Garnets at The Basics of The Scoop on

Ruby Valley Flat Lapping Coprolites

JANUARY 2017 • VOL. 47 ISSUE 1

The Earth’s Treasures - Minerals & Jewelry

ROCK & GEM • U.S. $5.99

Vol 47 No. 01 • Jan. 2017
Issue code: 2017-01
Display until 01/24/17
01

2
74470 02033
0
 2 www.rockngem.com

Ultra Tec.idml 2 9/28/16 9:08 PM

 3

Kingsley North.idml 3 9/28/16 9:07 PM


10
14
22
36
48
SUBSCRIPTION QUESTIONS? Call (866) 287-9383
Rock & Gem (ISSN 0048-8453, USPS 486-
290) is published monthly by Beckett Media
LLC, 4635 McEwen Rd., Dallas, TX 75244.
Periodicals postage paid at Dallas, TX 75260
and at other mailing offices. Printed in U.S.A.
Copyright 2016 by Beckett Media, LLC
POSTMASTER: Send address changes
to Rock & Gem, c/o Beckett Media, 4635
McEwen Rd., Dallas, TX 75244 or
subscriptions@beckett.com.
4 www.rockngem.com
Vol. 47, No. 1 • January 2017
TRUE TALES ABOUT GOLD 10
Mining often brought unexpected results. By
Bob Jones
FLUID BED SLUICES 14
How well do they work? By Marc Davis
FLAT LAPPING BASICS 22
Lapidary Mike Hahn shares his tips and tricks.
By Jim Landon
COPROLITES 28
The scoop on fossilized poop. By Lori Carter
A ROCKHOUND’S 80-YEAR MINERAL
ODYSSEY 36
Part V: Emeralds and Colombia’s “guaracha”.
By Bob Jones
ROCK & GEM KIDS 46
PICTOGRAPHS AND PETROGLYPHS 48
The mineralogy of rock art. By Steve Voynick Regular Columns
Field Notes .......................... 6
MONTANA’S RUBY VALLEY 56 Lapidary of the Month ....8
Bench Tips ......................... 26
Garnet is the red gem found here. Rock Science .................... 34
By Jim Landon What to Cut ...................... 54
Picks & Pans ...................... 64
Show Dates ....................... 68
2016 Editorial Index....... 76
On the Rocks .................... 80
Parting Shot...................... 82
Printed in U.S.A. On The Cover
Notice: On rare occasions, typo- Crystallized gold, in a
© 2016 by Beckett Media, LLC.
graphical errors occur in prices combination of “leaf”
All rights reserved. Reproduction of any
listed in magazine advertisements. and “dendritic” forms,
material from this issue in whole or in part is
For this reason, advertisements ap- erupts from the quartz
strictly prohibited. Single-copy price $5.99.
pearing in Rock & Gem should be matrix in this California
Subscription in U.S.A. and possessions:
considered as requests to inquire, specimen. (Heritage
1 year (12 issues) for $29.95; 2 years for
rather than as unconditional offers Auctions)
$52.95; 3 years for $74.95. Add $24.00 per
year postage for Canada and all other foreign to sell. All prices are subject to
countries. change without notice.
EDITORIAL CONTACT INFORMATION:
editor@rockngem.com
Rock & Gem
Martin Zinn.idml 5 10/28/16 8:08 PM
Field notes
READER LETTERS EDITORIAL
BOB JONES
Senior Consulting Editor
Spinel Spinoff and since they are thinking of breaching
Seeing the spinel crystal in the November the causeway on the lake, fishing for salts LYNN VARON
2016 issue (Parting Shot, page 82) reminded will never be the same. Managing Editor
me of a cool hessonite garnet crystal I own. —Bruce Thorne JIM BRACE-THOMPSON
via e-mail MARC DAVIS
It is approximately 24 ct. and 17 mm.
—Keith Appleman RUSS KANIUTH
via e-mail BOB RUSH
HELEN SERRAS-HERMAN
STEVE VOYNICK
Regular Contributors

EDITORIAL SUBMISSIONS:
Lynn Varon / Rock & Gem
5235 Mission Oaks Blvd. #201
Camarillo, CA 93012
(972) 448-4626
e-mail: editor@rockngem.com

ART DEPARTMENT
“The Old Man and the Sea”
LINDSEY JONES
The Great Salt Lake is at near-record
Art Director
low, and this summer being one of the hot-
test and driest on record, I went fishing RAVIJOT SINGH
just for the halibut and caught a 40-lb. salt Designer
crystal instead. It would look great on any ROBYN AUSTIN
cover of a rock and gem magazine. It now Contributing Designer
sits on the wall of my house as a trophy,
ADVERTISING
BILL DUMAS
Advertising Director,
Beckett Media
PRISCILLA TORRES
Advertising Sales
(972) 448-9131
ptorres@beckett.com
TOM CARROLL
Rock & Gem
Ad Traffic Coordinator

ADVERTISING INQUIRIES:
Bill Dumas / Rock & Gem
Beckett Media LLC
4635 McEwen Rd., Dallas, TX 75244
Ph. (972) 448-9147
Fax (972) 991-8930
e-mail: bdumas@beckett.com

SANDEEP DUA
President
JAMES L. MILLER
Founder

6 www.rockngem.com Rock & Gem

 7

Craftstones.idml 7 9/28/16 9:09 PM

 lapidary of
the month
JANUARY 2017

F riends from my club and I went on field trips, as well as to gem

shows in our area, and signed up for jewelry-making classes
in Adult Education. At one show, I found a tray of all sorts of left-
over pieces. I rescued six pieces of dinosaur bone that I thought
would make a good bracelet, preserving these discarded pieces for
eternity.
I used my template and an old piece of aluminum clothesline to
trace a 25 mm by 18 mm outline on each piece. I used my trim saw
to trim near the outline, roughing out each of the six pieces. Then I
used my Genie to shape each cab, going from rough wheel to final
polish using cerium oxide.
Next, I sawed six rectangles from 18 gauge silver sheet, each mea-
suring 1 inch by 1.25 inches, and polished each rectangle.
The next step was to use bezel wire to shape around each cab (no
gaps), and solder the ends together using hard solder. The next step
was to solder one bezel onto each of the six rectangular sheets using
hard solder.
Then I made hinges to connect the six rectangles. I took sterling
silver tubing that would accommodate 18 gauge silver wire. For each
hinge, I sawed 1.25 inches of tubing into three equal pieces, then
used medium solder to attach them along the edges of adjoining rect-
angles. One rectangle took one piece of tubing at the top of its long
edge, and another piece at its bottom, while its adjoining rectangle
took the third piece of tubing soldered in the middle of its long edge,
so that the tubes of the two adjoining rectangles would marry up.
Then I strung an 18 gauge round silver wire through the three tubes,
and balled the tips up to avoid fall-outs. I repeated this process until
all six silver rectangles were joined into line.
I made a box catch from 24 gauge silver sheet following the direc-
tions I found in an old book by Murray Bovin. Using medium solder,
I soldered one jump ring onto the top side of one part of the box
catch, then another jump ring onto the second part of the box catch.
Then I made a safety chain from the finest silver wire I could find,
soldering each link together, so as to connect each end of the chain
with the two jump rings.
Next, I cast a very small silver dinosaur with a jump ring on top
of his back using the lost wax method and a centrifugal machine. I
fastened the dinosaur to the jump ring on one box, along with one
end of the safety chain.
The final step was to set the six polished dinosaur bone cabs into
the six bezels.
I am a Leo, so I love to wear the bracelet with a coral-red jacket,
since it brings back memories of times past with special lifelong
friends.
—Lois H. Dowell
Falls Church, VA

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

 9

RG1216 Masterrev.indd 9 11/1/16 9:33 PM

 Mining
Often Y ou’ve all heard about the City
of San Francisco’s cable cars.
They are a very popular tourist
Brought attraction, as well as a means of
Unexpected transport up and down the steep
hills of the City by the Bay. But
Results did you know these famous cable
Story by
cars were invented by a miner who
Bob Jones failed in his quest for gold?

10 www.rockngem.com Rock & Gem

 LEFT: There was a gold-mine
shaft right in downtown
Cripple Creek in 1905.

FAR LEFT: Calaverite is

the gold telluride for which
the Cripple Creek, Colorado,
became famous.
DIDIER DESCOUENS VIA
WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

January 2017 11
 True Tales of Gold

A
ndrew Smith Hallidie, who down the hill. He realized he could construct
arrived in the Bay Area in 1852, a cable system for trams by burying the cable
tried his prospector’s hand at in the street and attaching it to steam power.
some of the better-known gold Using what was called a “grip car”, designed
camps, but to no avail. He dipped his pan in to clamp onto the cable as it ran in a loop, the
the Kern River and at Gray Eagle Bar on the engine would haul the tram up the hill, and
Middle Fork of the American River, worked at the operator could use grip levers to hold the
Volcanoville, on Mokelumne Hill, and Michi- car against gravity when needed.
gan Bluff, and at various diggings in Calavaras, On Aug. 1, 1893, the first successful tram
El Dorado, Placer and Nevada counties, but was operated by Hallidie, himself, on Clay
never hit it big. Street, and from there, the cable cars of San
During his endless and unsuccessful search Francisco went on to become one of the city’s
for gold, Hallidie had to do other things to icon attractions. I wonder if San Francisco
Andrew Smith Hallidie’s wire
make a living. For a time, he worked as a rope benefited gold mining and would have gotten its cable cars if Hallidie had
blacksmith and as a surveyor. He even devel- transformed San Francisco’s been a successful miner!
tramcar system.
oped a small business repairing rifles and Colorado is rich in gold and silver—and just
PUBLIC DOMAIN
other firearms. He had an advantage over as rich in stories about mines and the miners
other failed argonauts, thanks to his father, Andrew Smith, who who worked them. One of my favorite stories is about a cowboy
was an inventor and engineer. Smith had patented the technique named Bob Womack and his attempts to convince people he
of making wire rope, which was far stronger than hemp or fiber had found gold near Pikes Peak in the 1880s. He was sure it was
rope, in 1852. Hallidie had learned the technique from him. there, but nobody believed him, mainly because of a major hoax
Since the California gold country had its fair share of rivers, it that had been perpetrated just a few years before.
was inevitable that young Hallidie would apply his knowledge of In the scandal, some land promoters had salted the ground
wire rope to bridge making. He built his first wire rope bridge at around Mount Pisgah with gold. There was huge rush to stake
the age of 19. He made a 220-foot wire rope span to carry a flume claims on ground that proved to be worthless. It seemed too
to bring water to Horseshoe Bar on the American River. good to be true, as the site was so easy to reach from Colorado
Hallidie followed this success by developing a cable incline Springs, an already active city.
method to move ore. This system used gravity to operate two cars Once the hoax was revealed, folks decided there could not be
moving in opposite directions. At a mine high on a slope, an ore any gold around Pikes Peak, so when Womack actually did find
car would be filled and allowed to roll down the hill. Attached gold in 1890, they turned a deaf ear. He tried exhibiting chunks
to that ore car would be a wire rope, with the opposite end run of the colorful ore in store windows in Colorado Springs and
through a pulley an attached to an empty car. As gravity moved Manitou, but didn’t get a nibble. One problem was that the ore
the loaded ore car down the hill, gravity would pull the lower did not look like gold ore. There was no bright-white quartz with
car to the top of the incline, ready to be loaded. streaks of yellow metal. The ore was a dull-gray rock with a few
Building on this success, Hallidie estab- pale-purple streaks and scattered, silvery metal spots.
lished a wire rope business in San Finally, someone tested the ore and realized there
Francisco in 1865. He invented and really was gold in “them thar
patented several uses for wire hills”. The rush was on, and
rope, including the above- claims were staked all over
mentioned tramway for the foothills west and
hauling ore. south of Pikes Peak. In
In San Francisco, a period of 50 years, the
horses were used to
In this specimen
haul tramcars up the of Cripple Creek
steep hills. It would gold ore, artificial
heating has driven
take several horses to tellurium away
manage a tram full of from the original
telluride mineral
people. One day, Halli- (calaverite), leaving
die saw one of the horses vesicular blebs
(blisters) of gold.
fall, and the tram, people
JAMES ST. JOHN VIA
and horses all rolled back WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

12 www.rockngem.com Rock & Gem

 True Tales of Gold
mines of Cripple Creek had yielded
some 20 million ounces of gold,
proving that Womack knew what he
was talking about! Ironically, as rich
as the ground was, Womack did not
benefit much from his discovery.
Of the many productive mines that
developed in Cripple Creek, two of
them stand out as being special: the
Cresson and the Independence.
Winfield Scott Stratton
The Cresson mine was opened in made his fortune in the
the early 1890s, but was considered Independence mine at
Cripple Creek, Colorado.
just a run-of-the-mill hole in the
ground. That changed in 1914 when, at the 370-meter depth,
the mine manager Dick Roelof broke into what can only be
described as a huge, gold-lined geode or vug. Roelof realized
immediately that he had a problem. Such a rich discovery had
to be guarded and kept quiet. He installed a steel door on the
tunnel leading to the find, and armed guards stayed in the tunnel
behind the steel door.
Roelof notified the mine owners and took two of them to
the 12th level in the mine. He walked them around under-
ground until they were not quite sure where they were, then
took them to the steel door and banged on it. The guards
opened up and Roelof took his companions into the tunnel
to a large opening in the wall. The men shone light into the
opening, revealing walls lined with brilliant, sparkling crys-
tals of calaverite, the gold telluride for which Cripple Creek
became famous. There were some sylvanite and native gold,
as well. The sight was astounding.
The vug measured some 40 feet high, 15 feet wide, and 20 feet
deep. Even the floor of the cavity held glistening gold. Keep in
mind, however, that the gold and calaverite crystals were not
freestanding, but were embedded in a white, spongy material
over a foot thick that was later shown to be mostly celestite.
This material was very easy to mine. In fact, shovels were the
preferred tools even when extracting the material on the floor
that had collapsed from the ceiling.
Once the owners got over the shock of such a find, mining
began. The walls of the vug were scraped clean and the crystal
fragments put into canvas bags to be hauled to the surface. Alto-
gether, the wall scrapings filled some 1,600 bags. It took a month
for the miners to scrape about a half million dollars in gold from
the walls and floor of the vug when gold was selling for about
$20 per ounce! The rock walls of the vug under the celestite and
gold were mined out, and the total gold production from this
one find amounted to well over $1 million. What started out as
a mine of dubious value turned out to be the second richest gold
mine in Cripple Creek, thanks to that vug!
The richest mine in Cripple Creek proved to be the Indepen-
dence, owned by Winfield Scott Stratton. Stratton had headed
January 2017
west from Indiana in 1868 to seek
his fortune. He worked as a carpen-
ter in Colorado Springs, which was
already a tourist town. When gold
was discovered in Cripple Creek,
Stratton headed to the gold fields
and staked his claims. He worked the
Independence with little result, and
finally, as is common practice, leased
his holdings to another miner for a
Evalyn Walsh McLean
was the heir to the min- limited time.
ing fortune accumulated The day before the lease was to end,
by her father, Tom Walsh.
Stratton was in the mine deciding
where he might resume digging when the lease expired the next
day and he regained ownership of the property. To his horror,
he stumbled upon a rich vein! He realized that the leaseholder
could find the vein and exercise his lease option, and Stratton
would lose his mine. That evening, he had dinner with the
lessee at a local hotel. While sitting by the fireplace over after-
dinner cigars, the lessee complained about his lack of success
underground at the Independence. To Stratton’s amazement, the
man decided not to bother to go to the mine on his last day and
tossed the signed lease papers into the fire! The end result was
that Stratton kept the mine and became one of the richest mine
owners in Cripple Creek!
Another lucky Colorado fellow was Tom Walsh. Walsh was
not a miner, but the owner of a smelter in Ouray, in the San Juan
Mountains of southwest Colorado. His smelter processed the
rich silver ores from the Silverton area, but he needed a better
grade of silica flux to help melt those ores being shipped over
the mountain.
Walsh heard about an old gold mine—the Camp Bird, in Can-
yon Creek—not far from Ouray that had not been very success-
ful as a gold property, but whose ore was high in silica. He sent
employee Andy Richardson to check out the mine. Richardson
reported that the mine was loaded with silica, so Walsh bought
the property. Once he started mining for quartz to use in his
smelter, he was thrilled to discover the quartz proved to be rich
in gold tellurides. Naturally, he switched from mining quartz
to mining gold. The Camp Bird mine made him a millionaire
many times over.
Such an accidental discovery was not unheard of in mining
circles, but the surprise result of Walsh’s good fortune now
resides in the Smithsonian in the form of a lovely 45-carat blue
diamond called the Hope Diamond! Walsh’s only daughter and
heir to his mining fortune, Evalyn, married newspaper heir
Edward Beale McLean. In 1911, McLean purchased the Hope
Diamond for his wife from Pierre Cartier. After her death, Harry
Winston Inc. purchased the diamond in 1949. In 1958, the com-
pany donated it to the National Museum Gem collection, where
you can enjoy it today!
13
 Fluid Bed
sluices
Scarlett t. Preuitt

A 36-inch Sniper model Bazooka sluice is set up and ready to start catching gold.

How Well Do They Work?

A
Story by Marc Davis

n old friend with a new twist” might be one way to describe a

fluid bed sluice box. I’ve been mining with sluice boxes since the
1980s, so to me a sluice box is definitely an old friend. The new
twist is that fluid bed sluices do not use a set of riffles and mat-
ting to capture gold like a typical sluice. Instead, they use a fluid bed of sand
and small pebbles in a collection box that is cast into the sluice to trap gold.

14 www.rockngem.com Rock & Gem

During a second trial,
I salted my trowel with
tiny pieces of lead to
test the accuracy of the
Aurora fluid bed sluice.
Marc Davis

January 2017 15
 Fluid bed Sluices
P
rospectors who are familiar with typical sluice boxes
know the commonly available version is a long
metal trough with a set of angled riffles coupled
with some sort of carpet or matting to catch gold.
The sluice is placed in a moving stream of water and pay dirt
is put into the upstream end of the sluice. The moving water
washes the dirt through and out of the sluice, while the gold,
which is much heavier than the rest of the material, is caught
behind the riffles or in the matting.
In years past, all sorts of devices besides metal riffles have
been used in sluices as gold traps: stones, wooden blocks, steel
rails, and just about anything else that miners thought would
capture gold. Recently, plastic sluices with molded riffles and
no matting have become common (see “Sluice Box Shootout”,
July 2012). Now, with the development of the fluid bed sluice,
a bed of churning sand and pebbles has joined the ranks of
sluice box gold traps.
Two companies that manufacture fluid bed sluices are Aurora
Mining Products (www.auroraminingproducts.com) and the
Bazooka Gold Trap Co. (www.bazookagoldtrap.com). Sluices
from both companies are similar to conventional sluices in
that pay dirt is put into the upstream end of the sluice and
the dirt is washed through the box. Both companies’ products
differ from convention in that gold is trapped using fluid bed
technology rather than riffles. Both
companies offer their sluices in more
than one size, with the larger sluices
being capable of processing more pay
dirt than the smaller ones.
The Aurora sluices are designed to
have pay dirt run through the sluice and
over a punch plate. All material that is
too large to fit through the punch plate
holes flows over the plate and out of the
sluice. The material small enough to fall
through the holes, which should contain
the gold, drops into a recessed collec-
tion box, or trap, built into the bottom of
the sluice. The trap is filled with a bed of
moving sand and small peb-
bles. Two vents, one on either
side of the sluice, channel water
through a set of holes in the side
of the trap, where it flows across
the sand, keeping it in an agitated,
fluid state. The gold, being heavier
than the sand, works its way to
the bottom of the trap, where it is
captured. If the sand in the trap was
static and not agitated, the sand could
become packed and prevent the gold
from working its way to the bottom.
16 www.rockngem.com
Thus, the fluid bed is an important part of how this type of
sluice works.
Bazooka sluices are similar to Aurora sluices in that they
also use a fluid bed of sand in a recessed box to trap gold.
However, instead of having vents on the sides of the sluice to
funnel water across the sand bed to agitate it, the Bazooka is
constructed almost like two sluices, one stacked on top of the
other. The upper deck is where the pay dirt is shoveled in. The
bottom section serves as a water scoop that funnels water to
a set of tubes. The tubes are positioned in the trap that is cast
into the sluice. Water entering the tubes flows out through a set
of holes that runs along the sides of the tubes, where it agitates
the sand bed and pebbles in the trap. The flowing water keeps
the sand moving and in a fluid state.
Besides utilizing a different method of channeling water to
the trap, the Bazooka sluice differs from the Aurora in that,
instead of a punch plate to classify material in the sluice, it is
equipped with a set of evenly spaced bars, sometimes referred
to by miners as a “grizzly”. Pay dirt is shoveled onto the upper
deck of the sluice, from which it is washed across the grizzly.
The oversized material flows over the bars and out of the sluice,
while undersized material, containing the gold, drops through
the grizzly into the fluid bed collection box where, like with the
Aurora, the gold gets trapped.
Another difference between the
two sluices is that the manufacturer
of the Bazooka suggests shoveling
bank run material directly into the
sluice, while the manufacturer of the
Aurora advises screening the material
before running it. Shoveling directly
into the sluice saves time and results
in having one less piece of equipment
to carry, since a screen isn’t necessary.
However, processing bank run material
without screening does require the oper-
ator to occasionally have to clear rocks
out of the grizzly.
The idea of utilizing a fluid bed of sand
to capture gold is not new.
Jigs that concentrate gold ore
in a fluid bed of material have
been used in commercial min-
ing operations for years. Jigs in
large-scale mining operations
typically utilize pulsing water to
create a fluid bed on top of a
Two side vents on the Aurora sluice
channel water to a fluid bed gold
trap located under the metal slick
plate. Material flows through the
punch plate before entering the trap.
MARC DAVIS
Rock & Gem
 Fluid bed Sluices
Aurora Mining Products owner Kevin Bell agreed to let me conduct a field test of a Recon model sluice.
screen to concentrate gold ore. The pulsing action of the jig
creates a condition in which higher-specific gravity materials
work their way to the bottom and are retained, while the lighter
material flows off the top. However, the pulsing action of a jig
is quite different than the methods used to create a fluid bed of
sand in the sluices. The question then becomes, How effective
are these new sluices at capturing gold?
According to the manufacturer of the Aurora, this sluice will
capture more gold than a similar-sized conventional sluice.
They believe that their sluice can be fed material faster than a
conventional sluice, since there are no riffles to become packed
by overfeeding. In addition, they claim the sluice is faster to
clean up, freeing up more time for mining.
In order to check out the performance of the Aurora sluice, I
contacted the owner of the company, Kevin Bell, who agreed to
let me conduct a field test. We met one morning at a local river
January 2017
Marc Davis
that is known to have extensive gravel deposits that carry fine
gold. It would be an excellent location for testing a sluice.
Kevin, accompanied by his friend Jay Wright, brought a
Recon sluice. This is the smaller of the two fluid bed sluices in
their product line. The sluice is only 18 inches long and weighs
2.2 pounds. Frankly, I had a hard time believing this tiny sluice
could keep up with a two-man team feeding it with pay dirt.
Setting up the sluice in the river was very much like setting
up a conventional sluice, except the process went a bit faster
because the Recon sluice was so small and easy to handle.
Kevin chose to set up where the water flow was fairly fast. He
said that if the flow proved to be too fast, a rock could be placed
several feet upstream of the sluice to slow the flow down a bit.
Since there were no riffles in the sluice to be affected by uneven
water flow, this was not a problem.
Once the sluice was positioned in the stream, a large, flat
17
 Fluid bed Sluices

The Aurora fluid bed sluice has a gold trap cast into the sluice. Water flows from the side vent
through holes and across the top of the trap, where it agitates a bed of sand and pebbles.

rock was placed on top of it to hold it in

place. Since there were no riffles to watch
for overfeeding, this also was not a problem.
The slope of the sluice was checked to make
sure that it was at the proper angle, and as
a final check, the areas a few feet upstream
of the sluice side vents were cleared of
obstructions.
Once the sluice was positioned, some test
Pay dirt flows through the grizzly of a Bazooka
pans were taken to find a good digging spot sluice before it drops into a gold trap. Oversized
near the sluice. We located an area that had material is washed out of the sluice as waste.

indications of fine gold, but nothing very big
showed up in our pans. We figured that if
the sluice could capture this fine gold, then it
was clearly doing its job. We began digging
gravel and wet-screening it until we had a
bucketful of classified material.
I hoisted up the bucket, waded into the
river with it, and positioned myself next to
the sluice. I grabbed a handful of sand and
pebbles from the bucket and dropped this
pay dirt into the sluice. As fast as I could pull
handfuls of dirt out of the bucket, this little
sluice was gobbling it up. Kevin showed me
an even faster way to wash pay dirt through
the sluice. He took a bucket that was about
three-quarters full of classified wet material,
held it over the sluice, and shook the bucket
with an up-and-down motion, sort of jerk-

The Bazooka fluid bed sluice has a set of bars referred to as a grizzly, which sizes the material
before it enters the gold trap.

