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Smoke Signals =====================================================================================

Gem & Mineral Club April 2014 =====================================================================================

Club Activities – Wednesday April 23rd, 6pm. Club show haul out. Please join us at Hauberg Civic Center for the haul out for our show. We will be hauling out items for Silent Auction. Fieldtrip news! Lets fill you in on some of our upcoming year. We have been invited to join the Worthen Earth Searchers of Hancock County on their field trips this year. This is great news for our club as we have not had any field trips for a couple of years now. In turn – we would love to have their club members join us whenever they wish to our workshop days and classes upon request. Thank you to Mike Shumate and his fellow club members, we graciously except the invitation. Show Club table – Starting with our spring show – rather than having club sale tables we will be allowing club members to rent a 6 ft table at the club booth for $25. We will be allowing one table per person/family to sell their own rock related material. All we ask is that you tell people about the club and hand out membership applications upon request. There is a limit of five tables available, so if you are interested please contact me right away to reserve your table. You are required to have your table manned both days of the show. There will be a side table containing show flyers, etc. for people to help themselves. If you wish to volunteer your time instead, there will also be a silent auction that we will need help with. If you are interested in a table, or would like to assist with silent auction, set up, tear down, or telling about the club please contact Craig or Kellie at 563-445-3034.

Upcoming events: April 26-27: Our Spring Show: Black Hawk Gem and Mineral Club fall Rock, Gem and Jewelry Show, Clarion Hotel 5202 Brady St, Davenport, IA 52806 Sat. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Sun. 10 a.m.-4 p.m. The show will feature rocks, minerals, fossils, agates, geodes, tumbled stones, beads, silver and beaded jewelry, carved stones, spheres, arrowheads and much more. Admission is free. For information call (563) 445-3034

------------- >oo\< ☯ >/oo< ------------- Dues are Due -- Membership dues for 2014 are due; If you have joined the club September or later in 2013 your dues are already paid. Please make checks payable to BlackHawk Gem and Mineral Club and mail to: Kellie Moore 718 Franklin Ave Davenport. IA 52806 Individuals - $15.00 Senior Individual - $10.00 Senior Couple - $12.00 Family - $20.00 To ensure that you are not dropped from the Newsletter roster, please submit your payment before the end of April.

April Birthstone: Diamond

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A Rockhound’s Sprayer!! by Ed Wagner Cleaning stones can be made easy with this simple, adjustable sprayer, which can be built for around $20. Basically, it is a pot & pan sprayer for a kitchen sink. At your local hardware store you can pick up replacement sprayers. The threads on the end that connects to the sink faucet are standard 1/4” plumbing threads. It can be attached to a piece of 1/4” pipe, which can then be attached to an adjustable valve, if desired. I recommend it though - connections straight to a water line yield much more pressure than at a sink faucet! It can then be ‘hard plumbed’ directly to a water line, with the right adapter pieces. It can also be adapted to garden hose thread. With this, you can screw it onto the end of a garden hose, for easy use outside in the yard or wherever you have hose access - such as behind your washing machine. Most chain or hardware stores would have all these pieces, and the expertise to help find them. A word of advice though - especially if you are hooking it in permanently like at my sink - you may want to use all brass pieces (even though I didn’t). Steel will eventually corrode, and is more likely to with chlorinated city water. And use Teflon tape or pipe sealant on the connections. One last thing - keep grit out of the sprayer trigger! It will last longer. A drop of oil worked under the handle once in a while, when it is not wet, helps too. A sprayer for garden hose, without a valve, and one with a valve ‘hard plumbed’.

Via January 2014, Volume XXVIII, No. 1 LOESS Bulletin ------------- >oo\< ☯ >/oo< -------------

SPECIMEN OF THE MONTH: GREEN PETRIFIED WOOD Petrified wood from Hampton Butte, Oregon This example has been jasperized. Some petrified wood has been agatized. Jasper’s “diaphaneity” is opaque, whereas agate’s is translucent to transparent.

