november 2016, issue no. 556 mwf news · [email protected] [email protected] secretary:...
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MWF News November 2016, Issue No. 556 Page 1
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
2016 Geology News Notes ................................................. 2 Moh’s Hardness Scale 8-10 ............................................ 12
Bulletin Editors’ Competition ............................................ 2 Past Presidents Update ...................................................... 8
Dues and Events Forms .................................................. 4-6 Picking Mary Ellen Jasper ................................................ 7
Election Results .................................................................. 1 President’s Message .......................................................... 1
Endowment and Scholarship Form .................................... 9 Silent Auction Report ....................................................... 4
In Memoriam ...................................................................... 8 Upcoming Events ............................................................ 10
King Tut’s Blade ................................................................ 8
WHAT’S INSIDE?
MWF News Midwest Federation
of Mineralogical and Geological Societies
November 2016 - Issue No. 556
Web Site - www.amfed.org/mwf
Member of the American Federation of
Mineralogical Societies
ELECTION RESULTS
Donna Moore, Secretary
The voting is closed for the MWF Election for
2017. Ballots were sent to each member of the MWF
Executive Committee as well as each club in the
MWF. Seventy-nine ballots were returned to the Cre-
dentials Chairman.
The following members were elected: Tom
Whitlatch, President; David Root, 1st Vice President;
Kevin Ponzio, 2nd Vice President; Donna Moore, Sec-
retary; and Sandy Fuller, Treasurer. All were elected
for one-year terms.
The two nominees elected as members of the
Nominating Committee are Deb Coursey and Dennis
Westman. They will serve for three years. Two mem-
bers of this committee are elected each year. The im-
mediate past president serves as chairman for the
Nominating Committee. This year that will be David
Rich.
Voting for each year takes place in August and
September.
Tom Whitlatch, President
Hello to all Midwest clubs. I will introduce
myself to everyone to start off. My name is Thomas
(Tom) Whitlatch. I have been serving as
First Vice President for the past year in
preparation for the next year to serve as
President. But leading up to this time
there have been several positions that I
have held for my home club, Cedar
Valley Rocks and Minerals Society,
including Director, Secretary, and First
and Second Vice President. Then I was
asked to become the MWF's Director for the state of
Iowa, a position I held for over 12 years.
I was asked to be in line to take over this
office three years ago. Although I was a little
reluctant, I was finally convinced to take the plunge,
spending one year as Second Vice President and one
year as First Vice President. Now, as of November
1st, I become President for the next year.
(Continued on page 2)
Page 2 November 2016, Issue No. 556 MWF News
MWF OFFICERS
President: Tom Whitlatch
1147 Staub Court NE
Cedar Rapids, IA 52402
319-551-3870
1st VP: David Root 2nd VP: Kevin Ponzio
1051 Meadow Lane Post Office Box 44
Jenison, MI 49428 Plymouth, WI 53073
616-498-4699 920-980-6413
[email protected] [email protected]
Secretary: Donna Moore Treasurer: Sandy Fuller
25235 N. State Route 97 8845 Grange Boulevard
Cuba, IL 61427 Cottage Grove, MN 55016
309-789-6501 651-459-0343
[email protected] [email protected]
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE, CONTINUED
2016 GEOLOGY NEWS NOTES
During my time in office I would like to see
our clubs grow with new members and the Federation
grow the number of clubs. This may sound like a lofty
goal, but all it will take is, “Just ask.”
Just ask someone to join you in having fun
learning about rocks, minerals, or geology. This
simple act of asking someone to join you can mean
entertaining someone for an hour or two, or gaining a
new member, or possibly even having a good friend
for life. “Just Ask. . .” Here’s to a great and
productive year.
(Continued from page 1)
2017 BULLETIN EDITORS’ COMPETITION
Sharon Marburger, Bulletin Editors’ Aids Chair
I continue to encourage all editors to review
their 2016 club bulletins for features, articles, original
poetry, and original drawings, as well as any special
publications produced by the club, for entry into
competition. It is really easy to do.