18 www.rockngem.com MARC DAVIS PHOTOS

Untitled-1 18 11/30/16 7:26 PM

 Fluid bed Sluices
ing the bucket to get the dirt to fall out. He
was practically dumping the material into
the sluice—a much faster feed rate than I
would use with a conventional sluice.
After running about 4 gallons of pay dirt
through the sluice, Kevin demonstrated
how quickly a cleanup can be accomplished
with the Recon. A cleanup is the process of
removing the concentrated pay dirt from the
sluice. While I timed Kevin with my watch,
he removed the rock holding the sluice in
place, pulled the sluice out of the water,
flipped up a metal slick plate that covered the
gold trap, washed the material from the trap
into a gold pan, put everything back, and was
ready to operate again in under 30 seconds.
I was amazed. This process can take a lot of
time with a conventional sluice, since both
the riffles and carpet need to be removed,
the carpet and sluice washed out, and then
the whole unit reassembled. Because my
conventional sluice is so large, I generally
carry it to shore to accomplish this task.
This takes even more time. Kevin had simply
performed the whole job in the river.
Fast and easy cleanup has a couple of bene-
fits. First, it leaves more time to dig and wash
pay dirt. Second, it makes it easier to see how
much gold is being saved. For example, I typ-
ically run multiple buckets of potential pay
dirt through my conventional sluice before
stopping to do a cleanup, mainly because the
cleanup takes so much time. When I do stop,
sometimes I discover that I didn’t get much
gold; I wasted time digging worthless dirt. If
cleanups can be done quickly and easily, I’d
be likely to do them more frequently to be
sure I’m still on the gold.
Once the concentrates from the sluice had
been collected in his pan, Kevin worked
them down to reveal some really fine gold. It
appeared that the sluice had done an excel-
lent job. Still, after I returned home, I was
thinking that there was another way to test
this sluice. Even though the sluice had cap-
tured some really fine gold, I didn’t know
what percentage of gold that entered the box
had actually been trapped.
Some weeks later, I decided to conduct a
second test. I obtained some tiny pieces of
lead that could be used to simulate gold.
Since lead has a lower specific gravity than

January 2017 19

Untitled-1 19 11/30/16 7:27 PM

 Fluid bed Sluices

Jay Wright (left) and Kevin Bell shovel dirt into a ½-inch mesh screen set on top of a 5-gallon
bucket.

gold, I felt that if the sluice could catch lead

then it could certainly capture the real thing.
Some pieces were left in a rounded form
to simulate miniature nuggets while others
were flattened to simulate small gold flakes.
The pieces weighed between .02 and .065
grams. This represented pieces of gold large
enough that a weekend miner would not
want to miss them, yet was small enough
The metal slick plate of the Aurora sluice flips
that it would be a good test of the sluice’s up to reveal the gold trap located below. The
capabilities to capture gold. sand and pebbles in the trap are kept in motion
by water flowing through holes in the side of
I went back to the river with a newly the gold trap.
acquired sluice and my tiny test specimens of
simulated gold. I set up the sluice in a man-
ner similar to how Kevin had situated his.
The water flow through the box was fairly
fast and the angle of the sluice was approxi-
mately the same as Kevin’s. I then dug some
bank run material, not really caring whether
it contained gold, since my goal was to run
the test specimens.
I ran the bank run material through a half-
inch mesh screen that was placed on top of
a bucket. I continued to dig and wet-screen During my test run, the Aurora fluid bed sluice
bank run sand and gravel until I had about 4 captured all six test pieces of lead, plus recov-
ered some gold.
gallons’ worth collected in the bucket. I carried
the bucket full of material out to the sluice and Next, I stuck one of my test specimens in
fed about a gallon of it through the box using the middle of a trowel full of material and
a hand trowel. I figured this was enough to poured it into the sluice. I followed up with
establish a good fluid bed in the trap that could several more barren scoops of material, then
potentially capture my simulated gold. another trowel salted with simulated gold.

20 www.rockngem.com Marc Davis photos

 Fluid bed Sluices

A large, flat rock holds the Aurora fluid bed

sluice in place while Kevin Bell dumps pay dirt
into the sluice at a rapid rate.

I continued this pattern until I had run six

pieces of dummy gold through the box. I
continued to run the remaining material
until the bucket was empty. I then performed
a quick cleanup of the sluice and collected
the concentrates in a bucket.
I took the concentrates home so that I
could pan them out in a controlled environ-
ment. Once at home, I panned the concen-
trates in a tub. That way, if I didn’t find all
the test specimens in the first pan, I could
simply recover the tailings from the tub and
pan them again to be sure it wasn’t my
panning, rather than the sluice, that missed
the simulated gold. However, my panning
proved accurate and so did the sluice, as I
recovered all six pieces on the first go-round.
My efforts were rewarded with some pieces
of actual gold, as well.
I thought the second test was excellent
confirmation that the Aurora fluid bed sluice
can capture gold. Its performance coupled
with its diminutive size and light weight
make it an excellent choice for a day of
prospecting. I didn’t have the opportunity
to test any Bazooka sluices, but the miners
I know who own them are happy with their
performance. I think either the Aurora or the
Bazooka would be a good choice for anyone
planning to purchase a sluice box.

January 2017 21
The aluminum pans for Mike’s laps have a Mike considers a specimen to be completely
milled grid that allows for the even distribution polished when its surface exhibits a mirrorlike
of the grit slurry during the grinding process. effect.

FLAT LAPPING
BASICS Lapidary Mike Hahn Shares His Tips and Tricks
Story and Photos by Jim Landon

22 www.rockngem.com Rock & Gem

 Lead caps add weight to small specimens.
This keeps their faces pressed flat against the
surface of the lap for even grinding.

M
any rock clubs have indi-
vidual members who have
become the repository for
a wealth of “how-to-do”
information that has been passed down
from generation to generation. The Ya-
kima (Washington) Rock & Mineral Club,
which has been active for many years, has
been fortunate to have a number of very
creative people who have mastered lapidary
techniques and been generous in passing
on their craft to other members of the club.
One such person is retired history teacher
Mike Hahn, who has honed his skills at
working with gemstones to a high degree.
I consider Mike to be a master at cabo-
chon cutting and flat lapping. Examples of
his craft have been published in both Rock
& Gem magazine and Lapidary Journal
Jewelry Artist. Each spring, he provides
many finely crafted Brazilian agates that
are used as grand prizes for our “wheel
of fortune” and for the Disabled Veterans
booth that he runs during our April show.
The quality of his work is so good that
everything he produces quickly sells out,
and the kids who win the grand prizes he
makes are always thrilled.

January 2017 23
 Flat Lapping Basics
Brazilian agate nodules take a high polish when lapped and display a wide range of patterns and colors.
O
ver the years, Mike has generously passed on
tips he has learned from years of trial and error.
He has done numerous demonstrations at club
shows for the general public, at the Central
Washington State Fair, and at monthly club meetings. Many
people have benefited from his teaching by improving their
skills at cutting and polishing beautiful specimens of agate and
jasper. Over the years, Mike has developed a sequence of steps
he uses to prepare his equipment for a lapping run.
Step One
Before lapping, specimens should be cut into either halves
or slabs. Make sure your rock saw is cutting true, because
saw marks on slabs will be much harder and take much more
time to grind out. Chamfer the edges of each specimen on a
corundum wheel to prevent chipping during the grinding and
polishing process. A corundum wheel is used because it is
much cheaper to replace than using a diamond wheel.
Next, scribe a grid pattern on the flat face to be polished
using an aluminum scribe. This will allow you to easily check
each specimen to make sure the work face has been completely
ground in the first round and is perfectly flat.
Next, Mike puts a gob of canopy putty on the top of each
specimen that is less than 2 inches high so that lead weights can
be attached. (Canopy putty can be purchased at any business
that sells truck canopies.) Another long-time club member,
24 www.rockngem.com
Andy Beeman, made these weights for him from recycled
wheel weights.
During the grinding and polishing processes, the extra
weight of the lead holds the faces of the rocks firmly against the
lap surface for even grinding. Larger rocks are heavy enough
to go through the grinding and polishing process without the
added bulk. It is also really important that the lap frame be well
balanced so that rocks don’t jump off the lap.
Step Two
Mike uses a four-step process for flat lapping his rocks. For
the first run, he uses graded 80 grit silicon carbide to do a
coarse grind. Each lap gets 3 cups of water and 6 tbsp of grit.
The amount of time it takes for this run depends on how true
your saw is cutting; it could take three hours or it could take
eight. Each rock is checked periodically to see whether the
scribed lines have been ground. Small amounts of water may
need to be added from time to keep a good slurry on the lap
plate and keep it from drying out.
When all the scribed lines have been ground away from every
rock, the whole cycle is repeated with the next grit size. Before
changing grit size, all the rocks and the lap need to be cleaned
thoroughly of larger particles that could mar a finer polish.
Mike thoroughly sprays the lap and each rock with water and
cleans them with a scrub brush. The lead caps can remain on
the rocks, but all the grit must be removed from under them.
Rock & Gem
 Flat Lapping Basics More Tips
• Mike Hahn uses two 27-
Step Three oxide polish and 3 cups of water. He said he uses
inch vibrolaps that he
Repeat the process in step two using 320 grit. the rubber pad because it is easier to clean. He
purchased used from
This grind should only take two or three hours makes four loops of duct tape, sticky on both
estate sales. He told
if the rocks were well prepared during the initial sides, and places them in the bottom of the pan
me that a gentleman
grinding process. before inserting the rubber pad. This prevents
named Dick Gordner,
the pad from moving around, and possibly out
who is now deceased,
Step Four of, the pan.
was the inventor of
Again, repeat the process for step two using 600 Again, he times the run for about two or three
the vibrolap and was a
grit. This grind should also take only two or three hours, but he periodically checks to see if the
member of the Yakima
hours. One step Mike adds at this time is to check desired polish has been obtained. The trick he
Rock & Mineral Club.
each specimen for contamination marks on the uses to determine when they are done is to clean
rock faces. These can show up as little squiggles. one of the rocks off, dry it on a towel, and then • Mike needed a new
If any are found, they can be removed with a hold it at arm’s length to see the quality of the grinding plate for one of
vibrating sander and 600 grit sandpaper. reflected scene on the rock surface. If the effect the laps, so he contact-
is like looking at a mirror, he gives it the seal of ed a neighbor who was
Step Five approval. a machinist to find out
Mike picked up a tip from Andy for an inex- At this point, the lead weights and canopy how he could have one
pensive way to make a polishing pad: cutting a putty are removed and each rock is scrubbed in made locally instead of
round piece of rubber carpet runner to fit the a bucket of water to remove the dried polishing purchasing one. The
inside diameter of the lap pan. He says that it is compound from the edges. They are then dried neighbor contacted a
important to use carpet runner that is pure rub- with a towel and individually wrapped in news- sheet metal company
ber because it is easier to clean. paper for storage. in Seattle that sold
Mike uses tin oxide for his polishing com- Each lapidary develops his own techniques over aluminum plate and
pound. After each rock has been thoroughly time, but the process described in this article had them cut a new
cleaned, he places the rubber carpet runner on yields quality specimens that are highly desirable 27-inch-diameter plate
the bottom of the lap pan and adds 3 tbsp of tin to collectors. from stock that had the
second hardest tem-
per. His neighbor then
milled the grid pattern
needed. Mike said he
paid about $200 for
the finished plate rather
than having to spend
$600 for a commercial-
ly made one.

• Both Mike’s laps are set

on ¾-inch rubber mats
that are used in horse
stalls. They can be pur-
chased from any outlet
that sells farm supplies.
With a speed drill bit,
he drilled indentations
in the stall mats that
were spaced to fit the
leg supports for the lap
frame. This was done
to cut down on noise
and to keep the laps
from moving around
when in operation.
When the scribed grid has disappeared from its face, this specimen will be completely ground and its surface
perfectly flat.

January 2017 25
 Bench tips
Designing a Cab for a Pendant
I settled on this piece of agate and sketched
a cab on it that would work for the pendant
project that I had in mind.
S ince my wife and I moved into our re-
tirement house in California’s Gold
Country eight years ago, I haven’t spent
much time working on jewelry projects.
For no particular reason, I have been focus-
ing on making large cabs, especially ones
that have inside curves or some element of
carving incorporated into the piece.
Lately, I have gotten the urge to get back
into making small cabs that are more suit-
able for jewelry, especially cabs designed
with unique, curved patterns in the rough
material. Finding these pieces with that
unique pattern in a small enough size to
be suitable for jewelry projects takes a lot
of searching through my abundant drawers
and piles of rough. It seems like the ideal
piece always turns up with a poor pattern
or color or the ever-present fracture right
through the best area.
I have always liked Montana agate for the
durability, patterns and colors that it has
to offer, so that led me to focus on some
smaller slabs that I have in my Montana
26 www.rockngem.com
Because I like to let through as much light as pos-
sible to emphasize the stone’s color, I set it with
an open back.
slab drawer. I found a lot of likely pieces,
but rejected most of them due to their pat-
tern, color or size.
Finally, I settled on this piece and
sketched a pattern on it that would work
for the pendant project that I had in mind.
It had a pattern that would let me incorpo-
rate the inside curves that I like to make. It
allowed me to avoid the typical subsurface
fractures that are found in Montana agate,
and the size that I had in mind fit the piece
perfectly. Cutting, shaping and polishing it
posed no particular problems.
Because the cab has a sharp point, I
realized that it would take an extra effort
to properly make the silver bezel that I
needed for the pendant. I always prefer
to make the girdle of the cab straight-
sided, tapered inward about 15°, and make
the top edge of the girdle slightly lower
than the standard 1/8-inch height of the
bezel strip. This allows the stone to be set
with standard bezel-setting techniques and
results in minimal coverage of the stone by
by BOB RUSH
The cab ended up being almost 2 inches tall,
which fits well within the overall size of the
pendant.
the bezel strip.
Also, the height of the tip of the cab must
be maintained so as to minimize the work
needed to push the bezel strip against this
part of the stone. The cab ended up being
almost 2 inches tall, which fits well within
the overall size of the pendant.
Because I like to let as much light through
as possible to emphasize the stone’s color,
I set it with an open back. This keeps any
silver backing from influencing the natural
colors of the stone. This also means that the
back of the stone needs to be finished to the
same quality as the front, which I always do
as a part of my standard cutting procedure.
How I made the small green cab will be
explained in next month’s article.
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
 Tyson Wells
Arizona’s Largest Winter Attraction!
TYSON WELLS

Market Centre
SEaSONaL ShOppiNg (OpEN OCT. – MarCh)
121 W. Kuehn St.
Quartzsite, arizona.
For vender information call (928) 927-6364
· gems · rocks · Minerals · arts · Crafts · hobbies · Jewelry ·
· Silver & goldsmithing · Faceting · precious Metals · antiques · Coins
FREE ADMISSION · FREE PARKING
LOCATION AND DETAILS: S.W. Corner of I-10 Freeway and Highway 95, Quartzsite,
Tyson Wells
Arizona, home of the largest show of its kind. • Takes days to see it all. • A buyers’ and sellers’ P.o. Box 60, Quartzsite, AZ 85346
market of the world. • Smooth, fine graveled, dust controlled, packed surface for selling, parking
and camping in the beautiful desert setting of Arizona’s La Posa Valley. • Live on your show Show Office Phone: (928) 927-6364 • For R.V. Office: (928) 927-6365
spaces or in our on-premises no-hookup campground with water and dump station. • Honey e-mail: tysonwells@tds.net
wagon available. • Easy access in and out of show. • Over 850 selling spaces on 25 acres. • This
is a must see event. www. t ys onwel l s . com
27

RG0117 Masterrev.indd 27 11/29/16 7:15 PM

 The
scoop
on Fossilized
poop Fossils are
typically pre-
served under
sedimentary
conditions.
These inver-
tebrate fecal
pellets were
preserved as
glauconite
nodules
(dark green)
the size of
a grain of
sand.

Leo Kenney

Coprolites are Invaluable Windows

into the Lives of Long-Gone Creatures

O
Story by Lori Carter

kay, coprolites are funny. How could rock-hard dino

doo, fossilized feces, silicified scat, petrified poo, not
be funny? They are the quintessential bottom line of
rockhound potty humor jokes. But coprolites are more
than just the butt of jokes. They are invaluable windows into the
lives of long-gone creatures. Mary Anning was a pioneering pale-
ontologist who lived in Lyme Regis, along the “Jurassic Coast” of
southern England in the early 1800s. While excavating the fossilized
remains of ichthyosaurs and plesiosaurs, she observed distinctive
conical objects in the vicinity of the animals’ abdominal regions.

28 www.rockngem.com
Shark coprolites have a distinctive
spiral groove. Shells and bones are
often visible, as well as evidence of
other organisms boring into and
eating the poop.
Lori Carter

January 2017 29
 the Scoop on fossilized Poop
T
hese objects were commonly known as “bezoar stones”,
stony, indigestible gastrointestinal masses that can’t be
expelled. People assumed the Lyme Regis objects were
modern-day bezoars. Upon further examination, Anning noted
that the peculiar stones contained fossilized fish bones and scales,
as well as the fossilized bones of other animals. Based on these
observations, she theorized that they were not bezoar stones, but
the fossilized excrement of the ichthyosaurs and plesiosaurs.
Around 1824, Anning discussed her theory with William Buck-
land, an eminent geologist of that time. After further study of his
own, Buckland concurred that the stones were indeed fossilized
feces. He named them coprolites (pronounced käp rә līts), from
the Greek kopros (dung) and lithos (stone), and in 1829, he pre-
sented his findings to the Geological Society of London.
Many coprolites have decidedly poopy shapes. One of the
easiest ways to identify coprolites is to compare their shapes
to modern analogues. The spiral pattern observed on modern
shark excrement is similar to that on certain marine copro-
lites. Crocodilian coprolites look almost fresh. Caterpillar frass
coprolites in amber/copal are often identical to their modern
analogues. Modern ghost shrimp pellets are strikingly similar
to coprolites found around decapod fossils. So, in some cases,
shape can be used for identification with some certainty.
Shape would seem to be the most obvious way to identify a
coprolite, but paleontologists have learned that morphology is not
always conclusive. There are at least three other factors to con-
sider: composition (physical and chemical), geology/stratigraphy,
and associated fossils.
Buckland studied fossils found in Kirkdale Cave, located in
Kirkdale, North Yorkshire. The cave contained hyena fossils and
the fossilized remains of various mammals with marks consistent
with gnawing. There were also some white rocks that looked like
dried dog doo. Buckland postulated that hyenas dragged animals
into the cave, where they could eat them. He even kept a few
hyenas at his home so he could compare their feces to the rocks
from the cave. Chemical analysis confirmed his suspicions: the
white rocks in Kirkdale Cave had essentially the same composi-
tion as the modern hyena droppings.
Just as Buckland learned from the chemical analysis of hyena
droppings, paleontologists have found that coprolites usually con-
tain a lot of calcium phosphate. This aspect of coprolites actually
led to the commercial mining of them. In 1842, a large deposit
was discovered in England and a new industry was formed to
capitalize on the high phosphate content. The phosphate was
extracted and used to produce fertilizer. It is sad to consider all of
the specimens lost to the phosphate industry. By the 1880s, cop-
rolite mining had waned, but demand during World War I briefly
revived the industry because phosphate was a critical component
of the explosives used in munitions. Who knew fossil poo had a
hand in the First World War (www.cambridgeshirehistory.com/
People/coproliteindustry.html)?
According to Dr. Karen Chin, University of Colorado, Boulder,
30 www.rockngem.com
phosphate helps facilitate the replacement of the original mate-
rial with minerals. Carnivore excrement naturally contains a lot
of calcium phosphate from the bones of the animals consumed.
Herbivore excrement may not have much calcium phosphate, so
other sources of phosphates and minerals are needed. That is one
of the reasons more carnivore coprolites are found than herbivore
specimens—the carnivore excrement has a better chance of fos-
silization. Therefore, paleontologists look for the presence of
phosphate when determining whether a specimen is a coprolite or
not (David B. Williams, www.earthmagazine.org/article/its-dirty-
job-someones-gotta-do-it).
However, fully mineralized fossils may not have any trace of
phosphate left. Or, phosphate may be present, but there are no
traces of ingested organic material such as bones, shells, fish scales,
seeds, bark, grass, leaves, etc. In these cases, a specimen is less
likely to be a coprolite. The animal had to have eaten something
to have pooped something out. One would expect some trace of
what it ate, even in a fully mineralized form.
Geology and environment contribute to fossilization. Fossils
are typically preserved under sedimentary conditions. Other
conditions have the potential to preserve specimens; for exam-
ple, a very dry environment, extreme cold, tar and resin (amber).
So sedimentation is not a requirement, but it definitely helps.
If the geology of an area shows no indication of past sedimen-
tary processes, it was probably not conducive to the formation of
fossils, but even sedimentation can result in misleading shapes.
Although fossils can be preserved within a concretion, non-fossil-
bearing concretions occur in almost any shape imaginable, often
being mistaken as fossils, and that can be problematic when trying
to determine whether a specimen is a coprolite or not.
The stratigraphy of the area is important. The layer in which
Anning found her fossils has been identified as Jurassic in age.
Other ichthyosaurs and plesiosaurs have been identified as Juras-
sic age, so it makes sense that they could have been the source
of the Lyme Regis coprolites. If a specimen is found in a layer
whose age is wrong for the suspected pooper, then identification
becomes more complicated. For example, what if you found what
appears to be a vertebrate coprolite in a Precambrian layer (which
would be before vertebrates were known to exist). The specimen
would have to have been displaced from a later layer to that one; it
may not be vertebrate, or it may not be a coprolite at all.
Associated fossils, specifically other fossils found in the same
area, indicate the past presence of organisms and may be clues to
the maker of the poo. Sometimes, coprolites are found near the
fossilized remains of the animal that pooped it. Tiny pellets are
found in area in Mississippi known for fossilized decapods. With-
out decapod fossils for reference, it would be difficult to recognize
the pellets as coprolites.
Spiral coprolites similar to some modern shark excrement have
been found with shark fossils, so they were likely deposited by
sharks. Smaller spiral coprolites have been associated with various
fish, as well. For Anning, it was the occurrence of curious stones
 the Scoop on fossilized Poop
Lori Carter

Controversial siderite specimens from Salmon Creek, Wash-

ington, contain no phosphate or organic traces, and have no
associated fossils, but they exhibit superb shape.