The colors come from the combination of minerals that seeped into the wood before it hardened and petrified. It can be very similar in appearance to McDermitt, NV bogwood, which is also known as “Gary Green Jasper.” Oregon petrified wood dates to the Miocene epoch and is estimated to be 15 million years old. Via The Pick and Dop Stick, CHICAGO ROCKS AND MINERALS SOCIETY! SEPTEMBER, 2013

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The Lapidarist ’ s Notebook

SULFATES – THENARDITE By Connie McGarrah

Sulfates are compounds of oxygen and sulfur with one or more metals. Over 150 sulfates have been named. Many are strongly hydrated species and many are rare. Thenardite tastes salty. It is sodium sulfate. Thenardite is found in crusts of dry salt-lake beds in desert climates and is formed as the result of evaporation of a salt lake. Thenardite was originally described from its occurrence in a salt lake near Madrid, Spain. Significant deposits are in California, Arizona, Nevada, and Canada. Some layers of thenardite are as much as five feet thick at Searles Lake in San Bernardino County, California. Some fine twinned crystals have come from Soda Lake in San Luis Obispo County, California. Thenardite is white to brownish white, light yellowish, and gray. Its crystals are orthorhombic and also form in tabular, short-prismatic, or pyramidal crystals and are sometimes in sharp cross-twinned crystals. Its hardness is 2 ½ - 3. Fracture is uneven. It is brittle and transparent to translucent. It will readily dissolve in water. Thenardite was named after Louis Thenard, a French chemist, who lived 1777-1857. Thenardite is used in the glass and paper making industries. From The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Rocks & Minerals by Charles W. Chesterman; Rocks & Minerals by Frederick H. Pough; and Minerals of the World by Charles A. Sorrell

Thenardite from California Via Rock, Pick and Chisel Feb 2014 Vol. 14 No 2

Junior Activity Word Search: Mineral Names That Aren’t Used Anymore. If you look through old mineral books, you will see mineral names that are not used anymore. Why don’t you search for them in this word search puzzle?! The old mineral names are listed below. They can be found diagonally, left to right, right to left, top to bottom and bottom to top.

Albin; Allochroite; Amianthus; Beaumontite; Bitterspar; Buratite; Calc Spar; Chladnite; Christianite; Copper Glance; Crocoisite; Desmine; Dialogite; Honeystone; Isopyre; Mesotype; Moroxite; Noselite; Onegite; Plumbago Reprint permission must be obtained from Diamond Dan Publications. Mini Miners is a subscription newsletter. Activities from 4/2011

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The Lapidarist’s Notebook

Sulfates – Gypsum By Connie McGarrah

Sulfates are compounds of one or more metals and sulfur. Generally, they are light in color and are transparent to translucent. None of them are hard, and most are fragile.

Another sulfate that most rock

hounds are familiar with is gypsum. Gypsum is hydrous calcium sulfate. Gypsum has a hardness of 1 ½ -2. It can be scratched by a fingernail. It is white, colorless, gray, yellow, red and brown. It streaks white. Crystals are common, frequently assuming tabular habit and fishtail twins. Crystals of gypsum constantly grow and clog water pipes. It can form into deposits in beds that may be 30 feet thick. Colorless gypsum is called selenite. Fibrous gypsum is known as satin spar. Dense granular gypsum is called alabaster that can be used for carving. Beds of gypsum are mined in New York, Michigan, Texas, Iowa and California. In Naica, Chihuahua, Mexico, in the Maravella Mine, the Cave of the Swords contains meter-long, slender, slightly milky needles with water-filled cavities and movable bubbles. In the Lechuguilla Cave in the Carlsbad Cavern system, gypsum stalagmites and columns up to 4 meters high are common in many parts of the cave. Monstrous, grotesque chandeliers of gypsum up to 6 meters long are also found. The gypsum that our club enjoys collecting is the clusters of brown bladed crystals and the hourglass crystals from the Great Salt Plains near Jet, Oklahoma. Via Rock, Pick & Chisel March 2014 Vol 14. No 3 From The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Rocks & Minerals by Charles W. Chesterman; Rocks & Minerals by Frederick H. Pough; Lechuguilla, Jewel of the Underground by Speleo Projects. ------------- >oo\< ☯ >/oo< -------------