The deadline for MWF entries is February 10. I
am awaiting further information and rules from the
AFMS and will publish all the needed information in
the MWF News and to the Federation website once it is
received. Let's make this the best competition ever!
Bill Cordua, Geology Committee Chair
Here are some geology news items from
October 2015 to October 2016 that might interest MWF
readers. Geology is a vibrant field with news coming
almost every day.
Big fossil news! In October 2015 a collector
picked up a fossil dinosaur claw at the dumps of the old
Hill Annex Mine, near Bigfork, Minnesota. The old
mine site is currently a state park where fossil
collecting is allowed. This is only the third reported
dinosaur fossil fragment from Minnesota, and was
found in an area where only marine Cretaceous fossils
(such as mollusks and shark’s teeth) were found in the
past. There is no truth to the rumor that it’s a new
species that paleontologists want to name
“Youbetchasaur.”
Meanwhile, also in October 2015, a Michigan
farmer digging in a soy bean field to lay down a new
natural gas line found a huge mammoth fossil pelvis
and other bones. The find, in Lima Township,
Michigan, is now being excavated by University of
Michigan paleontologists. They’re out there! Keep
your eyes peeled.
Researchers at UCLA presented evidence
(Proceedings, National Academy of the Sciences,
October 2015) that living photosynthesizing organisms
may have been on earth more than 4.1 billion years
ago, soon after the planet formed. The evidence is tiny
flecks of carbon embedded in old zircons that have the
isotopic signature of carbon involved in photosynthesis.
(Continued on page 3)
Mammoth silhouette by Thaddeus Bejnar, via
Wikimedia Commons.
MWF News November 2016, Issue No. 556 Page 3
2016 GEOLOGY NEWS NOTES, CONTINUED
UCLA geologist Mark Harrison said, “With the right
ingredients, life seems to form quickly.”
A paper in Nature Geoscience reports that the
Curiosity rover on Mars has found granitic rocks in
Gale Crater – a contrast to the predominantly basaltic
rocks of Mars’ crust. This suggests that Mars had
begun generating an Earth-like continental crust about
3.7 to 4 billion years ago.
Nickel-copper ore continues to be produced
from the Eagle Mine in Michigamme Township in
Michigan. The ore is in a two-peridotitic intrusion from
the Keweenawan, about 1.1 billion years old. This
formed during the same period as the basaltic rocks so
familiar to collectors from the Keweenaw Peninsula of
Michigan and north shore of Lake Superior in
Minnesota. The massive sulfide ore, which can
sometimes be found for sale at local rock shows, is a
rich mix of brownish metallic pyrrhotite, yellow
pentlandite and brassy chalcopyrite. The underground
mine, the country’s only primary nickel mine, is
expected to be active for eight years. Additional
exploration continues in the region for further deposits.
Aquilla Resources is investing $300 million to
develop an open-pit mine in a deposit along the
Menominee River on the Michigan-Wisconsin border.
The mine would produce gold, silver, copper and zinc.
The deposit, called the “Back Forty Project,” could
produce ore as soon as 2019, if permitting proceeds as
(Continued from page 2)
Curiosity self-portrait on Mars, from NASA via
Wikimedia Commons.
planned. The ore is a massive sulfide deposit in
metamorphosed volcanic rocks deposited in an island
arc environment and deformed in the Penokean
Orogeny (mountain building episode), which is 1.8 to
1.9 billion years old. It is similar to the Flambeau
deposit mined in the 1990s near Ladysmith and the
Crandon Deposit near Rhinelander.
Researchers, led by Alysson Thibodeau of
Dickerson College, have shown that lead and strontium
isotopes in turquoise vary significantly from deposit to
deposit. This can lead to new techniques in
fingerprinting the sources of turquoise in artifacts,
which will help trace ancient patterns of trade in the
Americas and elsewhere.
How deep does the biosphere go? Japanese
scientists drilling into a thick pile of sediments on the
seafloor near Japan found microorganisms living at
depths of over 1.9 kilometers below the seafloor.