Lori Carter (riChard hightower speCimen)

Lori Carter

Fish coprolites from the Lower Carboniferous Wardie Shales, Associated fossils, specifically other fossils found in the same area,
near Edinburgh, are often found inside ironstone concre- indicate the presence of organisms and may be clues to the maker of the
tions. The distinctive cracks around the specimens give poo. This shark coprolite is next to a fish fossil (Green River Formation,
them their nickname, “beetle stones”. Wyoming).

in association with ichthyosaur and plesiosaur fossils that led her
to the idea of coprolites.
The lack of associated fossils does not prove conclusively that
a specimen is not a coprolite, but it is an important factor to
consider. Because excrement is relatively soft compared to animal
parts like shells, scales and bones, it is less likely to be preserved.
Also, it is much easier for the excrement to be squished, eaten, or
weathered away before there is a chance for fossilization to occur.
Since the odds are more in favor of hard parts being preserved, the
odds are also more in favor of one finding fossilized hard parts.
Even if the area was a prehistoric potty, one would expect to find
some bones, shells, or other fossils in the area.
Size in relation to associated fossils is another consideration.
Some coprolites are so big that entire vertebrae of the hapless
animal consumed by the pooping animal are preserved. Insect
coprolites have been found preserved in amber and in petrified
wood. Invertebrate fecal pellets may become the nucleus of sand
grain-size glauconite nodules. Ostensibly, large coprolites were
excreted by large animals and vice versa. Anning found the fossils
of various animals of different sizes. The first coprolites she found
were large, so a commensurately large creature, like an ichthyo-
saur or plesiosaur, would be a logical source.
As with other identifying factors, one must consider size care-
fully. Dr. Tony Martin, of Emory University, Georgia, explains
that coprolites found in the Morrison Formation in Utah are com-
posed of many small pellets. The coprolites are probably from sau-
ropods, which were very large creatures. Because the excrement
likely had a high fluid content, the pellets merged together rather
than scattering. He compares this to modern mule deer, also very
large creatures, who excrete tiny pellets (www.envs.emory.edu/
faculty/MARTIN/ichnology/Dinocopro.htm). Had the pellets
fossilized separately, other factors would become even more
important in linking the tiny coprolites to their source.
Following the research of others is also a good way to deter-
mine whether a specimen is a coprolite. If someone else has
examined all of the factors available and has identified coprolites
with reasonable certainty, then there is a high probability that
a similar specimen found in the same area is also a coprolite.
Amateurs usually do not have access to all of the diagnostic tools
that a researcher or other professional has, so why not rely on
their expertise?
If a specimen fails more tests than it passes, the odds are it is not
a coprolite. One might argue that the composition of a specimen
might not include phosphate or organic traces because the origi-
nal poop has long since been replaced by other minerals. If some
structure is still discernible, even in a mineralized form, then the

January 2017 31
 the Scoop on fossilized Poop
specimen could still be a coprolite. But if all that is left is merely a
cast of the original object, it is simply that: a cast. Just as one would
consider the cast of a shell a trace fossil and not a fossilized shell,
the cast of a coprolite would be a trace fossil, too; essentially, it
would be a trace of a trace.
Consider an extraordinary copal specimen found near Mom­
basa, Kenya, along with some vertebrate fossils. Apparently,
some feces was covered quickly by sediment, subsequent erosion
revealed a void where the feces was, then resin filled the void and
formed copal. Is the copal a coprolite? Most people would agree
it is a cast and not a coprolite. Not that a cast of prehistoric poop
would not be of any interest. It would still have significance, but
without some indication of the original composition of the poop,
its value as a scientific aid would be reduced to external morph­
ology and associated fossils only. And without associated fossils,
only the morphology would be of any value.
There is an ongoing debate about specimens from Salmon Creek
in Washington. These specimens are composed of siderite. There
are no phosphate or organic traces, and no associated fossils.
However, these specimens exhibit the most interesting aspect of
coprolites—superb shape. They look like they were just pooped;
so much so that their shape alone has convinced many people
they are indeed true coprolites. Some specimens even have longi­
tudinal striations that resemble markings made during excretion.
Conversely, many people believe they are pseudofossils. There are
equally convincing arguments from both sides of the debate.
Adolf Seilacher, a German paleontologist who has contributed
significantly to ichnology (the study of trace fossils), along with
Cynthia Marshall, H. Catherine W. Skinner, and Takanobu Tsui­
hiji, offer an explanation of the Salmon Creek specimens. “A fresh
look at sideritic ‘coprolites’” was published in the journal Paleo-
biology (Winter 2001). Seilacher, et al. describe the specimens as
“cololites” (feces preserved while still inside the animal’s gastro­
intestinal tract) that were “prefossilized [sic] by bacterial activity
and later transformed into siderite with no traces of original food
particles left.”
The authors also address the lack of other fossilized remains: “All
occurrences are found within fluvial overbank deposits that carry
no other vertebrate remains. Their absence could be due to aquifer
roll­fronts that destroyed phosphatic bones and teeth but favored
siderite precipitation.” Rather than excretion marks, longitudinal
striations would be indicative of colon structure.
In the article “Enigmatic origin of ferruginous ‘coprolites’: Evi­
dence from the Miocene Wilkes Formation, southwestern Wash­
ington” (Geological Society of America Bulletin, 2001), George
Mustoe examines the controversial Salmon Creek specimens.
In four hypotheses presented in the article, he cites the work
of other paleontologists who studied similar formations where
material was extruded in various ways: “coseismic liquefaction”,
where material is forced up through cracks in rocks or sediment;
“expulsion of sediment in response to gravity”, where material
is forced down through cracks in rocks or sediment; intrusion
32 www.rockngem.com
through hollow logs, aka the “knot hole theory”; and methano­
genesis, where methane gas released by decomposing organic
matter has geologically “burped” the siderite into the coprolitic
shapes. Mustoe concluded they are “pseudocoprolites produced
by mechanical deformation of iron­rich sediment”.
Perhaps referring to the passionate views on both side of the
controversy, Mustoe added, “However, the origin of these speci­
mens remains clouded in mystery, and our best hope for arriving
at a definitive explanation will come if researchers combine their
search for new evidence with an open mind.”
Whether you consider Salmon Creek specimens to be cop­
rolites or cololites or neither, there are undisputed examples of
pseudocoprolites. Concretions of various compositions can have
decidedly poopy shapes. Some botryoidal minerals, like hematite
and goethite, can be mistaken for coprolites. Snakeskin agate may
have the shape and crackled look of a coprolite, too. I even have
some extruded plaster that fell a short distance and hardened into
a perfect pseudocoprolite specimen.
So you think you’ve found a coprolite or you’ve purchased a
specimen sold as a coprolite. Is it truly a coprolite? Unless you are
a serious researcher or simply a purist, does it really matter? If you
like it, enjoy it. Coprolites are fun. They are perfect for capturing
a third grader’s attention, and they can even be incorporated into
jewelry or carved and polished. Plus, there is much that can be
learned from coprolites.
By studying the physical composition of coprolites, paleontol­
ogists can deduce whether the animal that produced it was most
likely a carnivore, herbivore or omnivore. Traces of organic par­
ticles can help researchers determine what an animal ingested,
which in turn helps determine where and when the animal lived.
Seeds, spores, pollen, wood, grass, leaves, even microorganisms
and parasites, can be preserved within a coprolite. Anning
learned from bones she found in coprolites that ichthyosaurs
had eaten other ichthyosaurs. She also found fish bones and
scales, as well as belemnite remains in the coprolites that helped
confirm ichthyosaurs were aquatic creatures.
If a coprolite can be linked to a potential pooper, the shape of
the coprolite may provide clues to the contours of the internal
structure of the digestive system of the animal. Shark coprolites
and some fish coprolites are a good example of this. Buckland
wondered if spiral ichthyosaur specimens were an indication
that their intestines had spiral ridges. Without living ichthyo­
saurs to use for comparison, he injected cement into modern
shark intestines. The shape of the resulting casts was similar to
the ichthyosaur fossils. Because some of the ichthyosaur speci­
mens Anning found were actually cololites and were preserved
internally rather than being excreted, the experiment showed
that ichthyosaurs probably did have spiral valves in their intes­
tines, much like modern sharks (Gary L. Stringer and Lorin
King, “Late Eocene Shark Coprolites from the Yazoo Clay in
Northeastern Louisiana”, New Mexico Museum of Natural
History and Science, 2012).
 the Scoop on fossilized Poop
Coprolites can be incorporated into jewelry, such as a wire-wrapped piece by Carolyn Buckels, or carved and polished, as in this work
from Margaret Ronan.
Conversely, coprolites with no shape can still provide helpful
information about an animal. An amorphous coprolite could be
indicative of a long fall ending in a splat or it could point to a
high fluid content in the original feces that prevented a distinct
shape, as in the sauropod coprolites from Utah. A lack of shape
might be caused by trampling, decay, weathering, or even insects
dining upon the fresh feces. Fish coprolites from the Lower
Carboniferous Wardie Shales near Edinburgh, Scotland, are
often found inside ironstone concretions that must be cut open
to reveal the coprolite. The distinctive cracks around the speci-
mens give them the appearance of squashed bugs, hence their
nickname, “beetle stones”. The concretions obscure the shape of
the coprolites, but the value of the coprolites is not diminished
by their lack of original shape.
Despite the value of coprolites to paleontologists, many people
are unaware that fossilized poop exists, and are surprised when
they learn about it. But even people who are familiar with cop-
rolites have never heard of related fossils that are important, too.
Coprolites are just one of several trace fossils called bromalites,
a term that encompasses fossilized material that came from the
digestive system of an organism.
In addition to cololites, another bromalite preserved while still
within the organism is a gastrolite (fossilized stomach contents).
January 2017
Lori Carter
Gastrolites are not to be confused with gastroliths, also called
“gizzard stones”, which are indigestible stones that were either
swallowed by accident or were swallowed on purpose for ballast
or to help crush food.
Regurgitalites (also regurgaliths) are fossilized vomit. Like gas-
trolites, regurgitalites contain food that was not fully digested. So,
gastrolites and regurgitalites have components that are more eas-
ily identified, as well as components that are mostly intact. They
are immensely helpful in determining what the organism ate.
It is important to note that, unlike regurgitalites and coprolites
that, by definition, have exited the organism, gastrolites and
cololites are more likely to be found in or near the organism.
This makes associating the trace with the organism eminently
possible and subsequently invaluable for research.
Another recently recognized and understandably rare bro-
malite is a urolite, a trace fossil caused by urination. Urolites
are not fossilized urine, but soil deformations caused by urine
hitting the ground. They are preserved in sediment the same way
footprints and other track fossils are preserved.
So, in the fascinating study of trace fossils, coprolites and their
kin may elicit some giggles, grins and groans, but they are also
an intriguing piece of a paleontological puzzle for which we have
tantalizingly few pieces.
33
 rock science
Jet: The “Jet-Black” Gemstone
I t is no surprise that coal is not often dis-
cussed in the same breath with gemstones.
After all, coal is the quintessential industrial
commodity. The 8 billion tons that are mined
globally each year are quickly burned to pro-
duce steam, power, heat, or metallurgical coke.
Yet one form of coal is a bona-fide gem-
stone: jet. Although now only a minor gem-
stone, jet was quite popular in jewelry during
the Victorian Era, and later during the Roar-
ing Twenties, when it competed with schorl,
or black tourmaline.
Unlike jet, anthracite and all other forms of coal are brittle and laced with
numerous fractures.
Coal is technically a rock, a combustible
material formed by the decomposition and
destructive distillation of biomass material in
an oxygen-free environment. The coalification
process begins when layers of plant materi-
al become buried and compressed under
new forest growth and sediments. Elevated
temperatures and pressures then alter these
organic remains, driving off water and volatile
compounds to increase the percentage of car-
bon in the remaining material.
Coal consists mainly of carbon along with
some oxygen and hydrogen, and smaller
amounts of sulfur, iron, nitrogen, and other
elements. Variations in burial time, heat, and
pressure produce four basic grades of commer-
cial coal: peat, lignite, bituminous (including
34 www.rockngem.com
subbituminous), and anthracite.
Peat, which is brown and crumbly, is a pre-
cursor to true coal and contains only about
25% carbon. But with longer burial times and
increased heat and pressure, peat will alter into
lignite, which contains as much as 40% car-
bon. Moving farther along the coal-alteration
sequence, subbituminous and bituminous
coals, called “soft coals”, contain as much as
90% carbon. Anthracite or “hard coal” consists
of more than 90% carbon; at Mohs 2.5, it is also
the hardest commercial coal.
Because it contains oils and other hydrocarbon materials, jet is easily
worked and can be polished to a nice luster.
Jet is a rare type of lignite. While all com-
mercial coals are derived from large accumu-
lations of plant matter and occur in massive
seams, jet forms only from drifting, individual
logs that become waterlogged, sink, and are
buried in organic-rich sediments. Jet occurs
as small, isolated pockets, and never in mas-
sive seams.
Unlike other types of coal, the structural
and chemical nature of jet is influenced by the
geochemical environment of the surrounding,
organic-rich shale. As jet develops, it absorbs
oils and other hydrocarbon materials that are
released by the decay of algae, plankton, and
other organic matter within the shale. Sub-
sequently, jet has neither the brittleness nor
the extensive and intricate fracture networks
by STEVE VOYNICK
common to other coals.
With a Mohs hardness of 2.5 to 4.0, jet
is the hardest type of coal. Jet is classified
according to its hardness as “hard jet”, which
forms in marine environments, or as “soft
jet”, which forms in lacustrine or fresh-water
environments.
Natural jet is opaque with a uniform texture
and a waxy-to-velvety luster. It is easily carved
and can be quickly rubbed to an attractive
matte finish or polished to high sheen. Jet’s
saturated, pure-black color has inspired the
familiar phrase “jet-black.”
With a specific gravity of only 1.3-1.4, jet
is half as dense as schorl and most other
black gemstones—a big advantage in the long,
bulky necklaces that were popular in Victo-
rian Era mourning jewelry and in the mul-
tiple-strand, “flapper” styles of the Roaring
Twenties. Jet was also fashioned into an array
of decorative objects.
Steve Voynick is a science
writer, mineral collector,
and former hardrock min-
er, and the author of guide-
books like Colorado Rock-
hounding and New Mexico
Rockhounding.
Rock & Gem
 35

RG0117 Masterrev.indd 35 11/29/16 8:28 PM

 LEFT: The superin-
tendent estimated
that the emeralds
he dug at the Muzo
mine were worth
$50,000.

RIGHT:
Bob had to climb
out of the deep
Tecandama emer-
ald mine when the
hoist failed.

PART V

A Rockhound’s 80-Year
mineral
odyssey Emeralds and Colombia’s “Guaracha”
Story and Photos by Bob Jones

W
Editor’s Note: This series of articles is based on 80 e all know what emeralds are, but you
years of adventures enjoyed by rockhound and Senior
Consulting Editor Bob Jones. It begins with the Septem- have to go to the emerald mines of Co-
ber 2016 issue, the month Bob turned 90. Bob saw his
first minerals at age 10 on a school field trip to the Yale
lombia to enjoy “guaracha”. I’m not even
Peabody Museum in 1936, and he has been involved
with minerals these past 80 years. This series highlights
sure the spelling of guaracha is correct; I suspect it is
his travels to pursue mineral activities to every continent, made-up word endemic to the jungles of Colombia.
except Antarctica. He has lectured throughout America,
in England, and in China. His video work is well known, It refers to a home brew that has the power of sulfuric
and he is currently co-hosting DVDs shot at the major
mineral shows in Tucson and in Munich, Germany. acid. Drinking it is a tradition when you visit any em-
He served on the Tucson Show Committee for about
40 years, sometimes as chairman. There, he became erald mine in the Muzo, Coscuez area of Colombia. I
friends with mineral people from all over the world. This
series was written to encourage all rockhounds to get in-
drank it at each of the six emerald mines I visited, and
volved as Bob did, for you never know where it will lead! I was afraid my boots would melt!

36 www.rockngem.com Rock & Gem

January 2017 37
 80-Year Mineral Odyssey
Like so many trips I’ve made, this one hap-
pened because of my magazine work. I was at
the Denver Show one year and I was chatting
with Bryan Lees, a noted mineral dealer from
Golden, Colorado. Bryan is an exceptional
guy who graduated from the superb Colorado
School of Mines and immediately embarked
on a very successful mineral collecting and
specimen mining career. I would be surprised
if your personal collection does not contain
something that Bryan mined. His recoveries
include the Sweet Home rhdochrosites, blue
barites from Colorado, amazing rhodchrosite
from China, and emeralds from Africa.
One of his early ventures was specimen
collecting at the classic blue barite locality at
Sterling, Colorado. These barite blades occur
on a pale-yellow calcite that fluoresces. The
barites are clear with a lovely blue shade, and
prismatic in form with a chisel-shaped termi-
nation. Clusters of crystals to 6 inches in size
were found during his mining activity there.
The barite dig was followed by a host of other
specimen mining ventures, including gorgeous
yellow barites in Elk Creek, South Dakota, and
huge almandine garnets in Chaffee County,
Colorado. Bryan conducted other successful
digs, but his crowning achievement was to
re-open the Sweet Home mine, in Alma, Colo-
rado, in pursuit of rhodochrosite specimens.
He put together a group of investors and, after
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
Bob tried his hand at operating a bulldozer at a mountaintop emerald mine.
38 www.rockngem.com
carefully studying the geology of the deposit,
was very successful in finding large quantities
of the world’s finest rhombic rhodochrosite
crystals. His work at the Sweet Home is a
model on which other specimen miners have
built their own successful operations.
I had gotten to know Bryan when he started
out as a dealer in Tucson. We even did a little
trading in the early days. As his success in
specimen mining developed, I would report
on his activities, and we became good friends.
And so it was that, one day in the 1990s, he
asked if I would like to go to the emerald
mines in Colombia. Does a wolf like fresh
meat? The obvious answer was “Yes!”
A friend of Bryan’s, Don Bochner, was a
pilot for Federal Express to Southeast Asia.
Don had gotten into the gem-buying busi-
ness, at first buying for family and friends,
and finally getting into the gem business as a
sideline. This brought Don into contact with
Jose Vesca, a resident of Bogata, Colombia,
who was involved in the emerald business.
These two chaps partnered and established
an emerald business. To gain publicity, asked
Bryan to ask me if I was willing to go with
them to Colombia, visit the mines, and write
up the trip in Rock & Gem.
Don and I flew into Bogota, where we met
Jose and boarded a small plane that would
take us into the Muzo emerald mining area.
Rock & Gem
 80-Year Mineral Odyssey
Our arrival was a bit of an adven- rock I had ever handled. Water run-
ture. It seems we had to circle the ning off the walls was filthy. When you
small single runway while locals brushed up against the rock or handled
chased wild pigs off the landing it, you came away absolutely black. You
strip! Once on the ground, we were walked ankle deep in filthy black water
met by the owner of the only hotel and muck. At the time we were at this
in Muzo, who was also our driver mine nothing was being found or even
during our visit. exposed.
Even living in the hotel was an All the mining properties were filthy
adventure. The food was unusual dirty because of the carbonaceous shale.
and I did not know what most of it In fact, when it came time to fly back to
was. I had been told ahead of time Bogota after a week in the area, I left all
to bring a lock with me. It seems the my clothes, including the boots that I
young daughter of the hotel owner had worn in the mines, as I simply could
had a habit of rifling through visi- not pack them in good conscience.
tors’ luggage looking for treats! The visits to the mines around Cos-
The community toilet had no cuez were basically fruitless. Any crys-
seat and the shower was a single tals I saw were in the hands of a miner.
rusty pipe sticking from the wall. It However, the visits to the Tecandama
gushed very cold mountain spring mine were much more exciting. Our
water. Next to the shower was a first visit was to a small, newly opened
large barrel with water at room cut where a bulldozer was carving
temperature. After soaping up with away at the base of a steep slope. Pros-
icy cold water, you could dip a pan pecting had revealed a calcite vein—a
in the room-temperature water to sure sign of potential wealth—and the
rise off. Because the mines were ’dozer was peeling away the outcrop to
so dirty, I got used to taking cold expose that calcite. Progress was slow,
The 1,500-yard-long tunnel to the working face of the Tecandama
showers. mine was only shoulder wide and about 5 feet high.
as the operator did not want to peel
The next day, we were off to the away too much at a time. Once the
mines. The geology of the area was immedi- One modern experiment we watched was ’dozer exposed the white vein, all the miners
ately evident. Mining was done both under- two men with a raft and small, portable and the machine were moved away. The min-
ground and by terracing, cutting steps into dredge in the shallow river. They were scour- ers had spotted a couple of brown parisite
the mountainside in hopes of cutting across ing the river bottom for crystals. This was an crystals—a sure sign of emeralds nearby.
a calcite vein, home of the emeralds and its entirely new method of mining for crystals, With everyone else out of the way, the mine
indicator mineral, parisite-(Ce). so the two men were surrounded by curious owner, a chosen family member, or a trusted
The scene near the Teqandama mine was onlookers. While we were there, the men employee went to work on the calcite vein.
typical of the area: Itinerate gem hunters by actually did dredge up a small emerald frag- This individual carried a small canvas bag,
the hundreds were scouring through the river ment. This triggered a celebration, with cheers into which he would immediately collect any
gravel tailings at the base of the terraced hill- echoing all up and down the riverbank. emerald crystals that appeared. Later, that bag
side in hopes of finding a small crystal missed But our business was to go underground was taken to the main office or another secure
by the miners. What impressed me the most in several different mines to watch the gem- place until it was flown, often by helicopter, to
was that, when one of these hunters actu- mining operation. The mine at Coscuez was the emerald facility in Bogota.
ally did find a small crystal, all the diggers an older open pit that was no longer being All emerald transactions occurred in that
celebrated and were encouraged to dig harder! worked, but at its base was the entrance to 15-story building, from gem cutting to work
These people lived in small shacks on the an underground operation. We walked down treating the emeralds with oil and other tech-
steep hillside. They used anything they could the long incline along the sloping sides of the niques. On the streets around that building
find for building material: corrugated metal, pit and into the tunnel that led to the min- were independent emerald buyers, miners,
old soda signs, and wood. These shacks simply ing operation. After walking several hundred and others with goods to sell. And this brings
protected the people from the elements and yards, checking the walls as we passed, we up the method used for paying the miners who
not much more. Toilet facilities were, at best, reached the working face. do all the work.
just a piece of metal nailed to a tree behind Underground, the rock seemed to be car- A company man collects all the emerald
which you could go. bonaceous shale, which was about the dirtiest crystals or specimens that are obviously of