Bench Tips by Brad Smith

POLISHING WHEELS In the finishing sequence there's a step called pre-polishing, between sanding and buffing, and one of the most effective tools I've found to help here is the little silicone wheels used in a Foredom or Dremel. They come in several different abrasive levels and several different shapes. The wheels are color coded to denote their abrasive level. Different shapes (coin, knife, cylinder, point, etc) are available to match the geometry of the area being cleaned up. For a starter, I'd suggest a medium, a fine and an extra fine wheel in both the coin shape and the knife-edge shape. The thicker coin shapes are particularly handy. Be sure to get a few extra mandrels so you'll have one of each wheel shape mounted and ready to go. Cylinder shapes are nice for doing the inside of rings. Knife-edge shapes clean up the base of bezels quickly. Most jewelry catalogs carry these wheels, but often the color codes don't match between different manufacturers. _____________________ RESHAPING SILICONE WHEELS Silicone polishing wheels in the Dremel or Foredom are a great time saver, but after using them a bit they often need to be reshaped. This is particularly true with the knife-edge wheels. The natural thought is to grab one of your files and hold it up against the rotating wheel to reshape it. But this gives you a problem. The grinding grit in the silicone wheel is much harder than steel, meaning that you end up grinding down the teeth of your file. The best way to reshape your polishing wheels is to use a diamond file. If you don't have one and must use a steel file, I sacrifice the area of the file that is closest to the handle. That's an area which is not used in normal benchwork. ================================== Acknowledgement to be included with each publication: More Bench Tips by Brad Smith are at facebook.com/BenchTips/ or see Get all 101 of Brad’s bench tips in "Bench Tips for Jewelry Making" on Amazon

http://amazon.com/dp/0988285800/

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Great Green Garnets by André Mongeon

Kitchener-Waterloo Gem & Mineral Club Via March 2014, LOESS Bulletin Volume X8XVII, No. 3, Via CentrILL Gems, Vol. LVXII, No. 1, JAN-FEB 2014 Reprinted from the Rocky Mountain Federation News, 11/2013 Photos via Web When most people think of garnets, they see red (the colour, not the emotion). Most mineral and gem enthusiasts, on the other hand, envision garnet as being a class of minerals that can be any colour. In addition to those different colours, garnets can exhibit colour shift, asterism and fluorescence. Garnet is also one of many minerals that can be at the end or anywhere in between two or more varieties of a mineral, creating combinations that get their own name. “Rhodolite”, for example, is a blend of two end members: Almandine and Pyrope, resulting in a very pleasing red colour with hints of peach, purple or pink. Most people can still relate to the reddish colour of Rhodolite. When you tell some people that garnets can be green, you are often met with expressions of disbelief like “What?” or “No way!”. Some garnets are indeed green, rivaling the finest emeralds in colour. Others are a very pale green. Most are somewhere in between. Perhaps the most intense green garnet is Uvarovite. Uvarovite (Ca3Cr2(SiO4)3) gets its colour from the chromium content. It can look almost like Dioptase, that’s how intense the colour can be. Uvarovite is usually found in association with Chromite, like specimens from the classic locality in the Russian Urals. Unfortunately, gem quality crystals are rarely large enough to facet and are usually found as a druzy coating on Chromite. Another green garnet is Grossular (Ca3Al2 (SiO4)3) that can be a pale gooseberry green to an intense dark green variety known as “Tsavorite”, after its type locality Tsavo, in East Africa. Gem grade crystals large enough to facet are found in many localities such as Kenya, Tanzania, Madagascar and from the Jeffery mine in Quebec. A massive form found in South Africa is known as “Transvaal” Jade, due to its similarity in colour to jade. Grossular garnet also occurs in many other colours, not only green. Yet another great green garnet is the Demantoid variety of Andradite garnet (Ca3Fe2(SiO4) 3) that can exhibit very high dispersion in a faceted stone, rivaling a Diamond, hence the name. Originally discovered in Russia, Demantoid is one of the rarest of garnets. Many crystals are included with wisps of

asbestos fibres known as “horse tails”, due to their resemblance to the equine appendage. Demantoid occurs at Black Lake, Quebec and has been faceted, but these stones are usually paler than their Russian counterparts. Last, but not least, there are other green garnets: Synthetics. One in particular is Yttrium Aluminum Garnet (YAG), a manmade “mineral” that was proven to be chemically possible, though never found naturally. It enjoyed a brief “fad-like” period in the early 1970’s until better (and cheaper) cubic zirconia entered the market. Synthetic garnets still have some usefulness in scientific applications due to their optical properties. The next time you want to win an easy bet, try betting someone that there are green garnets. Ideally, you should have some specimens and cut stones in your collection when you do. Green garnets of all types are usually more expensive than their red counterparts. If green is one of your favourite mineral colours, then consider these garnets when you acquire your next specimen.

Natural crystal specimen of Uvarovite.