Organic material in the sediments is the energy source
for a biosphere that receives no direct solar energy.
The U.S. Geological Survey has unveiled its
latest seismic hazard map, this time including human-
induced earthquakes due to such things as oil and gas
fracking. This gives new high-risk areas in states such
as Oklahoma and Kansas. The 5.6 magnitude
earthquake in Oklahoma in early September, 2016
emphasizes the need for this seismic hazard mapping. It
should be a relief to know that areas north of the
Illinois-Missouri border are still in the lowest risk
category.
Was the K-T extinction (the dino-killer etc.
mass extinction event) a double whammy? New
evidence of increased mercury levels around this time
point to global catastrophic effects of the eruption of
the Deccan volcanics in India, according to research
teams at the University of Lisbon and University of
Oxford. Gaseous mercury release is typical of volcanic
eruptions, but not meteor impacts. While not doubting
the reality of the Chicxulub impact in Mexico, the
teams believe that evidence suggests the ecosystem was
stressed by other factors before this time. The two
catastrophic events occurring within such a short period
was a recipe for disaster.
(Continued on page 11)
Page 4 November 2016, Issue No. 556 MWF News
Sandy Fuller, Treasurer
The 2017 Midwest Federation form for
renewing club memberships (the Dues, Insurance, and
Club Contact Information form) is now available on
our website (www.amfed.org/mwf) and in this
newsletter. Please alert club officers to collect
information for the forms, which are due January 15,
2017.
One important piece of information needed is
the total number of individual adult and youth members
during the year completed in 2016. These figures are
used for dues and insurance calculations. The rationale
is that your total membership, by the end of the year, is
usually about the same, so you always pay the current
year dues based on your past experience. The treasurer
needs this information before January 15 so dues can
be submitted on time.
Please provide a roster of current officers,
including preferred mailing addresses, phone numbers
and email address. If it is handwritten, please ensure
that letters and numbers are legible. If an individual
does not want this information published on the
website, follow the directions on the form to indicate
this. However, please provide all contact information
so we can reach you.
Use the Events form to submit details of
upcoming shows and events during the coming year.
You may include a flyer, printed on white paper, as
additional information. If this information is submitted
2017 DUES AND EVENTS FORMS DUE JANUARY 15, 2017
with the dues, we will make sure it gets to the website,
newsletter and directory coordinators. If it is submitted
later, or separately, it is more likely to get overlooked.
Finally, and probably most important to many,
the 2017 membership rates are the same as before. Our
MWF Endowment Fund supports our special projects,
helping to keep dues consistent from one year to the
next. Dues are $2.00 per adult and $.50 per youth.
Insurance continues to go up, in part because of
late renewals. Our new rate is $4.50 per individual to
be covered by the policy. Clubs that submit their dues
on time (postmarked no later than January 15, 2017)
may take a $.25 per member discount. Please include
all active members (attended/participated in an activity
during the past year) when computing your insurance
premium.
New this year: The federation insurance
policy will cover groups of clubs jointly sponsoring
shows or events only if all of the sponsoring clubs are
current federation members and all of the sponsoring
clubs purchased federation insurance. Requests for
insurance for these jointly sponsored events must
include a list of all sponsoring clubs.
Questions about the forms or dues? Call Sandy
or Martha at 651-459-0343 or email Sandy at
[email protected]. Direct insurance questions
to Marge Jensen at 218-546-8288 or
Susan Stanforth, Silent Auction Chairman
I am happy to report another successful silent
auction held August 21 at the South Bend, Indiana
show. We took in about $800 for our Endowment
Fund — hooray! This is all due to the generous
donors who gave from their hearts for the success of
the Midwestern Federation. THANK YOU SO
MUCH.
I want to send out a huge hug and thank you to
REPORT OF THE 2016 SILENT AUCTION (AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS)
Dave Rice and Dick Leonard (my best buddies who
traveled with me from Rockford, Illlinois), and the
adorable Anne Cook and Barbara Sky. They faithfully
worked the tables throughout the entire day. Such
commitment is hard to find these days. I will be
forever grateful to them.