January 2017 39
A Whole World of Fine
pearls 80-Year Mineral Odyssey
high value. In any crystal pocket, there are
All Kinds of Better Natural Stone
always smaller, less valuable, but worthwhile
beads crystals. These are not collected by the com-
pany man, but are left for the miners to
collect and sell later as their pay!
This brings up another event I was fortunate
enough to witness. In the old days, miners
All Sorts of
had to go to Bogota to sell their goods. This
Calibrated Better
required a journey through the jungle, which
gemstones made the miners vulnerable to robbery and
death. Now, the company brings the emerald
buyers into the mining area once a month. The
Useful Jewelry buyers and miners meet on the soccer field and
& Beading
conduct their business. I was fortunate enough

tools to witness this amazing event.

StachuraWholesale.com
Your Trusted Supplier since 1955
Joseph P. Stachura Co., Inc.
435 Quaker Highway, Rt. 146A
Uxbridge, MA 01569-1602
T: 508.278.6525 F: 508.278.9458
MISSISSIPPI GULF COAST
GEM & MINERAL SOCIETY
presents
27th
Annual
MAGNOLIA STATE
GEM & MINERAL SHOW
Nov. 11th, 12th & 13th, 2016
Jackson County Fairgrounds
Pascagoula,MS
admission $3.00 or $5.00 for three day pass
children free with adult.
25 Dealers!
NATURAL & EDUCATIONAL
Gold, Silver, Copper
and multi-mineral displays.
MANY Educational demonstrators
to show you how to Gold pan
& Flint Nap, and many more.
Several great casino’s nearby.
For information contact
show chairman Bill LaRue
wildbill2736@gmail.com; 228-229-8781
With my camera bag on my shoulder I spent
the afternoon walking among the miners and
buyers taking photos, looking at the crystals
being offered for sale, and thoroughly enjoying
the excitement. But that did not last. Jose and
Don suddenly ordered me to get in our vehicle
and leave. I had no idea why, but I obeyed. As
we left the grounds through the gate, someone
sitting there yelled in Spanish, “Take care of
your rich gringo!” Later, Jose told me a rumor
had started that I was a rich man with a bag
full of cash looking for a good crystal, and they
thought it prudent for me to leave. We drove
several hours after that little event.
The next day, Jose took us to a mountaintop
where a new mine was being opened. A bull-
dozer was scraping away the mountaintop to
get down to rich ground. The drive to get to
that operation was more than interesting.
We had to drive through the jungle, and our
driver stopped the vehicle. It seems we had
just passed a group of locals. Strung on a line
between two tress were pink tubes that looked
like the balloons clowns use to make animals.
But these were intestines hung out to dry.
Nearby, an older lady was sitting with a huge
tub of raw meat and blood in her lap. She was
stuffing those tubes with the flesh, brushing
away flies in the process. Our hotel owner was
ecstatic and immediately exclaimed he was
going to buy some of the “sausage” for tomor-
row’s breakfast. I ate energy bars the next day!
Once we had the sausage, we continued
toward the mine. To negotiate the terrible road
up the steep mountainside, we had to get out
and push the vehicle when we encountered
mud. When we reached the top of the slope, we
The route to a mountaintop emerald mine was
along a narrow, loose gravel trail just wide
enough for a vehicle. The drop off on either side
was at least 1,000 feet.
could see that we were on the peak next to the
one on which the mine was located. Between
the two peaks was a steep, narrow, loose gravel
trail just wide enough for a vehicle. The drop
off on either side of that trail was at least 1,000
feet. Our driver raced the engine, spun the
wheels, and dashed down one steep end of the
trail and up the other equally steep end. I think
I left indentations of my fingers on the roll bar
over my head, but we made it. Once at the
mine, we enjoyed the view, but there was little
evidence of emeralds. At least I got to operate
the ’dozer for a bit.
The next day was the best day! We were
invited to go underground at Tecandama,
a successful operating mine. To go under-
ground, you had to climb down a couple hun-
dred feet on a slippery, galvanized iron ladder.
Don and Jose chose to stay aboveground, but
I did not go to Colombia just to look down a
deep hole, so down I went, followed by the
mine superintendent and a miner carrying
a shotgun on his shoulder. Everyone under-
ground was armed except me!
I immediately stepped off the ladder into
filthy black water nearly knee deep. My guide
led the way down a long, narrow tunnel. I did
not realize that miners looking for emeralds
removed only enough rock so they could con-

40 www.rockngem.com Rock & Gem

 80-Year Mineral Odyssey
Itinerate gem hunters at the Teqandama mine lived in small shacks constructed on the steep hillside from anything they could find.
tinue along the vein. This meant the tunnel we
negotiated was only shoulder wide and about 5
feet high. We had to walk in a stooped position
for about 1,500 yards. Try it sometime! By the
time we got to the working face, I had found
leg and back muscles I did not even know
were in my body. They certainly let me know
on that walk!
At the working face were three miners.
Their bright eyes glistened from faces that
were as dark as the shale walls. The tunnel
face was solid, dark rock with a snow-white
calcite vein running vertically through it. The
miners were drilling the calcite, not with a
steel power drill, but with what looked like
an electric auger. The holes they bored were
an inch or so wide and 3 feet deep. I was
told they would then pack those holes with a
material called Esmite, a French product that
would expand with great force and crack the
surrounding rock. This made removal of the
calcite possible without damaging any nearby
gem emerald crystals.
Off to the side of the working face was a
shallow shaft in which two guys were working.
The shaft was about 6 feet deep. They were
loading the floor of that shaft with explosives
January 2017
to continue blasting a vertical shaft to get to the
calcite vein at a lower level.
In the exposed calcite vein, I did see some
parisite, evidence that emeralds were probably
nearby, but there were no visible green gems!
I took some photos, then we headed back
toward the entrance.
My escort, the mine superintendent, sud-
denly turned into a side shaft that was guarded
with an iron gate. He unlocked the gate and we
walked along a short tunnel to another work-
ing face, where a lone miner worked a calcite
vein. Instantly, I spotted green gems sticking
out of the contrasting white calcite. I moved to
get a photo and the superintendent blocked my
way. Then he grabbed a rock hammer, quickly
popped the gems out of the calcite, and put
them in his pocket, so I never had a chance to
get a photo of emeralds in place. Then we left
and walked to the vertical exit.
I was not particularly excited about climbing
out of the mine on a slippery galvanized pipe
ladder. Someone asked if I’d like to be hoisted
out. That sounded like a great idea! The min-
ers yelled up a side shaft, and a braided steel
cable with a rope loop hanging on the end was
lowered. A miner showed me how to sit in
the loop and hang onto the cable. They slowly
began to hoist me out. I used my feet to fend
off the wall of the shaft. All went well until,
about halfway up the shaft, upward progress
stopped! Someone yelled down that the gears
were jammed, and there I hung! It took some
time, but they unjammed the gears and slowly
lowered me down. I ended up climbing out of
the mine anyway.
I was certainly thrilled with the experience of
going underground and actually seeing emer-
alds in place. Once out of the mine, Don, Jose
and I were standing around talking about the
mine when a miner came up to me and handed
me a big slab of rock with a rich-green emer-
ald crystal embedded in it. The miner asked
$50,000 for the piece. Don and Jose snickered,
and I knew something was wrong. Turns out,
the emerald was a very poorly colored crystal.
The miner had removed it from the rock,
inserted a strip of green foil under it, and put
the crystal back in place. That was some way
to end a wonderful trip to Colombia’s famous
emerald mines!
Chapter Six of this adventure will take us to
Australia to mine gorgeous, green chrysoprase
in the great western Outback!
41
 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

42 www.rockngem.com

RG1216 Masterrev.indd 42 10/28/16 8:37 PM

 43

John Garsow full page.idml 43 11/29/16 8:07 PM

 S H O W C A S E

Showcase Jan.indd 44 11/30/16 7:10 PM

Showcase Jan.indd 45 11/30/16 5:48 PM
Diamond
Diamond, the mineral, is an allotrope (one of many varieties) of carbon.
The best-known allotropes are the gemstone and graphite. This native min-
eral is composed solely of one element: carbon (C).
Diamond forms cubic crystals with perfect cleavage in four directions
and adamantine luster. Pure diamond is clear, but when elemental impuri-
ties or internal flaws are present, it may take on several colors: blue (bo-
ron), yellow (nitrogen), brown (lattice defects), green (radiation exposure),
purple, pink, orange or red. When faceted, diamonds reflect the colors of
the rainbow due to high optical dispersion. Diamond has a hardness of 10,
occupying the top spot on the Mohs Scale of Hardness. A rough diamond (left) and faceted and set diamonds (right)
South Africa is famed for diamond deposits in “kimberlite pipes”. These
are formed when magma carries diamonds to the earth’s surface from deep within the mantle, where they form. Although such
pipes and diamond deposits are rare in North America, you can collect your own diamonds is in Crater of Diamonds State Park,
Arkansas. Diamond has been named Arkansas’ state gemstone.
Although it’s not the rarest of gems, diamond is one of the most popular in the jewelry market because of marketing efforts by com-
panies like De Beers. Diamonds have been promoted for engagement and wedding rings, and are used to mark 6oth anniversaries, also
called a “diamond jubilee”. Diamond has been designated the birthstone for April. Most diamonds are not gem-quality, but are used for
common industrial applications. Diamond dust is used to coat drills and saws to help them slice through other materials.
Beyond their monetary and industrial values, diamonds have attracted much lore. In religious books, they are a symbol of wis-
dom, self-confidence and power. While ancient Greeks believed diamonds protected against poisons, Hindus believed a flawed
stone could invite misfortune. There are even stories about diamonds that carry curses: the Hope Diamond, the Blue Diamond of
the Crown, the Koh-i-Noor, the Shah Diamond, the Regent Diamond, the Cullinam, and others.
—Jim Brace-Thompson

The Ginkgo: A Living Fossil

A “living fossil” is a plant or animal species that has survived nearly unchanged over long expanses of geologic time. It may have had
many related species at one time, but now it may be the only representative of a family or genus left. Some were also once thought to
be extinct only to be rediscovered in a remote corner of the world. So it is with the ginkgo, a tree with distinctive fan-shaped leaves.
Fossil plants that appear to be related to today’s ginkgo date from the Permian
Period, 270 million years ago, before the Age of Dinosaurs. But they took off during
the mid-Jurassic and early Cretaceous periods when a number of different species
appeared alongside the dinosaurs. As the Mesozoic Era gave way to the Cenozoic
Era, the ginkgo family declined until only a couple species remained. They disap-
peared almost entirely from the fossil record by the end of the Pliocene Epoch, 2.5
million years ago.
While ginkgo trees once ranged worldwide, especially in the Northern Hemisphere,
they eventually became reduced to a single species, Ginkgo biloba, found in a small
area of central China. They have since been transplanted around the world as orna-
mental trees. Extracts from ginkgo leaves have been used in medicines, and the seeds
are supposedly edible. I once tried some in a restaurant in Hong Kong, and while dinosaurs may have liked them, I can’t say I recom-
mend them. Still, how often do you get to eat a living fossil?
—Jim Brace-Thompson

46 www.rockngem.com Rock & Gem

 (Solution on page 6)

January 2017 47
 Pictographs
and Petroglyphs

New Mexico’s Petroglyph National Monument, with more than 25,000 rock art images, is one of the most accessible petroglyph-viewing sites.

The Mineralogy of Rock Art

R
Story and Photos by Steve Voynick

ock art, which is defined as ancient, man-made markings on natural stone, is a global
phenomenon that spans thousands of years, divergent cultures, and entire continents.
The two basic forms of rock art are pictographs, which are pigments applied to rock
surfaces, and petroglyphs, or engravings. Because pictographs and petroglyphs are ar-
tifacts that offer insight into the symbols, religious and belief systems, and origins of abstract and
figurative art of past cultures, they are usually considered in an archaeological context.
But no less interesting is the mineralogy behind rock art—specifically the pigments utilized in
pictographs and the rock varnish into which most petroglyphs are engraved.
Rock art is found throughout North America, but is most abundant and prominent in the
arid, exposed-rock landscapes of the greater Southwest, including Southern California, Arizona,
Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, Colorado, and western Texas, where thousands of sites are decorated
with pictographs and petroglyphs.

48 www.rockngem.com Rock & Gem

 p This 6-inch petroglyph is one of thousands of zoomorphic images that
can be seen at New Mexico’s Petroglyph National Monument.

t This pictograph at Chumash Painted Cave State Historical Park near

Santa Barbara, California, shows extensive use of red hematite pigments.

Arizona’s federal lands alone have more than 2,500 rock art sites,
a few with only a single image, others with hundreds and even
thousands of images. The largest rock art concentration in the
Western Hemisphere is in Southern California’s Cosos Mountains,
where basalt cliffs are adorned with more than 100,000 petroglyphs.
Utah has at least 7,000 rock art sites, while New Mexico’s Petroglyph
National Monument alone has 25,000 petroglyph images.
While rock art images are prehistoric artifacts, they have neverthe-
less had a profound influence on contemporary Southwestern art and
culture. The design on New Mexico’s state flag, a sun with four rays
representing the four directions, four times of day, four stages of life,
and four seasons, is taken from a Zia petroglyph. Rock art images of
lizards, howling coyotes, bighorn sheep, and sun spirals are popular
motifs in everything from modern wall hangings and pottery designs
to coffee cups, lawn ornaments, and corporate logos.
Perhaps the most celebrated rock art image is that of “Kokopelli”,
the flute-playing, hunchbacked Hopi deity of reproduction and
music, which has evolved into an immediately recognizable, graphic
symbol for the entire Southwest.
While archaeologists and anthropologists ponder the purpose
and meaning of rock art, mineralogists study its physical features.
In the North, Midwest, and East, Native American artists used
hard, quartz-based rocks to engrave petroglyphs into relatively soft
limestone and sandstone surfaces. A well-known example in the
East is Dighton Rock, a 40-ton sandstone boulder covered with
deeply carved petroglyphs that is now displayed at Dighton Rock
State Park in southeastern Massachusetts.
But in the Southwest, petroglyph artists engraved sandstone only
occasionally, performing most of their work instead on far harder
rocks such as basalt, which is common in the regional deserts and
canyons. These shallow engravings depend not on depth for their
visual impact, but on color contrast. The critical element in South-
western petroglyphs is rock varnish, the thin, dark coating that
forms on rock surfaces over long periods of time. Rock varnish is
most familiar as the dark, vertical stains that dramatically decorate
canyon walls and cliffs throughout the Southwest.
German geographer and explorer Alexander von Humboldt made
the first historical mention of rock varnish in 1799 when he visited
Venezuela and wrote of granite boulders that appeared “smooth,
black, and as if coated with plumbago”. At the time, plumbago
referred to graphite, a black, crystalline form of elemental carbon.
Indigenous tribesmen told von Humboldt that the hot, tropical sun
had burned the boulders to blackness, one of the many early guesses
as to the origin of the strange coating.
Similar coatings observed on rocks worldwide became the subject
of a mineralogical mystery that lasted for nearly two centuries. Early
theories about the origin of rock varnish ranged from deposits left
by ancient seas, residues of decomposing organic matter, and the
chemical “rusting” of rock surfaces. By the late 1800s, mineralogists
began focusing on a process in which the sun and heat supposedly
caused mineral-rich water to “sweat” out of rocks, evaporate, and
precipitate a dark mineral coating.
By the 1920s, mineralogists suspected that rock varnish consisted
largely of iron and manganese oxides, a theory that could not be
proved because the oxide particles were too fine to be studied by
the analytical methods that then existed. Some mineralogists even
proposed the innovative idea that rock varnish formed when direct
sunlight somehow combined with microbial action to cause dark-
colored iron and manganese oxides from the interior of rocks to
concentrate on their surfaces.

January 2017 49
 Above: This spectacular pictograph panel at Standing Cow Ruin in Arizona’s Canyon de Chelly
National Monument depicts a visit by a Spanish expedition with red, white and black colors ap-
plied to the base of a light-colored sandstone cliff. Upper left: Rock varnish forms dark, vertical
stains on canyon walls and cliffs throughout the Southwest, such as this 200-foot-tall, sandstone
cliff in Arizona’s Navaho National Monument. At left: The bright-red strata in these formations
near Mexican Hat, Utah, consist mainly of particulate hematite. This abundant iron oxide was the
primary red pigment used in pictograph paints worldwide.

That idea persisted until the late 1970s, when advanced ana-
lytical methods, coupled with some brilliant, scientific detective
work, finally unraveled the mystery of rock varnish’s origin. In the
first step, researchers determined the actual composition of rock
varnish. It was found to be a thin coating only a tiny fraction of a
millimeter thick—about that of a human hair—consisting of 60%
clay minerals and 20 to 30% iron and manganese oxides, the latter
mainly birnessite (hydrous sodium calcium manganese oxide), goe-
thite (basic iron oxide), and hematite (iron oxide). The remaining
portion is a mix of some 30 minor compounds.
Researchers also learned that the manganese content of rock var-
nish was as much as 100 times greater than that of nearby rocks and
soils, and that high concentrations of manganese-based minerals
created rock varnish’s dark color. Rock varnish with high levels of
manganese oxides is nearly black; lower levels of manganese oxides
(and thus higher relative proportions of hematite) produced a
brown or orange-brown color.
Researchers then attempted to piece together the origin of rock
varnish. In 1979, Arizona State University professor of geography
Dr. Ronald Dorn and his colleagues employed scanning electron
microscopy on hundreds of rock varnish samples from differ-
ent sources. All specimens were observed to contain manganese-
concentrating bacteria of the genus Metallogenium, a find that
suggested a biological origin for rock varnish.
Again employing scanning electron microscopy, Dorn and his
researchers discovered a distinct morphological boundary between
the rock-varnish coating and the host rock. This absence of any com-
positional gradient showed that rock varnish is actually an accretion
of materials that does not originate from the interior of the rock, but
accumulates from extraneous sources. This discovery was the final
piece of the puzzle that explained the origin of rock varnish.
Rock varnish begins to form when fine, wind-blown clay particles
and smaller particles of iron and manganese compounds gradually
collect on rock surfaces to form thin, porous films. Manganese-
concentrating bacteria then absorb and oxidize the metal-bearing
particles, precipitating black manganese oxides and reddish-black
iron oxides.
In a complex relationship of water, clay, bacterial action, and
mineral compounds, water migrates through tiny pores in the clay,
transporting mineral compounds. Metallogenium bacteria convert
the iron and manganese compounds into oxides. Along with organic
products of bacterial oxidation, these oxides combine with the clay
particles to create a durable cementing agent that adheres tenaciously
to rock surfaces. This thin, but steadily developing, rock varnish layer
shields the bacterial colony from desiccation and intense solar radia-
tion, enabling the layer to eventually build to its full thickness.
Researchers then formally named the dark rock coating that they
had investigated. Since the time of von Humboldt, this coating had
been variously known as “rock black”, “rock rust”, “rock patina” and,
most popularly, “desert varnish”. To dispel the erroneous idea that
this coating only formed in desert regions, researchers agreed upon
the term that is preferred today: “rock varnish”.
Different rocks have varying abilities to accept and retain rock
varnish. Limestone rarely only exhibits rock varnish because it is
too water-soluble to provide a stable surface on which the coating
can form. The densest and most durable rock varnish forms on
basalt, rhyolite, granite, quartzite, and other similar rocks that are
highly resistant to weathering.

