From The Luzenac Group (www.luzenac.com/talc-innov.html), Via Fire & Ice June 3

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Upcoming Show Dates:

May 15-17 Sarasota, FL: 191st Show, Frank Cox production. Municipal Auditorium. Contact (941)954-9292, www.frankcoxproductions.com

May 16-17 Lubbock, TX: 51st show, Lubbock Gem & Mineral Society, Lubbock Civic Center.Contact Archie Scott (806)894-1584

June 6-7 Coeur D'Alene, ID: Annual show, North Idaho Rock Club, Kootenal County Fairgroundsand Event Center. Contact Bev Bockman, (208)773-5384.June 19-21 Carlsbad, NM: Annual show, road Runner Gem & Mineral Club, Living Desert Zoo &

State Park. Free Admission. Contact Cathy Hamilton (575) 885-8572.June 1-21 Santa Fe, NM: 5th Annual show, Palace of the Governors/New Mexico History Museum,

Palace of the Governors Courtyard. Contact Carlotta Boettcher (505) 476-5112.July 3-5 Farmington, NM: San Juan County Gem & Mineral Society, Farmington Civic Center.

Free admission. Contact Mickie Calvert, (505) 632-8286July 11-12 Roseville, MN: Har Mar Summer Show, Anoka County Gem & Mineral Club, Har Mar

Mall. Free Admission. Contact Martha Miss, (651) 459-0343Aug. 6-9 Buena Vista, CO: Continental Tailgate at the Rodeo Grounds, outdoor show. Free

admission. (303)833-2939 or (720)938-4194. www.coloradorocks.orgAug. 29-Sept. 7 Apache Creek, NM: "Agate Rendezvous 2009", an Inter-federation Campout & Fieldtrip Event. Please RSVP by Aug. 24th. Contact Yonis Lone Eagle, RMFMS Vice Pres. at505-860-2455 or [email protected]

Nov. 13-15 New Mexico Mineral Symposium, NMT, Socorro, NM - For your planning, more information tofollow.

Forfurther information or shows go to www.rockngem.com

Thought for the Day:

Xf(sf bmm kvtu qbttfohfst po uif ujnf usbjo/ (Heard on CSI show of 4/24/09).

Classifieds:

Cookie has some Sedum ground cover plants that she is thinning out. They are fast growing, they don'tfreeze, they transplant easily and the best part is that they are free. Please give her a call for more infoor if you are interested in receiving some of these fine plants. 382-3464

Some Interesting Web Sites for you to check out:

Members occasionally send me web sites to check out and pass on plus the ones that I run across. Ithought it might be a good idea to add several of these as a regular monthly feature. Please send meyour favorites that you think our members might be interested in.

http://minloc.com/default.asp Mineral Locatorhttp://newmexico.hometownlocator.com/features/Cultural,class,mine.cfm Mine Locatorhttp://www.ghosttowns.com/states/nm/nm.html New Mexico Ghost Towns

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Info for the Newsletter:

If you have information, articles, pictures or a website related to gem crafting, rock collecting or exploringand would like to share please give a call or email me at [email protected]. If you have a good idea or

story to tell I will be more than happy to help you write it up. Also if you have minerals, outdoor or camping

equipment, etc. that you would like to sell please let me know for the "Classifieds."

Gemcrafters & Explorers Club, P.O. Box 3091, Las Cruces, NM 88003

Member of: American Federation of Mineralogical Societies: www.amfed.org

Rocky Mountain Federation of Mineralogical Societies: www.rmfms.org

Blue Ribbon Coalition: www.sharetrails.org

2009 OFFICERS:

President Dave Smith 521-3103 [email protected] President Kathy Fuller 524-0204 [email protected] Lee Attaway 523-4017 [email protected] Susan Banning 532-9612 [email protected] Pat Mauer 526-4939 [email protected] Don Saathoff 382-3464 [email protected] - Eric Fuller 524-0204 [email protected] - Maxine Wyman 649-4900 [email protected]

Documents

El Gambrisino 2009-05