Also, JC and Donna Moore were right there
helping every way they could. Special thanks to the
Michiana Gem and Mineral Society for allowing us to
do our auction. Next month — thanks to the donors!
MWF News November 2016, Issue No. 556 Page 5
Midwest Federation of Mineralogical and Geological Societies Annual Dues, Insurance and Club Contact Information (Use INK! Please print, type or complete form on-line. Submit original.)
CLUB NAME STATE
2017 Club Dues (Use membership figures from year completed in 2016)
Number of Adult Club Members X $2.00 = $ .
Number of Youth Club Members X $0.50 = $ .
Do you want MWF Membership Cards? ___ Yes ____ No
2017 Club Insurance
Total Adults and Youth to be insured X $4.50 ($4.25 for qualifying clubs*) = $ (*Renewals postmarked by January 15, 2017 receive a discounted insurance rate of $4.25 per member)
Total Dues and Insurance Remitted: $ . (Make check payable to Midwest Federation)
FORM, DUES, INSURANCE & EVENTS are DUE by JANUARY 15, 2017 Mail to: MWF, %Sandy Fuller, 8445 Grange Blvd, Cottage Grove, MN 55016
Club Contact Information for Mailings, Directory & Website
Circle the E in front of each position to receive the MWF News electronically. Circle the P for print copy (limit one, in addition to pre-designated copies for the Treasurer and Bulletin Editor). You may place an asterisk (*) in front of each email, phone and address that should not be listed on the MWF website.
E P - President Email Phone
Address City State Zip
E P - Secretary Email Phone
Address City State Zip
E P - Treasurer Email Phone
Address City State Zip
E P – Liaison Email Phone
Address City State Zip
CLUB BULLETIN NAME
E P - Editor Email Phone
Address City State Zip
CLUB MEETING PLACE
DAY & TIME
Club Website/Facebook Club Email
Please send the MWF Directory and Official Federation Mail to:
Choose one only > ___ President ___ Secretary ___Treasurer ___Liaison
Page 6 November 2016, Issue No. 556 MWF News
Calendar Of Events Listing Information
For Publication In MWF Directory, Website & Newsletter (Use INK! Please print, type or complete form on-line. Submit original.)
CLUB NAME STATE
Show Chair Email
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Event Type: __Annual Show, __Rock Swap, __Other
Dates: Days/Times:
Facility/Location Name:
Street: City: State:
EVENT CONTACT INFORMATION (This will be published!)
Contact Person’s Name: Phone:
Street: City: State: Zip: Club Email: Website:
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Event Type: __Annual Show, __Rock Swap, __Other
Dates: Days/Times:
Facility/Location Name:
Street: City: State:
EVENT CONTACT INFORMATION (This will be published!)
Contact Person’s Name: Phone:
Street: City: State: Zip: Club Email: Website:
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
* * Please include event listings for January, February, March and April 2018. * *
Mail completed form with your dues. Questions? Call 651-459-0343
DEADLINE FOR DIRECTORY INFORMATION IS JANUARY 15, 2017
REMEMBER, this information, including contact information, will be published in the MWF Directory, posted on the MWF website, and listed in the MWF News.
MWF News November 2016, Issue No. 556 Page 7
December Issue Submissions Deadline: November 8th!
Marcia Opatz, Newsletter Editor
Cuyuna Rock, Gem, and Mineral Society
It was a perfect picking day in August when
about 20 members of the Cuyuna Rock, Gem, and
Mineral Society convoyed to Bovey, Minnesota, to
meet our guide, Chad Daniels. The group followed
Chad from Bovey for a few miles to the Canisteo Pit.
Once we arrived at the Pit, Club members
received a little history of the area from Chad. The
Canisteo Pit was actually 19 separate mines when it
was an active iron ore operation, reaching depths of
300 feet in some areas. Until 1985 the mine water was
pumped out, but then the ground water started filling
the pits faster than the equipment of the time could
drain it. The pits were abandoned, leaving the
machinery and buildings at the bottom.