50 www.rockngem.com Rock & Gem

 Although a fully developed rock varnish
layer is tissue-paper thin, it can nevertheless
alter the color of cliffs, boulder fields, and even
entire mountains. On a smaller scale, it can
completely disguise the surface appearance of
individual rocks. Even a thin layer of rock
varnish can make light-colored granite and
rhyolite look like dark basalt.
Petroglyphs are created by removing select-
ed areas of dark rock varnish to expose and
contrast with the lighter-colored, underlying
rock. Petroglyph artists employed four basic
techniques. In “pecking”, they repetitively
struck rock surfaces with naturally pointed
or flaked stone tools. In “drilling”, they rap-
idly rotated flaked stone points mounted on
wooden shafts. “Scratching” utilized simple
back-and-forth movements with sharp stone
points; “grooving” was a more precise and
deeper scratching technique.
Rock varnish will eventually reform on
engraved areas, gradually reducing the con-
trast of petroglyphs. But because rock var-
nish develops so slowly, petroglyph images
last for thousands of years.
Attempts to date petroglyphs by absolute
(direct) and relative (indirect) methods
have had only limited success. Direct dating
focuses on the growth rate of rock varnish. In Willis 1 800 338 2162
the Southwestern climate, a full layer of rock The Beadmeister for mail@beading.com
varnish accumulates in roughly 10,000 years. Planet Earth Since 1977
This makes it possible to roughly estimate
the age of the partial coatings on engraved
petroglyph surfaces. Unfortunately, the rate
South Pacific Wholesale Co.
of rock-varnish development varies signifi-
www.beading.com
195 US Route 302, Berlin, Vermont 05641
cantly with local climactic or other environ-
mental conditions.
A somewhat more precise dating tech-
Don’t Let a Bead Emergency Ruin Your Day!
nique is cation-ratio dating. It determines
and compares the degree of leaching of iron,
Beads, Rocks, Jewelry, Findings, Trinkets, Witchballs
manganese, calcium and potassium cations.
Comparing the degrees of leaching in fully
developed rock varnish layers with those in the
partial layers on engraved petroglyphs gives a
rough idea of when the engraving was made.
Knowing the approximate age of rock var-
nish not only helps archaeologists date petro-
glyphs, but also enabled geologists to date
such landform-altering events as landslides,
glacial movements, and volcanic eruptions.
In relative dating, archaeologists attempt
to link petroglyphs to nearby cultural ruins
or artifacts of known age—a technique that
assumes that the petroglyphs and nearby

January 2017 51
 At the
Newspaper
Rock site
in Arizona’s
Petrified For-
est National
Park, huge
sandstone
boulders are
covered with
hundreds of
petroglyphs.
artifacts or ruins are actually related. Conclusive relative dating
is valid only with representational rock art images, such as those
depicting Christian crosses and horses, which were obviously made
after the Spanish arrived in the Southwest.
Unlike engraved petroglyphs, pictographs are paintings on rock,
usually sandstone or limestone with smooth, light-colored, fine-
grained surfaces. And while petroglyphs were made in exposed areas,
pictographs are found only in cave interiors, on canyon walls, or at
the semi-sheltered bases of cliffs, indicating that pictograph artists
were clearly aware that their work was vulnerable to direct exposure
to the elements.
Pictograph paints consisted of a pigment, a binder, and a fluid. The
pigments were minerals, carbonaceous fire residues, clay or shell, all
ground to a fine powder. The primary pictograph colors were red,
black and white; yellow and blue-green were much less common.
The predominant pictograph color is red, which is not surprising
considering its high visual impact and the plentiful supply of the
hematite, or iron oxide. While the color of crystalline hematite is
silvery-gray to near-black, that of particulate hematite is red. The finer
the hematite particles, the more intense and bright is their red color.
Hematite is chemically stable, impervious to the action of natural
acids, and does not fade in sunlight. Red hematite pigments were
used extensively in pictographs around the world, most notably in the
famed, 30,000-year-old Neolithic cave paintings of southern France.
Black, the next most common pictograph color, is derived from
pigments of elemental carbon obtained from fireplace soot or finely
ground charcoal or coal. Some black pigments consist of finely
ground pyrolusite (manganese dioxide) or similar manganese oxides
or hydroxides. Both elemental carbon and manganese oxides are
chemically stable and produce jet-black paints.
White pictograph paints contain finely ground white clays, sea-
shells, bones, gypsum (hydrous calcium sulfate), and caliche (a natu-
ral calcium-carbonate cement that often coats rocks in arid regions).
White pictograph pigments had varying degrees of chemical stability.
An occasional pictograph color is yellow, which is based on a pigment
of limonite or ocher, an abundant mixture of hydrated iron oxides.
Blues and greens, which are rare in Southwestern pictographs, are
52 www.rockngem.com
This 18-inch-
section of
an elaborate
red, white
and black
pictograph
is at a Pleito
Creek pic-
tograph site
near Santa
Barbara,
California.
largely restricted to regions with outcrops of the green and blue cop-
per carbonate minerals malachite and azurite. Malachite pigments
are fairly stable, but those of azurite are not. Because slow, natural
oxidation converts azurite into malachite, most of the blue, azurite-
based pigments in pictographs have turned to green.
Organic binding agents in pictograph paints—plant extracts and
resins, egg whites, and animal fats, to name just a few—enabled the
pigments to adhere to rock surfaces. Water gave pictograph paints
their proper consistency.
After they were painted, pictographs eventually became covered by
thin veils of white or colorless minerals that were naturally deposited
by water that trickled down the rock walls. Originating as dew, rain,
snowmelt, frost, or seepage from the rock itself, this water carried
varying amounts of dissolved silica and calcium. As the water evapo-
rated, it deposited a mineral film called “silcrete”, which is similar to
the hard-water deposits that accumulate on plumbing fixtures.
Silcrete can become so thick that it obscures pictographs, but
most often it provides a transparent covering that protects the pic-
tograph and helps to fix the pigments to the rock. Under electron
microscopes, pictograph cross sections appear as layers of paint
“sandwiched” between two silcrete layers. The original silcrete layer,
present before the pictograph was made, adjoins the rock surface.
Next is the paint itself, atop which is a second, protective silcrete layer
that was deposited after the pictograph was made.
As with engraved petroglyphs, attempts to date pictographs have
brought only mixed results. Even the results of radiometric, carbon-14
dating of the organic binder materials in pictograph paints are unreli-
able. The problem is not the carbon-14 method itself, but in being
certain that the tiny organic samples in the paints reflect the actual
time period in which the pictographs were created.
While remarkably durable, rock art is not indestructible. Deteriora-
tion, which occurs with each passing year, is both natural and man-
made. Natural chemical and physical weathering breaks down rock
surfaces and pictograph paints, while new growths of rock varnish
slowly obscure petroglyphs.
Man-made deterioration, both unintentional and deliberate, takes a
greater toll on rock art. A major form of unintentional deterioration
Rock & Gem
is industry-generated acid rain. But even
touching pictographs and contaminating
them with skin oils can alter the delicate
chemistry of the ancient paints.
Saddest of all is the destruction of rock art
by vandals and “collectors” who deface imag-
es, attempt to chisel out or otherwise remove
them, or “enhance” them with modern
marking materials. Th situation has become
so serious that federal land-management
agencies now reveal only the locations of
rock art sites that are regularly patrolled. All
rock art on federal lands is protected under
the Antiquities Act of 1906. States have simi-
lar protection laws.
Although we now understand how rock art
was made, the question of why it was made
remains unanswered. Stylized animal images
appearing together with anthropomorphic
figures holding weapons were once logically
thought to depict hunting-related events. Geo-
metric images such as circles were thought to
be solar or lunar symbols tied to seasonal or
astronomical cycles. Lines or combinations of
lines were assumed to represent trails, terrain
features, and territorial boundaries, or were
interpreted as clan symbols or mnemonic
devices for important events.
Some early archaeologists even considered
rock art to be nothing more than ancient
graffiti, an idea now firmly rejected on the
grounds that creating images that would
endure for centuries or even thousands of
years was not a casual activity, but a thought-
ful project that demanded a major commit-
ment of time and effort. Many pictographs
are often located in nearly inaccessible areas
high on cliffs or cave ceilings—places that
ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL
ROCK, GEM & MINERAL SHOW - Since 1999
would not interest casual artists.
Anthropologists now generally agree that
January 1st thru February 28th
(After February 10th Vendors are Transitional)
most rock art was created by shamans,
Need Information? Dennis E. Kuehl 623 606-0053
whose motivations were spiritual and often dgshowgrounds@gmail.com • Web: desertgardensrvpark.net
enhanced by hallucinogenic trances. All
ancient Native American cultures employed !! AUCTION !! AUCTION !!
rituals, magic and spiritualism to explain AUCTION will be held every TUESDAY @ 6 pm
Jan-Feb
nature’s many dualities, such as life and death,
EVERY SATURDAY@ 1:00 PM Desert Show Grounds
day and night, and summer and winter. Rock • QUALITY ROCK RELATED CONSIGNMENTS
art can thus be explained as graphic expres- • NO RESERVE • NO MINIMUM
sions of belief systems that were established For more information contact:
in attempts to control these dualities. Auctioneer: Tom Brown 307 247-4119 or ttbb64@hotmail.com
Show Host: Dave Walker 623 980-5746
While their exact meaning may always CASH, CHECK OR CREDIT CARDS ACCEPTED
remain uncertain, we at least understand
the basic mineralogy behind the Southwest’s
countless rock art images.

January 2017 53
 what to cut
L arimar is a very beautiful and distinc-
tive-looking stone found in the Carib-
bean. The stone itself is actually a pectolite
(calcium-sodium silicate); however, its blue,
blue-green and white hues, as well as the fact
that it stems from one location, make it a
one-of-a-kind stone. The difference in pec-
tolites that gives larimar its distinctive blue
coloring comes from the copper replacing
the calcium.
Although the stone was originally found
over 100 years ago, it wasn’t until Miguel
Fuentes rediscovered it in the mid-1970s that
it was introduced into the jewelry world. The
stone’s name combines part of his daughter
Larissa’s name (Lari-) and the Spanish word
for “sea” (mar).
Larimar has a notorious love/hate reputation
with lapidary artists: love of its beauty and
hate for the difficulties of working with this
material. Though it’s a relatively hard material,
it tends to fracture, chip, flake and break on
you at the most inopportune times!
Larimar can be a little on the pricey side,
so it’s best to experiment with cutting and
cabbing this material very slowly, and maybe
not starting with the highest grades. Shop-
ping for Larimar is relatively easy; it’s found
almost everywhere online, and is sold at
almost every rock show.
54 www.rockngem.com
Caribbean Larimar
When purchasing in person, its best to wet
the stone lightly, wipe off any excess water,
and carefully watch the stone under a light
as it dries. The vast flat areas will dry first,
and any cracks that may not be visible at
first will start to appear, as they will hold
in excess water. Once you have decided on
the slabs, even if they show no signs of any
fractures, don’t be fooled; the stone can split
and separate on you at anytime during the
cabbing process.
Take as many precautions as you can
through each step. First, make sure you put
a newer blade on your saw before cutting
out any preforms. An older blade that’s a bit
wobbly and creates any excess vibrations can
cause this material to split and break apart.
When starting your cuts, always go slowly
and allow the blade to do the work; pushing
aggressively can cause larimar to split.
Once all your preforms have been cut and
you’re ready to start cabbing your material,
never start on an aggressive grit wheel. There
are many techniques that can be used, but this
is the way I’ve always done it.
I start the cabbing process on a slightly used
180 grit steel wheel. Using a hard wheel to start
can certainly cause problems, but a slightly
used one will have been broken in and will be
a bit smoother and not too aggressive.
by RUSS KANIUTH
Proceed with a light touch and grind down
to your outlines. I like to do this by turning
the stone straight up against the wheel and
not horizontal to it, like I generally do. This
way usually gives me the best chance at not
chipping big chunks off the backside. Once
it’s shaped, I’ll start doing a 45º angle on the
side to the top edge very gently, leaving a 3
mm girdle edge.
From there, I start from the top center
and work the material gently, rounding over
the sides to develop my dome. Always do
this in light circular motions to eliminate
gouges or scratches that will be tough to
remove later.
After this tedious stage is done and your
cab is shaped with a nice dome, move on to
the soft wheels. Cab as you usually would, but
gently, and take breaks frequently, giving the
stone a chance to cool and not heat up due to
friction. If you cab up to 50,000 grit, no extra
polishing will be needed; this material will
end up with a beautiful mirror finish.
Russ Kaniuth is the owner
of Sunset Ridge Lapidary
Arts and the cofounder of
the Cabs and Slabs Face-
book group. See more of his
work at www.sunsetridge
lapidary.com.
Rock & Gem
 55

TGMS.idml 55 7/27/16 8:27 PM

 Montana’s
Ruby Valley

This is what a typical screen of garnet-bearing pay dirt looked like once the garnets had been concentrated.

Garnet Is the Red Gem Found Here

I
Story and Photos by Jim Landon

magine the earth 2.75 billion years ago in southwest Montana. If any life forms ex-
isted, they would have been microscopic. The atmosphere of our planet at that time
would have been toxic, with little, if any, oxygen present, yet the geologic forces of
mountain building and erosion would have been going gangbusters. Silt and sand
would have been finding their way into the primordial oceans, and in turn these sediments
would go on to be compressed into shale and sandstone. As time passed, these deposits
would be deeply buried and subjected to the metamorphic processes of high temperatures
and crushing pressure.
56 www.rockngem.com Rock & Gem

Finding garnets at the Red Rock Mine is much better than an Easter egg hunt.
The sandstone layers were compressed and
welded into quartzite and the shale deposits
became slate, and then gneiss and schist.
Minerals in the shale differentiated into
mica, hornblende, and garnets. Limestone
would be changed to marble and soapstone.
Still later tectonic forces bent and folded
these metamorphic rocks like so much warm
taffy, and faulting allowed the injection of
hydrothermal solutions carrying silica, gold,
and traces of copper and other minerals.
Eventually, these tectonic forces would push
these metamorphic layers, called “basement
rocks”, toward the surface, and they would
shed their mantle of younger rocks and sedi-
January 2017
ment that had buried them so deeply.
Uplift and subsequent erosion exposed
these rocks, and the gold and garnets they
contained would start to concentrate in the
streams that drained the area. By the mid-
1800s, explorers and prospectors who had
made their way into the Montana Territory
would discover the wealth of gold the streams
in this area contained, and a stampede of
humanity would descend on the pristine val-
leys in pursuit of their fortunes.
One of these streams, Alder Creek, was
found to contain gold in 1863. Initially, the
deposits were mined by hand, using sluice
boxes. This was supplemented in 1867 by
the introduction of hydraulic mining, and in
1898 with the introduction of floating bucket
dredges.
In the first three years of production, it is
estimated that the miners in the 1800s had
recovered around $30 million worth of gold.
At today’s prices we are talking about over $2
billion worth of gold. This was indeed one of
the richest—if not the richest—deposits of
gold in the West. At the height of dredging
there were five operations reworking the
placer deposits. The thousands of people
living in camps and small towns along the
length of Alder Gulch had moved on to
greener pastures or gotten out of the mining
business.
The dredge piles that resulted from years of
mining and have yet to be reclaimed can be
seen all the way from the town of Alder to
Virginia City. It is as if Alder Creek has been
turned upside down.
Although the miners and mining compa-
nies were searching for gold, their sluice boxes
often filled with purple, water-worn alman-
dine garnets. Since they had no value at the
time, they were discarded in the tailings.
In the past 20 years or so, there has been
increased commercial interest in recovering
the garnets from these deposits for use as
abrasives in water jet cutting technology and
other applications. At first, alluvial garnets
were being recovered from the old dredge
piles, but it was found that production rates
were not adequate to sustain the business.
Water-worn
garnet
crystals like
these can
be found
in hotspot
concentra-
tions along
the shore of
Ruby Reser-
voir.
57

Lapidary Supplies
and Equipment
Most Orders Shipped within 24 Hours
Authorized Dealers of: Crystalite, Lapcraft,
Covington, Inland, MK Diamond, Raytech,
Diamond Pacific, Graves and more.
Order Toll Free (866) 929-8575
email: info@arrowheadlapidarysupply.com
Arrowhead Lapidary Supply
P. O. Box 247
Wellington, OH 44090
Website: arrowheadlapidarysupply.com
58 www.rockngem.com
Red Rock Mine proprietor Steven Cox (right) was most helpful in showing the Sorenson grandchil-
dren, Eleanor and Alyse, how to screen for garnets.
Now, open-pit mining is being conducted
by the company Garnet USA to extract gar-
net crystals directly from the host schists.
Mined ore is being trucked four miles from
the pit to a processing facility, where the
ore is being crushed to free the garnet crys-
tals. After further processing, the garnets are
sorted by size to be sold to both national and
international markets.
This brings us to the fun stuff: hunting
for your own garnets in the Ruby Valley. I
have visited three places where garnets can
be found. One of these is along the banks of
Ruby Reservoir, and the other two are tourist
businesses where people can buy gravel and
screen out the garnets.
Ruby Reservoir
Ruby Dam impounds water from the Ruby
River, forming Ruby Reservoir. In the sum-
mer, water that has been stored in the res-
ervoir is released, exposing long stretches
of beach where the sand, gravel and cobble
deposits that contain alluvial garnets can be
found. The garnets originated from schists
exposed in the Greenhorn Mountains, which
are located east of the Ruby River. The creeks
flowing west from this mountain range trans-
ported the garnets into the Ruby River drain-
age and deposited them in high terraces that
now form the banks of the reservoir.
Seasonal runoff and wave action from the
reservoir continually expose and concentrate
the garnets in bands along the shore. I visited
this locality a year ago with my wife, Kerry,
and friends Buzz and Patti Jones. We hunted
on east bank of the reservoir, which we
accessed by a road that can be found on the
upstream end of the impoundment. To get
there, we took state Route 287 to the town
of Alder, then got on state Route 357 (Upper
Ruby Road) going south. We passed Ruby
Dam and then drove to the far end of the
reservoir, where there is gravel and then dirt
road that leads down to the lakeshore.
The high-water mark of the lake is heavily
overgrown with willows, but there is ready
access. After parking, we headed down to
the shore and started walking the beach,
looking for garnets among the cobbles that
form bands where wave erosion has removed
the lighter silt and sand. We found that the
garnets were not evenly distributed along
the entire beach, but rather occurred in hot
spot concentrations that could be several
yards long. It seemed that areas that had a
clayey hardpan under the cobbles and gravel
held the greatest concentrations of garnets.
Rock & Gem
As the water level in Ruby Reservoir recedes, wide beaches are exposed on which wave action concentrates garnet crystals.
Most of the garnets we found were small,
but occasionally one would show up that had
faceting potential.
The best time to visit this locality is later
in the summer, after the water level in the
reservoir starts dropping, exposing more
of the beach. I had brought along some
screens that I had used to concentrate sap-
phires and garnets from other localities, but
found them to be impractical at this local-
ity. It was much easier and more productive
to just find a hot spot and push the gravel
and sand around with a stick to expose
January 2017
garnets that were large enough to collect.
Red Rock Mine and Garnet Gallery
The other two collecting spots that are
designed for tourists are between the towns
of Alder and Virginia City, along Route 287,
which parallels the Alder Creek drainage.
Dredge spoil piles dominate the landscape
along the road. The first stop is called the
Red Rock Mine and Garnet Gallery, on the
left side of Route 287. This business sells
3-gallon buckets of material that has been
recovered from the old dredge piles.
On the day we were there, Kerry and I were
returning to our cabin from a day in Virginia
City with friends Mike and Linda Sorensen
and two of their granddaughters. I purchased
a bucket of garnet-bearing material for each
of the girls, and Steven Cox, the manager,
showed them how to concentrate the garnets
in the bottom of each of their screens. They
had a blast picking through each screen
full of material and picking out the gar-
nets they had found. Steven drove me over
to the place where he is getting the mate-
rial for screening so I could get some photos
The main street of
Virginia City is lined
with historic build-
ings that now house
shops and informative
displays that illustrate
what life was like in a
gold boomtown in the
1800s.
59
 Pay dirt containing garnets was stockpiled and would later be used to fill the buckets that are sold
at the Red Rock Mine for screening.
of what the area looked like.
When the bucket dredges were active in
Alder Gulch, they would scoop up sediment
from the creek bed and run it through a rota-
ry trommel to remove all the rocks, boulders,
and larger gravel. This material was then car-
ried to a stacker that would dump it in piles
that form the characteristic windrows seen
all up and down the valley today. All of the
finer material, which contained the gold and
garnets, would pass over the sluice boxes,
which were coated with mercury. The gold
would stick to the mercury, and the garnets,
gravel and sand would then be dumped off
the side of the dredge. What this did was
to create a two-layer profile in the riverbed,
with the fines being covered with the rock
60 www.rockngem.com
and boulder windrows.
Steven had the rocks and boulders scraped
off an area so that he could get in there with
a trackhoe and access the sand layer that
contains the garnets. He has stockpiled this
material off to the side, and when he needs
to replenish his buckets, he just drives over
and loads them up. When we were there, he
was charging $20 per 3-gallon bucket. He
provided screens, tweezers to pick out the
garnets, and a place to wash and concentrate
the garnets. I call it one-stop shopping.
For those who like to do their own work,
he also has a gravel pit where you can dig
your own material to haul back to the sorting
tables. He charges a flat half- or full-day fee
for this opportunity, and there is no limit on
Rock & Gem
The Red Rock Mine and Garnet Gallery has a covered area for screening the garnet pay dirt.
the number of buckets you can process. Like
at Ruby Reservoir, the vast majority of the
garnets we recovered were small, but there
were a few that might be considered faceting
material.
Steven had some examples of stones recov-
ered from the gravels that had been faceted,
which were quite nice. Besides the garnets,
corundum crystals are occasionally found
on the dredge piles and in the garnet-bearing
gravel. The ones I have seen are very silky
and only suited for making cabochons or
being kept for specimens.
The Red Rock Mine and Garnet Gallery
is open Wednesday through Sunday from
May 1 to Nov. 1, weather permitting. If you
are interested in checking out this venue, I
would recommend calling ahead to check on
the status of the place. You can reach Steven
at (406) 842-5760.
River of Gold
The second fee area is farther up the high-
way on the right, past Nevada City. It is
January 2017
called River of Gold and it features an oppor-
tunity to pan for garnets and gold, and has
a number of mining-related artifacts that
were salvaged and put on display. You can’t
miss this place because the main artifact is
the bucket dredge called the Mount Vernon.
This behemoth piece of mining equipment
was one of the five that processed the gravels
of Alder Gulch for gold. All of the rest have
long since been salvaged for scrap. It now sits
on its sunken barge in what remains of the
self-made pond where it ceased production.
Looking at it up close reminded me of the
TV show “Gold Rush”, in which Tony Beets
has resurrected an even larger dredge to ply
the gravels of the Klondike.
I had a great time walking around the
dredge and checking it out from all angles.
I was especially impressed with the buck-
et arm and the cast iron buckets that had
wrested so much gold from the creek bed.
They had to be made tough to be able to do
battle with the compacted boulders, cobbles
and gravel and not be destroyed. What an
amazing and efficient piece of technology
these things were.
At River of Gold, people can purchase
gravel by the scoop and then use gold pans to
concentrate the garnets and occasional piece
of placer gold. There is also a shop where you
can purchase gold panning equipment.
Besides these places to collect garnets, the
towns of Virginia City and Nevada City are
great to visit. Nevada City has a gold mining-
era town that features late-1800s and turn-
of-the-century buildings that were salvaged
from all up and down Alder Gulch and are
now preserved for all to see. The Virginia
City Preservation Alliance has worked dili-
gently to preserve most of the buildings con-
structed in the 1870s. Many of them display
period furnishings and have informational
signs that tell the history of their use. There
is also a narrow-gauge railroad that trans-
ports visitors between the two towns.
Gold mining continues in the upper reach-
es of Alder Gulch to this day, in scattered,
small lode mines that lie hidden away in
61
 Dredge tailing windrows like these extend for miles up and down Alder Gulch. The garnet-bearing
sand and gravel layer lies under these mounds.
the pine- and fir-covered mountains above
Virginia City. Miners are tapping the quartz
veins that supplied the alluvial gold that
started the rush so long ago. This activ-
ity is a mere whisper of what it was in its
heyday. Now, tourism is the main economic
driver for the area. The population swells
dramatically in the summer, with seasonal
help working in the many shops and venues
that are now housed in the period buildings.
62 www.rockngem.com
With the onset of fall and the arrival of
colder weather, the tourist population dries
up and most of the seasonal help moves
on to other jobs. Meanwhile, the full-time
residents start to hunker down for the long,
cold winters that are common at this alti-
tude. It is not unlike what happened back
in the boom-and-bust days of the gold
rush that established these towns in the
first place.
Rock & Gem
 MINERAL AND GEM ID TOOLS
Mineral Search Mineralab Hardness
Software 2860 W. Live Oak Dr. G, Prescott, AZ 86305 Picks
Metal points
(800) 749-3766 (928) 442-1155 Mohs’ 2 thru
www.mineralab.com 9 with Streak
MC/VISA/Amex/Disc Add $10.00 S&H Plate, Magnet,
Wood case.
Gem Tester Excellent Gift!
CD-ROM for PC Colored Stone $92 $83
700 minerals and Estimator. Touch probe
Gems w/Photos; ID to rough, cab, faceted, or
Search/Catalog. mounted stones.
$59 $219 $209
Gem-n-Eye Digital Geiger Counter
Refractometer Detect radio-active rocks
and minerals. Meter/
Specific Gravity Kit
For your Electronic Scale. Measure
audio clicks to 50 mR/hr.
Keep up with $289 $269
Specific Gravity to ID Gems and
Minerals.
Choose ver-
sion either
for Bench
BREAKING NEWS Measure RI
to 2.70.
UV Lamp
UVP Portable Rechargeable
Scale or
Pocket Carat
Combo SW LW, two 6 watt
Accurate to .01 Scale.Easy to
bulbs, w/110V A/C adapter
Easy to read
$395 Sale $359 use! $93