Faceted Uvarovite gem

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10 Most Deadly Rocks and Minerals By Jim Karstell March 7, 2013 We often wonder if the Earth beneath our feet could swallow us up. The truth is more insidious. Drop that rock you just picked up . . . you could get poisoned. This list details the ten most toxic and potentially deadly minerals that crystalize in the Earth’s rocks, presenting a dangerously deceptive array of stony beauty. These rocks don’t have to be thrown to hurt you. 10 Coloradoite Coloradoite is a recently discovered crystalline mineral originating in magma veins. The mineral is a mercury telluride compound formed when mercury fuses with tellurium, another extremely toxic and rare metal. Coloradoite therefore poses a doubly toxic threat to anyone daring to handle it. The combination of the two elements poses the risk of serious poisoning if carelessly handled. If heated or chemically altered, deadly vapor and dust is released by this strange mineral. Interestingly, the mineral may be mined for its tellurium content. Tellurium minerals may combine with gold, but were previously not recognized. In a strange twist of fate, the streets of Kalgoorie in Australia were mined in a bizarre gold rush after the realization that gold bearing tellurides had been used to fill potholes. 9 Chalcanthite Seductive blue chalcanthite crystals are composed of copper, combined with sulfur and other elements and water. This arrangement turns copper, which is required by the body but toxic in excess quantities, into an extremely bioavailable crystal. In another words, the copper becomes water soluble, and may be assimilated in great quantities by any plant or animal, rapidly weakening it and then killing it by shutting down body processes. Chalcanthite should never be taste tested by amateur scientists for salt content, or an extremely serious overdose of copper could result. Just releasing crystals of the blue mineral has killed entire ponds of algae, and posed

great environmental threats. Because of the incredible beauty and rarity of chalcanthite, an enterprise dedicated to growing artificial crystals and passing them off as genuine specimens for sale has developed within the geological community. 8 Hutchinsonite

Thallium is the dark twin of lead. This thick, greasy metal is similar in atomic mass but even more deadly. Thallium is a rare metal that appears in highly toxic compounds consisting of rather strange combinations of elements. The effects of thallium exposure are even more peculiar, and include loss of hair, serious illness through skin contact and in many cases, death. Hutchinsonite is a hazardous but dramatic mixture of thallium, lead and arsenic. The three poisonous metals form a lethal mineral cocktail that should be handled only with great caution. Hutchinsonite was named after John Hutchinson, a prominent mineralogist from Cambridge University. The mineral is found in mountainous regions of Europe, most frequently in ore deposits. 7 Galena Galena is the principle ore of lead, and forms glistening silver cubes with almost unnaturally perfect shapes. Although lead is normally extremely flexible, the sulfur content of galena makes it extraordinarily brittle and reactive to chemical treatment. Galena is capable of taking an equally heavy toll on workers and amateur researchers who are exposed to it. Contact with specimens may lead to lead dust exposure, while workers in mines face a high risk of poisoning from contact with the mineral and the deadly dusts released through production. Once extracted, the lead content from this mineral environmental and health threats during treatment and extraction. Galena has a cubic fracture, and if

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hit with a hammer, the crystal will shatter into multiple smaller replicas of its original shape. 6 Asbestos

Chrysotile and Amphibolite Asbestos is not a manmade product, but one of most terrifying minerals on the planet. Where other minerals act as toxins through their chemistry and sicken victims of accidental

poisoning, Asbestos conducts full scale mechanical sabotage on the human lung. Asbestos is a fully natural category of minerals composed of silica the most abundant of Earth’s hard elements, iron, sodium and oxygen. Asbestos deposits consist of aggregates of thousands of tiny, fibrous crystals that can become airborne and lodged in the human lung. Carcinogenic effects occur through persistent irritation of the lung tissues, leading to scarring. Asbestos formations can also be uncovered among any set of silica rocks, warranting caution when exploring. Strangely, natural weathering leads to natural distribution of asbestos in Earth’s atmosphere. As a result, many humans carry some asbestos fibers in their lungs.