The far west end of the pit was the western
edge of the ancient sea in which the stramatolite lived.
Through the creation of the Mid-Continental Rift and
the subsequent lava flows covering the sea and its life
forms, the stromatolite fossils were forever encased in
chalcedony.
Soon we were all climbing and searching for
jasper; Lake Superior agates could also be found. Mary
Ellen Jasper can be found in both red and green
variations, with green being the rarer of the two.
PICKING MARY ELLEN JASPER AT THE CANISTEO PIT IN MINNESOTA
The Canisteo Pit, a man-made beauty. Photo by Dave
Moe.
There were pickers looking for a few small
specimens, some started piles of baseball- and larger-
sized pieces, and one member wanted a really big
piece. Jerry Shields had scored arrows in the dirt,
indicating large pieces partially exposed. He planned
to analyze them after his first go-around.
I decided to help him by determining the size of
one particular piece, and started digging around the
edges, looking for the bottom. I continued, and
continued, to dig. As Jerry approached with his
friend’s Jeep, I yelled, “Jerry, it’s too big!”
Jerry hopped out of the vehicle and said he
wanted to unearth the large piece. Again I told him it
was too big to take home. But the excavation began.
Now that it was out of the ground, how were we
going to get it into the Jeep? My husband Ed, an
excavator by trade, thought we should take advantage
of the terrain. If we dug small trenches for the Jeep’s
back wheels and then backed it up to the rock, which
was uphill slightly, a rock ramp could be built and the
monster rock could be loaded. A small crowd gathered
and the most able-bodied were employed to help.
Success! The boulder was on its way home.
Estimated weight: 400 pounds.
The brutes who made it happen. Note rock ladder at
back of Jeep. Photo by Dave Moe.
Page 8 November 2016, Issue No. 556 MWF News
IN MEMORIAM
Marge Collins, Scholarship Committee Chair
We received word that Esther Mullaly, former
MWF President, passed away February 10, 2013, just
before press time for last month’s issue, so there was
only an announcement without details of her activities
on behalf of the Federation.
Esther and her husband Bob came to the earth
science hobby through Bob’s father’s interest. They
all joined the Rock Exchange Club in Garden City,
Michigan, and both Esther and Bob served the club
very ably and generously in almost every position over
the years. After Esther’s year as the club’s Liaison
Officer with MWF, she accepted a Federation
committee assignment, serving as Credentials Chair for
six years. Then she accepted the challenge and “moved
up through the chairs,” serving as President in 1986-87.
At that time, there was a need to increase
Federation income so that funding would be available
for special projects, such as printing the Operating
Procedures booklet, which is essential to all who accept
an office or committee assignment. Funding for
projects such as this and other needs not covered in the
Budget were a continuing problem. Esther was a
member of the group that recommended the idea of an
Endowment Fund, whose interest alone would be used
for special projects, and she was involved in the initial
fundraising events. The Endowment Fund is a
testament to those who settled on this solution.
Shortly after Esther’s term as President, she and
Bob retired to Alpena, Michigan, to establish a bed &
breakfast in a historic home. Although eventually their
energies were devoted entirely to their thriving
business, Esther did serve as chair of the Nominating
Committee for a couple of years.
PLEASE CONSIDER
If you are interested in honoring someone’s
present-day work or someone’s memory, consider
making a contribution to either the Midwest Federation
Endowment Fund or the AFMS Scholarship
Foundation. A form for either purpose is on the next
page.
PAST PRESIDENTS UPDATE
Donna Moore, Secretary
Some of our MWF Past Presidents have had
some changes in their lives that might be of interest to
some of the membership.
Some of you may remember Diane Dare, who
was president of the MWF in 1982-83. She has been
living in Florida for several years. Due to failing
eyesight, she is moving to her son's place. She wasn't
sure what her phone would be, but her snail mail
address as of September 2nd is:
Diane Dare
2809 Covey Court
Chesapeake, VA 23323-3916
John and Judy Washburn, past presidents in
2004-5 and 2009-10 respectively, moved to a nursing
home nearer their nieces in early September. John
passed away October 1. Judy is at Symphony at
Buffalo Grove in Buffalo Grove, Illinois. But mail to
Judy should be sent to her niece Kimber, as cards seem
to get lost in the bustle at the home.