in Rockhounding $425
No toxic fluid.
Sale $395
Sale at $84

“I really appreciate the care and kindness that you show “The Facetron is a tool of perfection. Precision is the key.”
your customers. It is rare these days.” Floyd E. Hoskins, Carrollton, GA
between issues of Martha Burnett, Baltimore, MD

Rock&Gem
at

www.rockngem.com
and
www.facebook.com/pages/

Rock-Gem-magazine/152002903583
63
 Easy Steps Video
Step-by-Step Method
Jewelry Design
Jewelry Crafting
Gem Cutting
Lapidary, Faceting, Carving, Wire Work,
Bead Stringing & Knotting, Soldering,
Repair, Wax Casting and more.
One of the most extensive DVD libraries
by master designers and master
craftsman. VHS tapes also available.
For a FREE Catalog
call 800.382.3237
www.EasyStepsVideo.com
WHOLESALE OFFER
Shortwave & Longwave UV
Field Light kit $59.99!
www.uvtools.com/rgpromo2
Ultraviolet Tools LLC
PO Box 7523
Round Rock, TX 78683
Phone order: 512-590-4949
www.ultraviolet-tools.com
sales@ultraviolet-tools.com
64 www.rockngem.com
picks & pans
NEWS and REVIEWS
Joel Hauser Agates at GIA
The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) Museum has acquired 63 ornamental
minerals of exceptional size and quality through a generous donation by the family of
Joel and Barbara Hauser. Most of them were put on display at the Institute’s Carlsbad,
California, museum on Nov. 9, 2016.
For over 60 years, native Califor-
nian Joel Hauser ardently collected
agates, geodes, ornamental min-
erals, and petrified wood, which
culminated in an impressive and
celebrated mineral collection.
He unearthed a deposit of agate
geodes in Riverside County’s Little
Chuckawalla Mountains that be-
came known as the Hauser Geode
Beds.
Hauser was also a skilled lapi-
dary who mastered the art of con-
tour polishing. He also designed
and modified saws and grinding
equipment that could handle the Azurite (Bisbee, AZ)
cutting and polishing of even large ORASA WELDON PHOTO; © GIA
pieces of petrified wood.
Hauser passed away in 1993. His wife, Barbara, and their four sons have donated the
collection’s finest ornamental minerals to the GIA in his memory. The significant acquisition
helps the Institute fulfill its mission to educate and inspire students and the public about
gems, gem minerals, and jewelry.
Roadside Geology of Northern and Cen-
tral California, 2nd Edition
David Alt and Donald W. Hyndman
Roadside Geology of Northern California was
originally published in 1975. In 2000, the title
was expanded to include central California. Now,
a 2015 edition incorporates the results of more
recent study of tectonic activity and updates on
the understanding of the state’s geology.
The Roadside Geology series serves as a
travel guide for the geology buff on the go. The
books point out and identify rocks that are vis-
ible along highways and explain their origins.
Photographer and geologist Katherine J. Bay-
lor re-visited the sites covered in the previous
edition to take new images that illustrate visible
changes in the rocks that occurred over the
intervening years.
The text identifies six natural geological
regions within the north and central parts of the
state: Sierra Nevada, Klamath Mountains, Coast
Range, The Great Valley, High Cascades on the
Modoc Plateau, and Basin and Range. Plate
tectonics, earthquakes, volcanism, landslides, and glaciers are among the forces that formed
the geologically diverse landscape of California.
The multicolor result of all this activity—red chert, green serpentine, blue schist, gray
granite, and so on—can be viewed in road cuts across the region, which are identified in
the book’s many maps.
According to the preface to the 2000 edition, “[The authors] wrote this book for people
who are not geologists, but who would like to know something about the rocks.” The 384-
page book includes 180 color photos and 130 color illustrations and maps.
$26 (Mountain Press Publishing Co., www.mountain-press.com)
Rock & Gem
 www.thundereggsdownunder.com.au
Large selections of Australian thundereggs,
agates, and minerals available. Specimens
from Agate Creek, Mt Hay, Mt Tamborine,
Wycarbah, Tweed Valley, Chillagoe, Yandina,
Boggabri. Good range of sizes and prices
available. Experienced at shipping worldwide.
Email: limpinwoodgardens@bigpond.com
www.camscrystalgallery.com
Cam’s Crystal Gallery, We sell excep-
tional value specimens for most any col-
lector or decorator. Please contact us at
CamsCrystals@aol.com with any special
requests. Thank you!
www.lototumblr.com
Vibratory Lot-O-Tumblr built since the 1960’s,
produces a high quality shine in only 7 days.
Superior finish on specimens and gemstones.
Great for beginners and used by many pro-
fessional gem cutters. 507-451-2254 Belt, Inc.
2746 Hoffman Dr. NW Owatonna, MN 55060,
7 day start to finish, dealer inquires, name,
phone, web.
www.thegemshop.com
Online since 1998, offering rough rock,
designer cabochons, fine agate and jasper
RocknGem.com for as little as $35 per insertion. Contact ptorres@beckett.com
Ph: 972.448.9131; Fax 972.528.5279; Rock & Gem, 4635 McEwen Rd | Dallas, TX 75244
R&G www Dec16.idml 65
specimens, beads, publications, lapidary
equipment, monthly specials. Mining reports,
rock location information and galleries. Order
securely online, MC/Visa/PayPal, Toll free
(866)-377-4666 email: mail@thegemshop.com
www.sapphiremining.com
Montana Sapphire Gravel concentrate from
Rock Creek / Philipsburg deposit since 1995.
Bags approx. 3-4 pounds each, $30. per bag.
Can ship 4-6 bags in Flat Rate Postal box,
shipping extra. Screens $25. Also heat-treat-
ed Sapphire Rough for cutting, sold by carat
weight in parcels. Call for pricing. Sapphire
Studio in Hamilton, Montana. 406-381-1392.
www.optimagem.com
We have the most accurate colored stone
grading in the industry. Our free monthly
newsletters include unenhanced color photos
of every gem we well. We provide consisted
fine quality calibrated gems with free color
matching. In addition we have huge selection
of unique cutes, unusual gem types, crystals
and bargain closeouts. Call our USA based
customer service team today for honest and
friendly service. (800)-543-5563 support@
optimagem.com
www.gia.edu
Learn from the World’s Foremost Authority
in Gemology online! Find out about the
Gemological Institute of America’s courses
and programs, browse, and shop for gem-
ology instruments and books. Stay up-to-
date on diamond and gemstone news and
research.
www.lehighmineralauction.com
Weekly auction of 64 specimens with an
assortment of quality but affordable world-
wide minerals. Don’t miss the bargain prices.
Email: jim@lehighminerals.com
www.kiadesigns.com
Tourmaline Crystals Galore, Extruded Quartz
Artistic Lamps, Holley Blue Chalcedony,
Necklaces, Pendants, Rough, Natural Crystal
Massage Tools. (503)-784-6279
www.rocksandminerals.org
Published since 1926. The magazine for
everyone interested in minerals, rocks and
fossils.
www.agatemontana.com
For all your MONTANA AGATE wants and
needs. Books, rough, slabs, cabs, handcrafted
jewelry, freeform carvings and specimens.
65
11/2/16 9:34 PM
 CLASSIFIED CLASSIFIED CLASSIFIED CLASSIFIED

Books and Videos Field Trips Tues-Sat, Excalibur Mineral wjimpauls@hotmail.com

J a w s , C l a w s , a n d ZRS 2017 Guided Field Trips 1 8 8 5 S e m i n o l e Tr a i l , Rock hound – Prospector
Carbonates Oh My! What to Morocco and Australia. Charlottesville, VA 22901, – Grub Hoe welded steel
a deal, $20 per DVD from Sixteen days, all-inclusive (434)-964-0875. www. digging tool with non-slip
notable scholars. All the with shipping. Details – ZRS, excalibur.com hardwood handle, proven
titles of these DVD’s are 3018 Lyndale Avenue South, mines
tough. Moces packed dirt or
as follows: “The Beauty of rock fast. $59.95 plus ship-
Minneapolis, MN 55408, COLLECT MINERALS IN ping. Also available silver
Carbonates” by Jeff Scovil
612-824-1068, info@zrs- MAINE. We have access specimens.
“Collectable Carbonates”
to private and closed loca-
By Dr. Carl Francis “Teeth fossils.com roCk shops
Finished Gems
tions like Mount Mica,
Jaws and Claws” by Dale
Mount Apatite and more! A Woodies Rock Shop. A large
Gnidovec Again only $20 PaleoImages ® : museum
unique and complete vaca- variety of Keokuk Geodes-
each, choose one or get quality fossil replicas.
tion opportunity. Come and opened and unopened
all three, profits will ben- Fossil sets, ammonites,
see “Oma’s Attic” local and including enhydro Keokuk
efit Geosciences Education. trilobites, wood, etc. fos-
foreign mineral specimens. geodes. Geodes can include
These gems won’t last for-
sil jewelry, Lithocanis TM POLAND MINING CAMPS, pyrite, barite, pink/brown/
ever! No cash please, order
americanus: clothing items, Mary Groves, PO Box 26, and clear calcite, and goe-
today and you will not be Poland ME 04274. 207-998- thite inclusions. Agates;
disappointed satisfaction selected with the rock 2350 www.polandmining- petrifi ed wood; minerals;
guaranteed. Please include hound in mind. Fluorescent camps.com gemstones; custom jewelry;
$3.00 for postage for each minerals and UV lights. geode cracking, sawing, and
mininG supplies
send your request to 107 www.tlzenterprises.com polishing. Guided Keokuk
Deer Creek Rochester, Il. For sale Mining Supplies and Rock
geode trips available by
62563. Please make check Shop, Hesperia, CA. Our
For Sale Rare Emeralds store and warehouse has appointment only. Ebay:
payable to Geosciences
From the Hiddenite Area rocks, mining supplies, keokukgeode FB: keokuk-
Education.
North Carolina Unearthed crystals, slabs, cabochons, geodes.com Woodies Rock
CaBoChons Shop 309-313-2077
in 1984 and 1969 The fossils, minerals, turquoise,
Astounding Cabochons and LKA 1,683.3 Carats The jewelry, and specimens. Loveland, CO. Colorado’s
More. Amber, ammonite, Stephenson 1,438 Carats. 9565 C Ave, 760-244-9642. source for fine gems and
chrysocolla, chrysophrase, minerals. On the road to
See full data at www.emer- www.miningsuppliesan-
druzy, eilat, fire agate, Rocky Mountain National
aldsrare.com drockship.com
unusual garnets, jades Park. Jewelry, Crystals,
minerals opal
jaspers. Orbicular, picture, Fossils. Our own cut design-
Montana, Mexican agates, Selling private collection Lightning Ridge, Coober er cabochons. Huge selec-
labradite, moonstones, of Covelite and much more Pedy, Andamooka, Mintable, tion! 4855 W. Eisenhower.
opals, parrot wing, spec- from the Butte, Montana, Mexican. We’re the largest www.bluestonegemshop.
trolite, sugilite, sunstone, Leonard Mine. Phone: (406)- and most consistent opal com, Facebook – Bluestone
tabu, thulite, variscite, many suppliers in the industry. jewelry store.
498-0458. Free Catalog. KNIGHTS. Box
more! Also cut gems, crys- Indianapolis Area
tals, minerals, metorites, Rare Minerals and clas- 411, Waitsfield, VT 05673. (Lawrence). Findings,
slabs, cab and facet rough, sic specimens from new (802)-496-3707. Email supplies, minerals, fos-
supplies. Color catalog discoveries and old collec- knights@madriver.com sils, equipment, rough and
$3.00. Riviera Lapidary, Box tions. Over 200,000 speci- prospeCTors finished stones. No list.
40, Riviera, TX 78379-0040. mens on hand, unique gift Great Canadian Prospecting Jox Rox, 4825 N. Franklin
rivlapidary@yahoo.com items and more. Open Co. 613-378-2698 or email Rd. Indianapolis, IN 46226.
66

R&G Classified Jan17.idml 66 11/29/16 7:35 PM

 CLASSIFIED CLASSIFIED CLASSIFIED CLASSIFIED

Hours 10am – 6pm. Monday largest! Tons of rough lapidary services, supplies, Mtorolite, Stichtite, rainbow
– Saturday. (317)-542-8855. agate, fossils, onyx and fin- tools & equipment. Open Fluorite, and more! 909-
Marlbeton, WY – J L Gray ished product. Wednesday – 7 days. 4103 N Interstate 915-9561 email: jeff@barn-
Rock Shop. Rough rock, Saturday, 9am to 6pm. 580- 35, 78722. (512) 472-5015. houselapidary.com
slabs, cabochons, and 439-4186 or 580-439-5347 NTRocks.com. Shop online Rough foR faCeting
beads, 614 E. 3rd Street. Austin, Texas: Nature’s at CrystalsByNature.com.
Rough foR Cabbing The largest and most com-
(307)-260-6442 or (307)- Treasures 14,000 sq. ft.,
260-6443. Email: gray- campus includes a Retail Pietersite, Seraphinite, petitive selection facet
s r o c k s @ w y o m i n g. c o m Showroom with Minerals, Eudialyte, large new shimp- or cabochon rough in
Facebook: JL Gray Rock Agates, Fossils, Jewelry ments arriving! Namibian the industry. The Source.
Shop. and Unique Gifts. The Rock Blue Petersite, Seraphinite, KNIGHT’S HOUSE OF FINE
Herb’s Lapidary Shop – Yard has mounds of bulk Eudialyte, Chrome Diospide, GEMS. Box 411, Waitsfield,
Route 1, Box 29, South 81 rock lining a path with Siberian Green Nephrite. VT 05673. 802-496-3707
Hwy. Comanche OK 73529. natural-scape pieces to High grade Chrysocolla/ email: knights@madriver.
Southwest Oklahoma’s the Rock Depot that offers Shattuckite from Nambia. com

Now you can reach Thousands of Readers

Worldwide who want to Buy and Sell.
1. Write Your Ad in your email message, or 2. Choose A Category
o Auction o Gemological o Prospecting
3. Choose Number of Insertions
on a separate piece of paper, print or type your ad with decide how many issues you want your ad to run in
a minimum of 25 words. each word, abbreviation or o Beads & Supplies Instruments o rock Shops
and when you want your ad to start and stop. dead-
initial counts as one word. rates are as follows: o Books & Videos o Jewelry & Supplies o rough For Cabbing
o Business o Lapidary Equipment o rough For Faceting lines for ad copy are as follows:
No. of Issues rates (per issue) ISSUE: ADS IN By:
opportunities o Lapidary Supplies o rough For
12 (1 year) .90 per word October August 15
o Cabochons o Minerals Tumbling
6-11 1.00 per word November September 15
o Catalogs o Miscellaneous o Services
1 1.10 per word December October 15
o Collections o Nuggets o Wanted to Buy
All-bold type: Add $15 per issue o Fossils o opals o other January November 15
Standard type + background color: Add $20 per issue o Finished Gems o Preforms & Slabs ���������������� February December 15

4. Fill Out The Form Number of Issues _______ Beginning with the ______________ issue.
ALL ADS MUST BE PAID IN FULL,
IN ADVANCE. Company Name ___________________________________________ Bold: o YES o NO Color Highlight: o YES o NO
Please Print
(MiniMuM charge of 25 words
per ad, per issue.) Contact Name ____________________________________________
Total Enclosed ____________________________________________
Submit your ad and credit
Address _________________________________________________
card payment to:
(Minimum charge of 25 words per ad, per issue.)
PTorrES@BECkETT.CoM
Subject line: rock & Gem ________________________________________________________
claSSifiedS o Check (payable to Rock & Gem) o MC o Visa
City_____________________________________________________
or mail your order form,
ad copy and payment to: Account Number __________________________________________
State________________________ Zip _________________________
rock & Gem claSSifiedS
4635 mcewen rd ________________________________________________________
Phone___________________________________________________
dallaS, tX 75244
CW# _______________________ Exp. Date ___________________
972.448.9131 E-mail___________________________________________________ (last 3 digits of code on back of card)

faX 972.528.5279
Category Heading__________________________________________
all late ads received after
the deadline date will run in
Number of Words _____________ Cents per Word_______________ Signature ________________________________________________
the next issue.

67

R&G Classified Jan17.idml 67 11/29/16 7:36 PM


how Dates
Submit show date information at least four months in advance using the electronic form at www.rockngem.com.
December 2016- January 2017
30-1—HILLSBORO, OREGON:
Wholesale and retail show; Gem
Faire Inc, Washington County
Fairgrounds; 873 NE 34th Ave; Fri.
12-6, Sat. 10-6, Sun. 10-5; Admission:
$7 weekend pass, CHildren free
(ages 0-11); Fine jewelry, precious &
semi-precious gemstones, millions
of beads, crystals, gold & silver,
minerals & much more at manufac-
turer’s prices. Exhibitors from around
the world. Jewelry repair & clean-
ing while you shop. Free hourly
door prizes. ; contact Yooy Nelson,
(503)-252-8300; e-mail:
info@gemfaire.com; Web site:
http://www.gemfaire.com
January 2017
6-8—MESA, ARIZONA: Annual
show; Flagg Mineral Foundation,
Mesa Community College; 1833 W
Southern Avenue; Daily 9-5; Free
Admission; 45th Annual Flagg Gem
and Mineral Show. Free parking
and admission. Free activities for
kids. Displays. Vendors with beads,
fossils, gems, jewelry, lapidary
materials and minerals.; contact
Dana Slaughter, 2952 E Silverbell
Road, San Tan Valley, AZ 85143-
4598, (602)-312-9791; e-mail:
dsminerals@aol.com; Web site:
www.flaggmineralfoundation.com
68 www.rockngem.com
RG0117 Masterrev.indd 68
Mark Your Calendar!
6-8—SANTA 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; Admission: $7
weekend pass, Children free (ages
0-11); Fine jewelry, precious &
semi-precious gemstones, millions
of beads, crystals, gold & silver,
minerals & much more at man-
ufacturer’s prices. Exhibitors from
around the world. 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
13-15—LARGO, FLORIDA: Show
and sale; Pinellas Geological
Society, Largo Cultural Center; 105
Central Park Drive; Fri. 10-5, Sat.
10-5, Sun. 12-5; Free Admission;
contact Leona Feldhausen, 2655
Nebraska Ave #247, Palm Harbor,
FL 34684, (727)-709-3236; e-mail:
sheffieldleona@gmail.com
13-15—SARASOTA, FLORIDA:
Show and sale; Frank Cox
Productions, Sarasota Municipal
Auditorium; 801 N. Tamiami (U.S.
41); Daily 10-5; Admission $5, Under
16 free; Entry is $3 with this listing.;
contact Frank Cox, 755 S. Palm
Ave. #203, Sarasota, FL 34236,
(941)-954-0202; e-mail:
frankcox@comcast.net; Web site:
frankcoxproductions.com
13-15—DEL MAR, CALIFORNIA:
Wholesale and retail show; Gem
Faire Inc, Del Mar Fairgrounds; 2260
Jimmy Durante Blvd; Fri. 12-6, Sat.
10-6, Sun. 10-5; Admission: $7 week-
end pass, Children free (ages 0-11);
Fine jewelry, precious & semi-pre-
cious gemstones, millions of beads,
crystals, gold & silver, minerals &
much more at manufacturer’s prices.
Exhibitors from around the world.
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
14-15—YACHATS, OREGON:
Annual show; Yachats Chamber
of Commerce, Yachats Commons;
4th & Hwy 101; Sat. 10-4, Sun.
10-4; Free Admission; 6th Ever
Yachats Agate Festival. Gemstones,
Fossils, Minerals, Jewelry.; contact
Donna Hirschman, PO Box 550,
Yachats, OR 97498; e-mail:
iamhrisch@yahoo.com; Web site:
www.yachatsagatefestival.com
20 -22— ST. PETERSBURG,
FLORIDA: Show and sale; Frank
Cox Productions, The Coliseum;
525 Fourth Ave. N.; Daily 10-5;
Admission $5, Under 16 Free; Gems,
Jewelry, Crystals, Minerals, Fossils,
Beads. $3 entry with this listing.;
contact Frank Cox, 755 S. Palm
Ave. #203, Sarasota, FL 34236,
(941)-954-0202; e-mail:
frankcox@comcast.net; Web site:
frankcoxproductions.com
11/29/16 9:23 PM
 20 -22— SAN R A FA E L ,
CALIFORNIA: Wholesale and retail
show; Gem Faire Inc, Marin Center;
10 Avenue of the Flags; Fri. 12-6,
Sat. 10-6, Sun. 10-5; Free Admission;
Fine jewelry, precious & semi-pre-
cious gemstones, millions of beads,
crystals, gold & silver, minerals &
much more at manufacturer’s prices.
Exhibitors from around the world.
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

2 1 - 2 1 — N E W T O N ,
MASSACHUSETTS: Mineral
Auction; Boston Mineral Club,
American Legion Nonantum Post;
295 California St.; Sat. 9-5; Free
Admission; The Boston Mineral Club
Annual Mineral Auction features a
voice auction of more than 100 qual-
ity mineral specimens and related
items for every price range. Running
simultaneously, a silent auction of
over 150 flats offers a wide range
of items, from mineral specimens
to lapidary rough, books, maps,
tools, and more.; contact Nathan
Martin, Lexington, MA, (781)-674-
0017; e-mail: rocknate@gmail.com;
Web site: http://www.bostonmineral-
club.org/annual_auction

21-22—FREDERICKSBURG ,
TEXAS: Annual show; Fredericksurg
Rockhounds, Lady Bird Johnson
Park; The Pavilion; Sat. 9-6, Sun.
10-4; Free Admission; Hourly silent
auction, hourly free door prizes,
outstanding raffle prizes, demon-

Continued on Next Page

69

RG0117 Masterrev.indd 69 11/29/16 9:23 PM

 strations of gem faceting, rock cut-
ting and polishing. Dealers from
throughout the southwest. ; con-
tact Jim Gedeon, 1156 Old Willow
Rd. , Fredericksburg, TX 78624,
(830)-456-5419; e-mail:
gedeonjim1@gmail.com
21-22—DELAND, FLORIDA:
Show and sale; Tomoka Gem &
Mineral Society,Inc., Volusia County
Fairgrounds; 3150 E. New York Ave;
Sat. 10-6, Sun. 10-5; Admission
$4; The Tomoka Gem And Mineral
Society presents our 46th Annual
Jewelry, Gem and Mineral, Fossils
Show and Sale Volusia County
Fairgrounds, Tommy Lawrence
Building, State Route 44, Deland,
FL (1/2 Mile East of I-4, Exit 118) ;
contact Susan Morris, (386)-843-
0152; e-mail: smorris961@aol.com;
Web site: wwwtomokagms.org
27-29—TYLER, TEXAS: Annual
show; East Texas Gem and
Mineral Society, Rose Garden
Center; 420 Rose Park Dr; Fri.
9-5, Sat. 10-6, Sun. 10-5; Adults
$3, Students $1; Grand Prize draw-
ing for both Adults and Students,
Hourly Door Prizes, Silent Auction,
Wheel of Fortune, Show Cases.
We have Outstanding Dealers offer-
ing Gemstones, Jewelry, Fossils,
Minerals, Geodes, and lapidary
arts demonstrations. The Nationally
Recognized Rock Food Table will be
on Display the entire show.; contact
Keith Harmon, TX, (903)-316-2967;
e-mail: keithharmon19@yahoo.com;
Web site: etgms.com
70 www.rockngem.com
RG0117 Masterrev.indd 70
January 2017-February 2017
26-12—TUCSON, ARIZONA:
Annual show; Eons Expos, Corner
of I-10 and 22nd Street; 600 West
22nd Street; Daily 9-6, Fri. -, Sat. -,
Sun. -; Free Admission; Public wel-
come; Located on the Green shuttle
route; the 7th Annual 22nd Street
Gem, Mineral & Fossil Show is in a
colossal 250-yard heated tent and
features dinosaur exhibits as well as
minerals, fossils, meteorites, jewelry,
cabochons, beads, carvings, silver,
gold, coins, findings, lapidary, relat-
ed art, tools, equipment, rough, dis-
plays, books, and more. Retail and
wholesale. ; contact Heather Grana,
235 1st Street, Keyport, NJ 07735;
e-mail: Heather@EonsExpos.com;
Web site: www.22ndStreet.Show
February 2017
3-5—ROSEVILLE, CALIFORNIA:
Wholesale and retail show; Gem
Faire Inc, Placer County Fairgrounds;
800 All America City Blvd; Fri. 12-6,
Sat. 10-6, Sun. 10-5; Admission:
$7 weekend pass, Children free
(ages 0-11); Fine jewelry, precious &
semi-precious gemstones, millions
of beads, crystals, gold & silver,
minerals & much more at man-
ufacturer’s prices. Exhibitors from
around the world. 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
4 - 5 — MERRIT T, ISL AND,
FLORIDA: Annual show; Central
Brevard Rock and Gem Club,
Kiwanis Recreation Center; 951
Kiwanis Island Park Rd, 951 Kiwanis
Island Park Rd; Sat. 10-5, Sun. 10-5;
Admission $5, Children free 11 and
under with adult; Pearls, findings,
collector minerals, slabs and rocks
for cabbing, finished cabs, hand-
made jewelry by several artisans,
commercially made bracelets, rings,
necklaces and watches. ; contact
Roz Mestre, 1867 Longleaf Rd,
Cocoa, FL 32926, (321)-431-0159;
e-mail: roz.mestre@att.net; Web
site: www.centralbrevardgems.org
9 -12—TUCSON, ARIZONA:
Annual show; Tucson Gem and
Mineral Society, Inc., Tucson
Convention Center; 260 S. Church
Avenue ; Thu. 10-6, Fri. 10-6, Sat.
10-6, Sun. 10-5; Admission $13 ,
Children 14 and under free with a
paying adult; 63rd Annual Tucson
Gem and Mineral Show® features:
Exhibits from private collections and
museums from around the world.
Lecture series based on the theme
of the Show “Mineral Treasures
of the Midwest.” Jr. Ed. Area that
provides children with a wealth of
mineral and earth science informa-
tion. Sat. Night Program includes a
silent auction, voice auction, slide
competition, awards ceremony, and
buffet. This is an event that has
something for everyone, from the
serious collector to the novice; min-
erals, jewelry, fossils, equipment,
books, and more! The non-profit
Tucson Gem and Mineral Society
uses the proceeds from the Show to
further their mission; To encourage
interest and study in geology, min-
eralogy, lapidary, and allied earth
sciences.; contact TGMS Office,
P.O. Box 42588, Tucson, AZ 85733,
(520)-322-5773; e-mail:
tgms@tgms.org; Web site:
www.tgms.org
Continued on Page 72
11/29/16 9:23 PM
 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,
Specimens, Jewelry and Books
on Montana Agate.
Harmon’s Agate & Silver, Inc.
11295 Hwy. 16
Savage, MT 59262

www.agatemontana.com

MINERALS, FOSSILS, POLISHED

STONES & GEMS
New & Used books on: Geology, Rocks & Minerals,
Fossils, Gems, Healing Stones, Caves & Cave Exploring.
BCA Minerals, E. Arlington Antique Center,
E. Arlington, Vermont. Open 7 days 10am-5pm.

www.LotOTumbler.com
Belt Inc. • 2746 Hoffman Dr. • NW Owatonna, MN 55060
(507) 451-2254 • Molly1385LTS@Yahoo.com

WHOLESALE
OFFER
M . E .T . E . O . R . I .T . E . S Shortwave & Longwave UV
Rare Rocks From Space Field Light $59.99!
I have many excellent specimens at great prices.
Send for a FREE paper list, OR sign-up for
FREE periodic e-lists at:. www.UVTools.com/RGPromo
brMeteorites_list under Yahoo-groups.
Blaine Reed - Meteorites
Phone order: 512-590-4949
P.O. Box 1141, Delta, CO 81416

www.marzeetutorials.com

WAX PATTERNS
AU-RUS Wax Patterns
5500+ Patterns Online
302 Main Street, Kellogg, Idaho 83837
A Gem and Mineral Advenure like no other!
(208) 786-9301
website: www.auruswaxpatterns.com http://topazmountainadventures.com
844-77-TOPAZ

1216 Shopper single pg.indd 69 11/1/16 9:35 PM

 10-12—QUARTZSITE, ARIZONA:
Annual show; Quartzsite Gold
Show, QIA; 235 N Ironwood; Fri. 9-4,
Sat. 9-4, Sun. 9-3; Admission $5,
Chidlren free; There will be selling
& demonstrating gold prospecting
equipment, nuggets, jewelry, coins
and more. There will also be speak-
ers, demonstrations, questions and
answers for metal detectors and
other prospecting equipment. Door
Prizes including gold nuggets and
metal detector. ; contact Richard
Trusty, PO Box 4051, Quartzsite,
AZ 85359, (928)-927-5479;
e-mail: QuartzsiteAZGoldShow@
gmail.com; Web site:
quartzsiteazgoldshow.com
10-12—MELBOURNE, FLORIDA:
Show and sale; Frank Cox
Productions, Melbourne Auditorium;
625 E. Hibiscus Blvd.; Daily 10-5;
Admission $5, Under 16 Free;
Gems, Jewelry, Crystals, Minerals,
Fossils, Beads. $3 entry with this
listing.; contact Frank Cox, 755
S. Palm Ave. #203, Sarasota, FL
34236, (941)-954-0202; e-mail:
frankcox@comcast.net; Web site:
frankcoxproductions.com
11-12 — OA K HARBOR,
WASHINGTON: 52nd annual ;
Whidbey Island Gem Club, Oak
Harbor Senior Center; 51 SE
Jerome; Sat. 9-5, Sun. 9-4; free; We
are honored to be hosting local art-
ist’s rare and one of a kind jewelry.
Also dealers with spectacular earth
made gem’s and precious mineral
specimens as well as pre-cut slabs
to make your own masterpiece at
home. There is also a silent auction
for rough material’s and a spinning
72 www.rockngem.com
RG0117 Masterrev.indd 72
wheel for the kids. Watch live dem-
onstrations and view club members
exhibits. All visitor’s get a free raffle
ticket for door prizes. These consist
of all hand made jewelry donated
by club members. ; contact Keith
Ludemann, (360)-675-1837; e-mail:
rock9@whidbey.net
17-19 — INDIANAPOLIS,
INDIANA: Annual show; Indiana
State Museum and Historic Sites,
Indiana State Museum; 650 West
Washington Street; Daily 10-5;
Adults $13, Seniors $12, Children
$8.50; GeoFest, the 15th Annual
Indiana State Museum Fossil, Gem
and Mineral Show. Regional clubs,
and adult and kid’s activities in a
beautiful museum building. ; con-
tact Peggy Fisherkeller, 650 West
Washington Street, Indianapolis,
IN 46204, (317)-232-7172; e-mail:
pfisherkeller@indianamuseum.org;
Web site: www.indianamuseum.org
17-19—KIRKWOOD (ST. LOUIS),
MISSOURI: Annual show; Cabin
Fever Productions, inc., Kirkwood
Community Center; 111 South
Geyer; Fri. 4-9, Sat. 10-6, Sun.
10-4; Adults $3, Seniors/Students
$2, Children free under 13; Rocks,
minerals, meteorites and fossils for
everyone from novice to expert col-
lectors. Finished jewelry and loose
gems add sparkle to your cold, dull
winter. Unusual and unique finds.
Metaphysical. ; contact Melanie
Vick, 1801 Barbary Way, Swansea,
IL 62226, (618)-973-7222; e-mail:
cabinfeverprod@aol.com; Web site:
cabinfeverprod.com
17-19 — SANTA BARBARA,
CALIFORNIA: Wholesale and retail
show; Gem Faire Inc, Earl Warren
Showgrounds; 3400 Calle Real; Fri.
12-6, Sat. 10-6, Sun. 10-5; Admission:
$7 weekend pass, Children free
(ages 0-11); Fine jewelry, precious &
semi-precious gemstones, millions
of beads, crystals, gold & silver,
minerals & much more at man-
ufacturer’s prices. Exhibitors from
around the world. 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
17-26—INDIO, CALIFORNIA:
Annual show; San Gorgonio Mineral
& Gem Society, Riverside County
Fair & Naional Date Festival; 82-503
Hwy 111, Gem & Mineral Building;
Fri. 10-10; Adults $9, Seniors $8,
Students $7, Children free under 5;
display cases, free polished rock
for children, demonstration booth,
geode cutting, 16 retail dealers sell-
ing fine jewelry, precious & semi-
precious gemstones, beads, crys-
tals, minerals, fossils,geodes and
much more.; contact Bert Grisham,
1029 N. 8th St., Banning, CA
92220, (951)-849-1674; e-mail:
bert67@verizon.net
18-19—ANTIOCH, CALIFORNIA:
Annual show; Antioch Lapidary
Club, Contra Costa County
Fairgrounds; 1201 West 10th Street;
Sat. 10-5, Sun. 10-5; Admission $5,
Children free; Jewelry, gems, find-
ings, supplies, auction, grab bags,
Continued on Page 74
11/29/16 9:24 PM
 73

RG0117 Masterrev.indd 73 11/29/16 7:16 PM

 exhibits and hands on projects for
kids. ; contact Brenda Miguel, 425
Fulton Shipyard Rd., Antioch, CA
94509, (925)-301-6957; e-mail:
brenda.miguel@yahoo.com; Web
site: www.antiochlapidaryclub.com
18-19—ALBANY, NEW YORK:
Annual show; New York State
Museum, New York State
Museum; 222 Madison Ave; Sat.
10-5; Admission $5, Children
free; contact Michael Hawkins,
3140 CEC, Albany, NY 12230,
( 5 18 ) - 4 8 6 - 2 011 ; e-mail:
michael.hawkins@nysed.gov; Web
site: http://www.nysm.nysed.gov/
2 4 - 2 6 — C O S TA 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; Admission: $7
weekend pass, Children free (ages
0-11); Fine jewelry, precious &
semi-precious gemstones, millions
of beads, crystals, gold & silver,
minerals & much more at manufac-
turer’s prices. Exhibitors from around
the world. Jewelry repair & clean-
ing while you shop. Free hourly
door prizes.; contact Yooy Nelson,
(503)-252-8300; e-mail:
info@gemfaire.com; Web site:
http://www.gemfaire.com
24-26—PORTLAND, OREGON:
Annual show; Oregon Agate and
Mineral Society, OMSI (Oregon
Museum of Science and Industry);
1945 SE Water Avenue; Fri. 9-5,
Sat. 9-5, Sun. 9-5; Free Admission;
Oregon Agate & Mineral Society’s
Annual Rock Show is a free event
74 www.rockngem.com
RG0117 Masterrev.indd 74
with Demonstrations, Displays-
showcasing lapidary and creativity
skills, Jewelry, Kid’s Corner, Rock,
Mineral, and Slab Sales, “Rock”
Food Table, Touch Table, and much
more! ; contact Sonia Watt, 2372
SE 46th Avenue, Portland, OR 97215;
e-mail: justonemorerock@yahoo.com
25-25—LAKELAND, FLORIDA:
Annual show; Bone Valley Gem,
Mineral & Fossil Society, Inc., First
Presbyterian Church; 175 Lake
Hollingsworth Dr; Sat. 9-4:30; Adults
$3, Students/Children free; adults
$3, students, children and teach-
ers free; door prizes, Spin & Win
Mineral Wheel, kids’ Treasure Dig,
demonstrations, educational dis-
plays, silent and Chinese auctions,
more than 30 dealers, rocks, min-
erals, fossils, jewelry, gifts, hobby
supplies, lapidary demonstrations,
wire wrapping, cabochon making.;
contact Kim Price, (863)-412-9156;
e-mail: IBVGMFS@gmail.com;
Web site: www.bonevalley.net
25-26—JACKSON , MISSISSIPPI:
Annual show; Mississippi Gem
and Mineral Society , Mississippi
Fairgrounds ; Trade Mart Building
; Sat. 9-6, Sun. 10-5; Adults $6,
Students $3; Gems, minerals, fos-
sils, beads and jewelry. Educational
display, free demonstration, jewelry
and cabochon making, wire wrap-
ping , Flynt Knapping, kids activi-
ties, Grand prize raffle and hourly
door prizes ; contact Leslie Lane,
( 6 01 ) - 3 4 4 - 8 17 1 ; e-mail:
rock2lanes@gmail.com; Web site:
http://missgem.org
11/29/16 9:24 PM
 25-26—VALLEJO, CALIFORNIA:
Annual show; Vallejo Gem & Mineral
Society, Solano County Fairgrounds,
Mc Cormack Hall; 900 Fairgrounds
Dr.,; Sat. 10-5, Sun. 10-5; Adults/
Seniors $5, Children under 12 free;
Artisan Dealers, over 90 tables of
gems, Minerals, Crystals, jade,
turquoise, amber, fossils, meteor-
ites, beads, amber, fossils, rough
rock and slabs. Silent auction, grab
bags, drawing prizes. ; contact Dan
Wolke, 255 Essex Way, Benicia,
CA 94510, (707)-334-2950; e-mail:
dncwolke@sbcglobal.net; Web site:
vjgems.org

25-26—PASADENA, TEXAS:
Annual show; Clear Lake Gem
& Mineral Society, Pasadena
Convention Center; 7902 Fairmont
Parkway; Sat. 10-6, Sun. 10-5;
Adults/Seniors $7, Students $3,
Children: free; Come see and learn
about rare fossils, rocks, and exqui-
site gems! Watch demonstrations
of lapidary – the art of cutting,
polishing, and engraving precious
stones. Enjoy shopping with over
30 vendors who will be offering a
variety including books, tools, min-
eral and fossil specimens, jewel-
ry, and so much more! Kids can
rock-out in our hands-on, interactive
area where children of all ages can
learn about geology, fossils, dino-
saurs, and more! Explore, shop,
and learn at the Clear Lake Gem
and Mineral Society Annual Show! ;
contact Sara Chelette, Houston, TX;
e-mail: temp3@mflan.com; Web site:
www.clgms.org