Mitch & Kimber Beiser
30 Acorn Drive
Hawthorn Woods, IL 60047
KING TUT’S BLADE WAS METEORITIC
Valerie J. Meyers, Editor
A study published in the July 2016 issue of
Meteoritics and Planetary Science states that the blade
of a knife found in King Tutankhamun’s tomb was
most probably made of meteoritic iron.
The authors’ abstract says that “the meteoritic
origin of the iron dagger blade from the sarcophagus ...
has been the subject of debate and previous analyses
yielded controversial results.” While the use of smelted
iron was rare among ancient Egyptians, it wasn’t
unknown.
But the study’s abstract continues, “We show
that the composition of the blade (Fe plus 10.8 wt% Ni
(Continued on page 10)
MWF News November 2016, Issue No. 556 Page 9
Please Consider ………….
a donation to support Earth Science and/or to honor or memorialize a friend or club member.
Donations can be sent to either the Midwest Federation Endowment Fund or the American Federation Scholarship
Foundation c/o addresses below.
The MWF Endowment Fund was established in 1989 to ensure that monies would be available in addition to dues
income. Only interest generated by the Fund is used, and any expenditure must be approved at an Executive
Committee meeting. A list of special projects and other information is in the MWF Directory.
The AFMS Scholarship Foundation was established in 1964 to finance scholarships from a perpetual fund. The six
participating Regional Federations currently award two one-time grants of $4,000. Our MWF Scholarship Honoree
chooses two students working on advanced degrees in the Earth Sciences at a college or university in our Region.
More detailed information is published in the green pages of the MWF Directory.
Both Funds have non-profit 501(c)(3) status. Contributions are tax-exempt and you receive an acknowledgment and
next of kin are notified of your donation. Send form or letter to the Fund of your choice.
Donor(s) name: _______________________________________________________ Donation: $ ____________
Address: _____________________________________________________________________________________ (street) (apartment #) (city) (state) (ZIP code)
(if applicable) Donation is Memorial to: ____________________________________________________________
Next of Kin: __________________________________________________________________________________ (name) (relationship)
Address: _____________________________________________________________________________________ (street) (apartment #) (city) (state) (ZIP code)
Send check for the Endowment payable to - Send checks for Scholarship payable to -
MWF Endowment Fund AFMS Scholarship Foundation
TO: Alan Hukill, Fund Treasurer TO: Marge Collins, MWF Chairman
15785 Park Lake Road 3017 Niles-Buchanan Rd.
East Lansing, MI 48823 Buchanan, MI 49107
Page 10 November 2016, Issue No. 556 MWF News
UPCOMING EVENTS
Date and Time Organization Place Contact
Oct. 21-23, 2016 Central Michigan Lapidary & Ingham County Fairgrounds, Main Arena, Roger Laylin, [email protected] Fri 6-9, Sat 10-6, Sun 11-5 Mineral Society Mason, MI www.michrocks.org
Oct. 22-23, 2016 Summit Lapidary Club Emido & Sons Expo Center, 48 E. Bath Road, Bob Powers, Sat 10-6, Sun 10-5 and Akron Mineral Society Cuyahoga Falls, OH [email protected]
www.lapidaryclubofohio.org
Oct. 29-30, 2016 Evansville Lapidary Society Washington Square Mall, 5011 Washington, Sara Rappee, [email protected]
Sat 10-7, Sun noon-5 Evansville, IN evansvillelapidarysociety.tumblr.com
Oct. 29-30, 2016 Blackhawk Gem & Mineral Club Mississippi Valley Fairgrounds, 2815 W. Craig or Kellie Moore
Sat 10-6, Sun 10-3:30 Locust Street, Davenport, IA [email protected]
www.blackhawkgemandmineralclub.com