Continued on Page 79
75

RG0117 Masterrev.indd 75 12/1/16 11:26 AM


2016 EDITORIAL INDEX
Volume 46 • January-December 2016
BIOGRAPHY
A Rockhound’s 80-Year Odyssey,
Part 1/Sep.
A Rockhound’s 80-Year Odyssey,
Part 1/Oct.
A Rockhound’s 80-Year Odyssey,
Part 1/Nov.
A Rockhound’s 80-Year Odyssey,
Part 1/Dec.
FIELD TRIPS
COLORADO
Table Mountain Zeolites/Jan.
Book Cliffs Barite/Jan.
MARYLAND
Maryland Turritella Fossils/Apr.
MINNESOTA
Minnesota “Rock Crosses”/Aug.
MONTANA
Crystal Park, Montana/June
NEVADA
Goldfield’s Gems/May
Garnet Hill, Nevada/Aug.
NEW MEXICO
Jemez Marine Fossils/Apr.
OREGON
A Thunder Egg Mining Adventure/Aug.
GOLD
The Age of Gold/Jan.
World Gold Panning Championships/Jan.
MINERALS
The Great Goethite-Limonite Debate/Jan.
Hiddenite Emerald/Feb.
Morrisonite Jasper/Feb.
Minerals of Bisbee, Arizona/Mar.
Adding to Your Carbonate Suite/Mar.
Madagascar Ocean Jasper/Mar.
Amazing Amazonite/Apr.
Tsumeb: Namibia’s Mineral Paradise/Apr.
The Copper Sulfides/May
The Carbon Mineral Challenge/May
The Appeal of Siderite/May
Royal Road Turquoise/May
Smithsonite/June
Utah Iron/June
The Varieties of Beryl/June
Copper, Part 1/July
The World of Rhodochrosite/July
Prudent Man Agate/July
Mineral Royalty/Aug.
Copper, Part 2/Aug.
Blue John Stone/Aug.
Topaz/Sep.
Colorado’s Last Chance Mine/Sep.
Blue Wrinkle Lapis/Oct.
Pyrite: The Stone That Strikes Fire/Nov.
North Carolina Minerals/Nov.
West Coast Jade/Dec.
COLLECTING
A Nevada Turquoise Adventure/Jan.
Seeking Agates in Scotland/Apr.
Outback Adventure/June
Journey to Antarctica/June
Rock Collecting in Morocco/Oct.
Montana Sapphire Bonanza!/Nov.
Collecting Minerals in Estonia/Nov.
Lake City, Colorado/Dec.
Guatemala’s Secret Minerals/Dec.
2016 AGATE EXPO
Linda Marie Plume Agate/Jan.
The Mexican Agate Story/Feb.
Agates with Inclusions/Mar.
Lava Cap Thunder Eggs/Apr.
China’s Agate Deposits/May
Big Band Theory/June
Coyamito Agate/July
An Ode to Agates/Oct.
LAPIDARY AND GEMS
Faceting: The Three Muses/Jan.
Natural vs. Enhanced Gem Materials,
Part 2/Jan.
Rock Chip Necklaces/Jan.
“King of Hearts”/Feb.
Working with Fordite/Feb.
Caribbean Larimar/July
Geologist-Artist Susan Judy/July
Faceting and Cabbing with Glue/Oct.
Jade: A Gem for Every Lapidary/Dec.
An American Carver in China/Dec.
ROC K & GE M
Customer Service
TO ORDER A SUBSCRIPTION: For fastest service,
subscribe online using our secure server at www.beckett.
CLUB WORKSHOP SERIES
Shared Museum Space/Feb. com. Or send a check or money order for $27.95 for 12
monthly issues to Rock & Gem Subscriptions, 4635 McEwen
ECO-FRIENDLY JEWELER
Road, Dallas, TX 75244.
Recycling Bench Scrap in the Studio,
Part 3/Feb. IF YOU HAVE PAID FOR YOUR SUBSCRIPTION
BUT STILL RECEIVE A BILL: The check and the
FOSSILS
Florissant Fossil Beds invoice may have crossed in the mail. It may take up to four
National Monument/Feb. weeks to process your check, so if you wrote the check less
Indroda Dinosaur and Fossil Park/Sep.
than four weeks ago, disregard the bill you received. If you
GEOLOGY paid for your subscription more than four weeks before you
White Sands National Monument/Feb.
received another bill, send a copy of your cancelled check
Natural Bridges/Oct.
along with your bill to Rock & Gem, 4635 McEwen Road,
MUSEUMS Dallas, TX 75244 or e-mail subscriptions@beckett.com with
David Friend Mineral Hall/Feb.
the copies attached.
Bringing Back a State Treasure/May
The Denver Museum of Nature and TO SOLVE A SU BSCRI PTION PROBLEM:
Science/July
Remember, it may take up to eight weeks to change an
The Deming Luna Mimbres Museum/Sep.
Yale’s New David Friend Mineral Hall/Oct.
address and 6-8 weeks to start a new subscription. Please
give us time to get your magazine to you, and if it still
CHILDREN
doesn’t arrive, please e-mail us at subscriptions@beckett.
Rock & Gem Kids/Jan.
Rock & Gem Kids/Feb. com or call (866) 287-9383. If you are receiving duplicate
Rock & Gem Kids/Mar. subscriptions, e-mail subscriptions@beckett.com.
Rock & Gem Kids/Apr.
RENEWALS: It can take 6-8 weeks to process your
Rock & Gem Kids/May
Rock & Gem Kids/June renewal, so don’t wait! Renew early so you don’t miss an
Rock & Gem Kids/July issue. You can renew online at www.beckett.com using the
Rock & Gem Kids/Aug.
Inet number listed on the address label of your magazine,
Rock & Gem Kids/Sep.
Rock & Gem Kids/Oct. or just return the renewal form with your check or money
Rock & Gem Kids/Nov. order. Please do not send cash! If you renew your subscrip-
Rock & Gem Kids/Dec.
tion before your expiration date, we’ll extend your existing
MISCELLANEOUS subscription. Providing your Inet number will ensure that a
The Saga of Abel Buell/Feb.
duplicate subscription will not be entered. You won’t lose
The Importance of Field Trips/Mar.
The Bristol Mine/Mar.
any issues by renewing early, and you’ll guarantee that you
Science Olympiad/Mar. won’t miss any!
International Rock Pals/Apr.
REPLACEMENT COPIES: Send a photo of your dam-
Gem Village, Colorado/Aug.
Memories of the Mines/Sep. aged copy and a request for a replacement to subcrip-
The Games Miners Play/Nov. tions@beckett.com or Rock & Gem, 4635 McEwen Road,
My First Tucson Show/Dec.
Dallas, TX 75244.
A Rockhound Remembered/Dec.
BACK ISSUES: Back issues can be ordered at www.
beckett.com.
MOVING? Have the Inet number listed on your maga-
zine label ready and call (866) 287-9383 or e-mail subscrip-
tions@beckett.com. It can take 6-8 weeks to get an address
change processed, so make sure you contact your local post
office and ask them to forward all your mail.
HOW TO PLACE AN AD IN Rock & Gem: Please
contact Brian Roberts via e-mail at broberts@rockngem.
com or at (623) 327-3525.
TO SELL Rock & Gem IN YOUR STORE: Please
contact Amit Sharma via e-mail at asharma@beckett.com
or at (972) 448-9003.
VISIT US AT www.rockngem.com.
 OPAL SPECIAL:
CPDG6-1OZ & CPDG6-3OZ: DISCOVERED IN 1948 DORA GULLY, OR 12 MILE OPALFIELD, IS STILL A RELIABLE
PRODUCER OF GEMS TODAY AND IS KNOWN FOR HEALTHY WHITE BASED OPAL. WHAT THIS ISN’T IS EXPENSIVE
TOP GEM OPAL, BUT INSTEAD AN AFFORDABLE GRADE WITH LARGE/MEDIUM SIZED PIECES OF OPAL WITH THIN
RED/BLUE/GREEN/YELLOW BROADFLASH FIRE LAYERS. YOU CAN HAVE LOTS OF FUN CABBING OR CARVING
WITHOUT SPENDING A FORTUNE AND STILL CREATE A VERY NICE FINISHED PRODUCT. 1 OUNCE $70.00 OR 3
OUNCES $165.00 PLUS $10.00 SHIPPING. THE PHOTO IS OF A 650 GRAM SAMPLE FROM THIS OPAL GRADE.
SCALE IN PHOTO=20MM. QUESTIONS? CALL 406-651-4947.

Noodling machine working at Dora

Gully opalfield. Mining waste rock
is unloaded into the hopper on the
left of photo and run on a conveyor
belt, through a small dark room
(on right) with UV lamps, where the
opals fluoresce a pale blue and are
saved. This substantially improves
opal recovery. Unfortunately
scorpions also fluoresce…..

Don’t hesitate to give me a shout if you have ANY questions 406-651-4947 or 406-208-2577
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

RG0117 Masterrev.indd 77 11/29/16 7:21 PM


Index to Advertisers
Agate Days .................................................................. 71
All Rockhounds ............................................................ 27
Amateur Geologist ................................................. 35, 44
American Opal ............................................................. 51
Arrowhead Lapidary & Supply ...................................... 58
Au-Rus Wax Patterns ................................................... 71
BCA Minerals ............................................................... 71
Barnhouse ................................................................... 35
Barranca Diamond ....................................................... 79
Blaine Reed. ................................................................ 71
Cabstar ........................................................................ 71
Copper Agates ............................................................. 71
Covington Engineering ............................................. 9, 35
Craftstones .................................................................... 7
Crystal Cave ................................................................ 71
Deleware Mineralogical Society. .................................. 45
Deming Gem and Mineral Society. ............................... 45
Desert Gardens. ........................................................... 53
Diana Hanson. ............................................................. 71
Diamond Pacific Tool Corp. .......................................... C4
Easy Steps Video ......................................................... 64
Ed Johnson.................................................................. 73
Emeralds Rare ............................................................... 9
Feather River Lapidary ................................................. 44
Foothills ....................................................................... 63
John E. Garsow Gems & Minerals ................................ 43
Gem & Lapidary Wholesalers, Inc. ............................... 18
Gem Faire, Inc. ............................................................ 71
Gilman’s ...................................................................... 38
Golden Eagle ............................................................... 77
Highland Park .............................................................. C3
Hughes Associates ...................................................... 74
Jarvi Tool Co. .............................................................. 63
Jesco........................................................................... 74
Johnson Brothers ........................................................ 63
JS Gems ...................................................................... 75
Kingsley North, Inc............................................. 3, 19, 64
Knights ........................................................................ 71
Kristalle ....................................................................... 42
Lasco Diamond Products ............................................. 35
78
LotOTumbler ................................................................ 71
Lortone, Inc. ................................................................ 42
Montana Sapphire ....................................................... 44
Martin Zinn Expositions, LLC.......................................... 5
MarZee Lapidary Tuturial DVD’s................................... 71
Mid Tennessee Gem .................................................... 44
Mineralab .................................................................... 63
Mine Rat ...................................................................... 73
Minnesota Lapidary Supply Corp............................ 20, 58
Mississippi Gulf. .......................................................... 40
Museum Rocks ............................................................ 53
New Era....................................................................... 75
Optima Gems......................................................... 62, 71
Pioneer Gem Corp........................................................ 58
Raytech Industries ....................................................... 21
Rock Warehouse.......................................................... 71
Royal Peacock ............................................................. 77
Joseph Stachura Co, Inc. ............................................. 40
San Juan Gems ........................................................... 51
Shows of Integrity........................................................ 60
Superior Agates ........................................................... 71
South Pacific ............................................................... 51
Stevens ....................................................................... 38
The Gem Shop ....................................................... 45, 51
The Mineral Gallery...................................................... 71
Tikka Opals ................................................................. 73
Tom Courtright ............................................................ 44
Topaz Mountain Adventures......................................... 71
Treasures of the Earth ................................................. 20
Tru-Square Metal Products .......................................... 19
Tucson Gem&Mineral .................................................. 55
Tyson Wells ................................................................. 27
Ultra Tec ...................................................................... C2
UV Tools ...................................................................... 64
The Universe Collection/Sylmar ................................... 60
The Village Smithy Opals, Inc....................................... 77
Vision Research. .......................................................... 45
Whittmore Durgin Glass Co. ......................................... 71
William Holland School ................................................ 21
ROC K & GE M
Customer Service
TO ORDER A SUBSCRIPTION: For fastest service,
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
paid for your subscription more than four weeks before you
received another bill, send a copy of your cancelled check
along with your bill to Rock & Gem, 4635 McEwen Road,
Dallas, TX 75244 or e-mail subscriptions@beckett.com with
the copies attached.
TO SOLVE A SU BSCRI PTION PROBLEM:
Remember, it may take up to eight weeks to change an
address and 6-8 weeks to start a new subscription. Please
give us time to get your magazine to you, and if it still
doesn’t arrive, please e-mail us at subscriptions@beckett.
com or call (866) 287-9383. If you are receiving duplicate
subscriptions, e-mail subscriptions@beckett.com.
RENEWALS: It can take 6-8 weeks to process your
renewal, so don’t wait! Renew early so you don’t miss an
issue. You can renew online at www.beckett.com using the
Inet number listed on the address label of your magazine,
or just return the renewal form with your check or money
order. Please do not send cash! If you renew your subscrip-
tion before your expiration date, we’ll extend your existing
subscription. Providing your Inet number will ensure that a
duplicate subscription will not be entered. You won’t lose
any issues by renewing early, and you’ll guarantee that you
won’t miss any!
REPLACEMENT COPIES: Send a photo of your dam-
aged copy and a request for a replacement to subcrip-
tions@beckett.com or Rock & Gem, 4635 McEwen Road,
Dallas, TX 75244.
BACK ISSUES: Back issues can be ordered at www.
beckett.com.
MOVING? Have the Inet number listed on your maga-
zine label ready and call (866) 287-9383 or e-mail subscrip-
tions@beckett.com. It can take 6-8 weeks to get an address
change processed, so make sure you contact your local post
office and ask them to forward all your mail.
HOW TO PLACE AN AD IN Rock & Gem: Please
contact Bill Dumas via e-mail at bdumas@beckett.com or
at 972-448-9147.
TO SELL Rock & Gem IN YOUR STORE: Please
contact Amit Sharma via e-mail at asharma@beckett.com
or at (972) 448-9003.
VISIT US AT www.rockngem.com.
 25-26—PLAINVIEW, TEXAS:
Annual show; Hi-Plains Gem and
Mineral Society, Ollie Liner Center;
2000 S Columbia; Sat. 10-6, Sun.
10-5; Admission $3; Slabs, fossils,
beads, jewelry, geode cutting, sil-
versmith, demonstrations, silent
auctions, kids wheel, snack bar;
contact Bobby Shipman, 1616
Ennis St., Plainview, TX 79072,
(806)-685-3748; e-mail:
bobcat22@suddenlink.net

25 -26 — SAN FRANCISCO,

CALIFORNIA: Show and sale;
Pacific Crystal Guild, Fort Mason
Center; 2 Marina Blvd; Sat. 10-6, Sun.
10-4; Admission $12, Children free;
Get ready for the 30th Anniversary of
the San Francisco Crystal Fair. Fort
Mason Center is hosting this crys-
tal and gem extravaganza.Vendors
from Asia, Europe, and Africa (as
well as California artisans) will have
awe-inspiring products. Minerals,
gems, beads, jewelry -an amaz-
ing array of merchandise, plus for
your delight and entertainment, you
can meet up with healers, psychics,
aura readers, and get a good mas-
sage ; contact Jerry Tomlinson, PO
Box 1371, Sausalito, CA 94966,
(415)-383-7837; e-mail:
jerry@crystalfair.com; Web site:
www.crystalfair.com

79

RG0117 Masterrev.indd 79 11/29/16 9:25 PM

 on the rocks
Changes in Store for 2017 Shows
Formerly the Pima County Courthouse, this fine structure will house the
UA Mineral Museum and much more.
W here has the time gone? It seems like
2016 just got started, and now we’re on
the doorstep of 2017. Maybe Mother Earth has
sped up time without us realizing it! All I know
is that there is not enough time each day to do
all I plan to do. One good thing about this is
that mineral shows seem to come along at a
quicker pace.
In 2017, you’ll notice some pretty impor-
tant changes taking place on the mineral show
scene. In Denver, for instance, the big Ramada
Plaza-Denver Central Hotel show run by Mar-
tin Zinn Expositions has been sold and will
move. It will be interesting to see what effect
that move will have. Some of the dealers in the
Ramada Plaza show have already made plans
to move to the Coliseum Show or the Fine
Mineral Show.
As it is today, there are five shows that are
fairly close together in Denver. The Original
Denver Gem and Mineral Show™, held in the
Denver Mart (Interstate 25 and 58th Street)
by the Greater Denver Area Gem and Mineral
Council, is the anchor show. The other four
shows are close by. The excellent Fine Min-
eral Show in Golden is just off Interstate 70, 18
miles southwest of the Denver Mart. The Zinn
Exposition Show is in the Ramada Plaza, two
80 www.rockngem.com
One of the more spectacular exhibits in the UA collection consists of
wonderful gold specimens.
miles south on I-25. The Eons Expos’ Denver
Coliseum Mineral, Fossil and Gem Show is in
the Coliseum, southeast of the Ramada, and
across the road and railroad tracks from the
Ramada is the Quality Inn show.
Visitors often use a shuttle service, courtesy
of the show promoters, to move from one show
to another, since parking can be a problem. But
the Ramada Plaza show will be moving east,
off I-70. The Coliseum show, big as it is, will be
enlarged, with a nearby building designated as
an annex to the Coliseum. The Denver Gem
and Mineral Show and the Fine Mineral Show
remain as they were.
In Tucson, there are some new doings, as
well. One of the biggest shows there is the Zinn
Expositions Show, held in the Hotel Tucson
City Center, formerly the Inn Suites. Martin
Zinn has turned over this show to his excellent
show manager Laura Delano, who is superbly
suited for maintaining that excellent show. But
a change in hotel ownership will have some
consequences.
The most significant change at Hotel Tucson
City Center is parking, a perennial problem
at most shows. If you get to a show early, you
can usually find a parking spot, but on the
weekends parking is at a premium. The big dirt
by BOB JONES
parking lot on the north side of Hotel Tucson
City Center, which has made this show easily
accessible, has been sold to the U-Haul Co.
and parking there will no longer be possible.
An offsite parking area has been acquired and
a shuttle service will carry visitors from the
offsite parking area to the hotel.
Another potential problem is the construc-
tion of a wall along the south side of the Hotel
Tucson City Center property. Just how this will
affect parking for visitors and dealers and the
movement of collectors among nearby shows
remains to be seen.
The other change I’ve noticed in mineral
shows is far subtler: It’s the mineral market
itself. In the last couple of decades, the min-
eral market has been sailing along like there’s
no tomorrow. Prices continued to escalate as
quantities of new finds of minerals kept pace
with the burgeoning market. New sources of
minerals seemed endless. With the flood of
specimens from China and specimen produc-
tion from new African localities, the island of
Madagascar, and Southeast Asia, dealers were
well supplied with new and exciting stocks of
minerals, which kept collectors excited and
eager. All this was fine as long as the economy
was on the upside.
Rock & Gem
 But the general U.S. economy has gone stag-
nant, with a growth rate of only about 1% a
year. This has a huge trickle-down effect on
the buying power of most mineral collectors.
It is difficult to estimate the exact impact this
has had on the mineral specimen market, but
it is obviously a negative factor.
Mineral collectors are being more selective
in what they buy. In talking with dealers, I
find that more collectors are asking for a dis-
count or better price on a specimen. “Can you
do better than that?” is a common question.
Offers to do a partial trade for a mineral or the
request for “more time to pay” has a slowing
effect on the market, as well.
While these significant changes are hap-
pening at shows in Denver and Tucson, there Arizona is world famous for its wulfenite deposits, and the UA collection reflects this.

is also a very exciting positive change hap-

pening in Tucson. The University of Arizona
Mineral Museum, currently housed in the
Flandrau Science Center & Planetarium on
the university campus, is on the move!
If you’ve had the pleasure of seeing the UA
collection of world minerals, which is open to
the public, you know it is really quite superb.
During the entire Tucson mineral event in
February, the staff of the Mineral Museum
arranges a very special lecture and solicits
loans of fine specimens for an exceptional
exhibit of minerals. This exhibit is open to
the public and remains on display throughout
the year.
The big change in Tucson involves the
relocation of the UA mineral collection. The
Flandrau Science Center is not easily acces-
sible to visitors, so Pima County officials and
university staff have taken action.
County officials have moved out of the
original Pima County Courthouse building,
located on Church Street in the center of Tuc-
son. The county showed remarkable foresight
by offering to lease this amazing facility to the
university.
You may have noticed this huge, domed,
three-story, pink building that looks like a
cathedral. It is just around the corner from
City Hall. Across the front of the building is
an imposing colonnade that encloses a lovely,
grassy courtyard. Cradling this courtyard
and colonnade is a U-shaped, three-story,
76,000-square-foot structure.
When the county offered to lease the build-
ing to the UA and the Western National Park
Association, both organizations jumped at the
chance. The National Park Association runs
gift shops in all the Western national parks,
in which maps, books and gifts are sold. They
are currently located in Oro Valley, well out
of downtown Tucson. In the new setting, this
group can operate 24/7, all year.
The university staff, particularly Bob
Downs, head of the Department of Miner-
alogy, saw the potential of such a location
for many mineral-related activities, includ-
ing increased accessibility to the museum.
During the annual Tucson gem and min-
eral shows, the university can hold special
events in the venue, which is only six blocks
from the Main Show in the Convention
Center.
The university staff, working with Bob and
a volunteer committee, hope to develop a
Center for Mineralogy! This group is cur-
rently engaged in deciding on functional
uses for all available spaces, developing a
funding organization for the future, and
helping transfer specimens from the UA
Mineral Museum.
Though the county is paying for the renova-
tions and will assume some of the operating
expenses, the burden of funding could well
fall on the university and Park Association’s
shoulders. As for security, it should be noted
that there will be a permanent presence of
the Pima County Sheriff ’s office on site.
To facilitate the development of the prop-
erty, the county has set aside $11 million to
renovate and upgrade this beautiful build-
ing. The changes currently underway include
a new roof, installing handicapped facilities,
overhauling the electrical systems and, most
importantly, repositioning interior walls to
suit the new tenants’ needs.
The building will host three primary ten-
ants: the UA Museum, the Western Nation-
al Parks Association, and Visit Tucson, a
vital local tourist facility. The university
will occupy the entire north wing of the
building. The ground floor of this wing will
house the UA Mineral Museum, open to the
public free of charge. The great majority of
the university’s mineral collection will be
transferred to that location.
The 20,000-square-foot space in the north
wing includes a huge, 60-foot vault in the
basement and a smaller, readily accessible
vault, which branches off the main exhibit
room. The university will establish a min-
eral research facility here, which will be set
up so that visitors can watch the study of
minerals.
An auditorium and a meeting room will be
available for all participating groups, includ-
ing local mineral clubs, to use. Offices and
smaller rooms are available so that groups
can hold meetings and have office space.
Groups that are interested in using this new
Center for Mineralogy are the Tucson Gem
& Mineral Society, the Old Pueblo Lapidary
Society, the A.L. Flagg Mineral Foundation,
The Mineralogical Record, Mindat.org, the
Gemological Association of Great Britain,
and the Arizona Geological Society. Imag-
ine having all these groups, coupled with a
marvelous mineral collection, in one loca-
tion! This will create a truly exceptional site
devoted to mineralogy.
There is also a move to include the State of
Arizona Mineral Collection, currently in stor-
age, in the museum. This will undoubtedly
create the finest assemblage of minerals in the
American Southwest! I can’t wait!
Bob Jones holds the Car-
negie Mineralogical Award,
is a member of the Rock-
hound 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.

January 2017 81
 Parting shot
MINERALS and JEWELRY

Cabochon Collection
Clockwise from top left: Carey Plume Agate, Cacoxenite in Am-
ethyst, Nipomo Sagenite, Marfa Plume Agate, Crazy Lace Agate,
Red Horn Coral, Gem Dinosaur Bone, Orbicular Lucin Variscite
WILLIAM CLARKE WALKER III, A.K.A. SKYE
WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/SKYESGEMSCOM-193149594110799/
WWW.SKYESGEMS.COM

82 www.rockngem.com Rock & Gem

 3

Highland Park.idml 3 11/30/16 5:34 PM

Diamond Pacific.idml 4 5/24/16 7:02 PM