Nov. 4-6, 2016 Micromineral Society of the Museum of Natural History, 1 Wade Oval, Dick Green, [email protected]
Fri 8-10, Sat 8:30-5, Sun 9:30-3 Cleveland Museum of Natural History University Circle, Cleveland, OH cmnh.org/c-r/mineralogy/ Symposium micromineral-symposium
Nov. 5, 2016 Midwest Mineralogical & Lapidary Democratic Club, 23400 Wick Road, Dan Gumina, [email protected] Sat 6-10 Society auction Taylor, MI www.mmls.us
Nov. 5-6, 2016 Racine Geological Society Fountain Banquet Hall, 8505 Durand Ave. John Lowman, Sat 10-5, Sun 10-4 (Highway 11), Sturtevant, WI [email protected]
racinegeologicalsociety.weebly.com
Nov. 12-13, 2016 Northwest Illinois Rock Club Student Conference Center, Highland Brian Green, [email protected]
Sat 9-5, Sun 10-4 Community College, Freeport, IL http://nwilrockclubfrpt.blogspot.com
Nov. 14, 2016 Michigan Mineralogical Society Cranbrook Institute of Science, 39221 N. Brad Zylman, [email protected]
Mon 7:00 auction Woodward Ave., Bloomfield Hills, MI www.michmin.org
Nov. 18-20, 2016 St. Louis Mineral & Gem Society Rogers Community Center, 9801 McKenzie, Melissa Perucca, [email protected]
Fri 3-7, Sat 10-7, Sun 10-5 St. Louis, MO www.stlrockclub.com
Nov. 19-20, 2016 Anoka County Gem & Mineral Club Crystal Community Center, 4800 Douglas, Martha Miss, [email protected]
Sat 10-5, Sun 10-4 Crystal, MN
KING TUT’S DAGGER, CONTINUED
and 0.58 wt% Co), accurately determined through
portable-ray fluorescence spectrometry, strongly
supports its meteoritic origin.”
Robert Sawatzky, in an article on CNN.com
dated June 2, 2016, quoted the researchers as saying
that ancient Egyptians “were aware that these rare
chunks of iron fell from the sky already in the 13th C.
BCE, anticipating Western culture by more than two
millennia.” According to Sawatzky, “the authors say
their findings may explain why Egyptians in the 13th
Century BCE referred to a new hieroglyph that
translates literally into ‘iron of the sky.’”
The study’s authors are Daniela Comelli,
Massimo D’orazio, Luigi Folco, Mahmud El-Halwagy,
Tommaso Frizzi, Roberto Alberti, Valentina
(Continued from page 8) Capogrosso, Abdelrazek Elnaggar, Hala Hassan,
Austin Nevin, Franco Porcelli, Mohamed G. Rashed,
and Gianluca Valentini.
King Tut’s dagger, via www.theworldsbestever/
category/weapons.
“…our study confirms that ancient Egyptians
attributed great value to meteoritic iron for the
production of precious objects,” the abstract continues.
“Moreover, the high manufacturing quality of
Tutankhamun’s dagger blade, in comparison with other
simple-shaped meteoritic iron artifacts, suggests a
significant mastery of ironworking in Tutankhamun’s
time.”
MWF News November 2016, Issue No. 556 Page 11
2016 GEOLOGY NEWS NOTES, CONTINUED
The July 2016 issue of Earth magazine had a
thorough article on the pollution problems of
abandoned mine sites. This was brought to the nation’s
attention by the massive spill of 3 million gallons of
polluted water at the Gold King Mine near Silverton,
Colorado, ironically triggered by an EPA investigation
of a potentially leaky mine entrance. The U.S. has over
400,000 abandoned mine sites, mostly coal mines in the
east. Acid mine waters, collapsing underground
workings and underground fires smoldering for decades
in coal seams are a few of the problems.
The shortages of trained mining engineers and
geologists to address the monitoring and remediation of
these sites is a glaring problem. Any young
enthusiastic geology students want to specialize in this
area and spend a career going to old mine sites?
The same issue of Earth also features an
excellent review of the geology of Michigan’s Pictured
Rocks National Lakeshore and Sleeping Bear Dunes.
(Continued from page 3)
Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore on Lake Superior.
Photo by NOAA Great Lakes Environmental Research
Laboratory, via Wikimedia Commons.
An article in June, 2016 EOS detailed studies of
the crystallization mechanism of gypsum and other
calcium sulfates from solution. Researchers found that
small accumulations of atoms called “nanobricks” form
first as mineral precursors by controlling the solution.
These may organize to form gypsum, anhydrite or
bassanite. Bassanite is the form of calcium sulfate
found in plaster of Paris. It may be possible to make
this substance much more efficiently by precipitating it
in a controlled way from solution than by the energy-
intensive dehydration of gypsum which is done now.
The Earth has another companion in space!
NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab scientists discovered a tiny
asteroid, named 2016 HO3, that tags along as the Earth
orbits the Sun. It’s tiny (no more than the length of a
football field) and very distant (about 38 million
kilometers). Sometimes it’s closer to the Sun than to
the Earth, but it is locked in enough to Earth’s gravity
to be considered a “quasi-satellite.”
The July-August 2016 issue of Big River
Magazine has a great article, “Lead Mining in the
Driftless Area,” by Connie Cherba. It summarizes the
history of mining in the Upper Mississippi Valley Zinc-
Lead District of Wisconsin, Illinois and Iowa. It
includes lots of great hints to visitors who want to see
the remains of this once-major mining district.
Wildcat Mountain in the Driftless Area. Photo by Yinan
Chen of goodfreephotos.com, via Wikimedia Commons.
Another publication of note is from the
Geological Society of America. Their guidebook #43,
“Geology of the Baraboo, Wisconsin Area,” edited by
R. Davis, B. Dott and I. Dalziel ($40 plus shipping),
summarizes the latest findings on this popular area,
with detailed stop descriptions. This area has been
visited by many geology field trips for over a hundred
years. Although little here is of note for collecting and
there is significant geological jargon, anyone interested
in the geological history of Wisconsin will find this an
important resource.
Page 12 November 2016, Issue No. 556 MWF News
Valerie J. Meyers, Editor
Midwest Federation of Mineralogical and Geological Societies
Post Office Box 13456
Overland Park, KS 66282-3456
Non Profit Org
U.S. Postage
PAID
Fiatt, IL
Permit No. 1
MOH’S HARDNESS SCALE, 8-10
Kreigh Tomaszewski
The West Michigan Mineral Study Group has
been working through the Moh’s scale, and finished
off by taking on the hardest minerals. There are few
hard minerals, and most of them are gems, so we
lumped together hardnesses 8 through 10.
We had specimens of spinel (7 ½ to 8), topaz
(8), rhodazite (8), painite (8), the Alexandrite variety
of chrysoberyl (8.5), corundum (9), ruby (9), sapphire
(9), and diamond (10). Painite used to be the world’s
rarest mineral, an unusual borate only known from
three pea-sized specimens for 50-some years.
I would note that we had diamonds in
Kimberlite, and several rough diamonds up to 10
carats. We had fewer species than usual, but the
quality of the specimens went up a few notches. And
someone came with extras, so we all ended up with a
sapphire from Bancroft. Ohhh, shiny!
And then the surprise came out. A replica set
of the world’s biggest diamonds: The Shah (89
carats), Pasha of Egypt (40 carats), Orloff (200 carats),
Piggot (49 carats), Polar Star (940 carats), Sancy (55
carats), Florentine (137 carats), Grand-Mogul (280
carats), Kohinoor Oldcut (186 carats), Nassak (81
carats), Hope (45 carats), Kohinoor Newcut (109
carats), Jubilee (245 carats), Regent (141 carats) and
the South-Star (129 carats).
A drawing done in the late 19th or early 20th century
of the Sancy Diamond, via Wikimedia Commons.
The West Michigan MWF Mineral Study
Group meets on the second Tuesday of each month at
7:00 p.m. at my home in Grand Rapids. If you can
make it or would like further details, contact me at