5 Arsenopyrite Arsenopyrite is fool’s gold, but with a difference. One would not just be a fool to mistake it for gold. Equally foolish would be a decision to pick up this mineral on a hike at a quarry, and proceed to use your hands to

put trail mix in your mouth. Arsenopyrite is arsenic iron sulfide, which is the same type of mineral as pyrite (fool’s gold, iron sulfide), but with a heavy

addition of arsenic. If one atempts to heat or in any way alter the mineral, a strong garlic odor of arsenic will be produced as lethally toxic, corrosive and carcinogenic vapors are released. Just handling the mineral brings one into contact with unstable sulfuric arsenic salts. Interestingly, arsenopyrite may be identified by striking a specimen with a hammer. The powerful garlic odor of arsenic can be briefly detected as the sparks fly. 4 Torbernite

Torbernite is the mineral from hell. The prism shaped green crystals form as secondary deposits in granitic rocks, and are composed of uranium. Formed through a complex

reaction between phosphorous, copper, water and uranium, the stunning crystal displays have seduced many mineral collectors into taking a sample for a shelf collection. If the uranium decay from a pocket sized Chernobyl were not enough, lethal radon gas capable of causing lung cancer slowly releases from these hot rocks. This is one crystal to leave alone. Torbernite can occur in granite, so your stone countertop just might contain traces of torbernite. The bright green crystal blooms were used by prospectors as indicators of uranium deposits. 3 Stibnite

Stibnite is antimony sulfide, but it looks like silver. For that reason, the huge, shining metallic crystals of this unstable compound were once fashioned into magnificent eating utensils. But the sword shaped crystals bore the powers of death to those who used them. Stibnite’s antimony laced crystals killed a number of people before it became known that use of the mineral was causing food poisoning of the worst kind. Even in collections, stibnite samples

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should be handled with great caution to avoid poisoning. Hand washing is advisable after any contact. Mines near Oksaku in Japan have produced the best stibnite crystals in the world, measuring up to a foot in length. Many stibnite samples have the appearance of a miniature steeple. 2 Orpiment

The only thing worse than arsenic itself could be a rock made from arsenic and sulfur. The lethal and chemically reactive orpiment

crystals are found growing below the surface in mineral formations, often near hydrothermal vents. The colors are seductive, but holding the crystals in your hands may release carcinogenic, neurotoxic arsenic powder. Like cinnabar, the Chinese made extensive use of this mineral, but to far more terrifying ends. Arrows would be rubbed on crushed samples of these stones and then launched to poison the enemy in a rather fancy way to throw a rock. Orpiment is known to give off a strong garlic smell due to its arsenic content, and may crumble into dangerous powder when exposed to light. The mineral was used as a primary component of ochre paint, and likely poisoned many of the artists who used it.

1 Cinnabar Cinnabar (mercury sulfide) is the single most toxic mineral to handle on Earth. The name of the crystal means dragons blood, and

it is the main ore of mercury. Forming near volcanos and sulfur deposits, the bright red crystals signal danger of the worst kind. Cinnabar may release pure mercury if disturbed or heated, causing tremors, loss of sensation and death. In the Middle Ages and late 1700s, being sent to work in Spanish mines containing cinnabar formations was widely considered a death sentence. Cinnabar was widely used in Chinese history for ornamental food dishes,

and intricate carvings were created from chunks of it, sometimes at the expense of the artisans. Even more incredibly, some ancient medical practitioners believed cinnabar held healing powers, and prescribed it for certain conditions. Via Pica Pick March 2014 Volume 39 Issue No. 7, Via Gem City Rock Club News February 2014

------------- >oo\< ☯ >/oo< ------------- Condolences: We lost one of our members and former Board Member. Linda Marrow passed in March. Our prayers go out to Linda’s family. She will be missed.

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2014 Officers and Directors

President Kellie Moore (563) 445-3034

Vice President Craig Moore (563) 445-3034

Treasurer Mary Foulk

Secretary Diane Preslar

Director (3-year)

Director (2-year)

Director (1-year) Brett Henderson (309) 626.0107

Committee Chairpersons

Membership Kellie Moore (563) 445-3034 Publicity Craig Moore (563) 445-3034 Field trips Mike Shumate Rock Show Chair Kellie Moore (563) 445-3034 Rock Show Co-Chair

Craig Moore (563) 445-3034

Scholarship Board of Directors (563) 445-3034 Bulletin Editor Kellie Moore (563) 445-3034 MWF Liaison Vacant The purpose of this non-profit organization is to promote interest in collecting, studying and working with gems and minerals and fossils. Organized in 1955, the Black Hawk Club joined the Midwest Federation of Mineralogical & Geological Societies in 1959. It is also a member of the American Federation of Mineralogical Societies. Meetings are held on the third Tuesday of every month, September through May at 6:00P.M. in the Hauberg Civic Center, 1300 24th Street, Rock Island, IL. Picnics are held at various locations during June, July, and August. Annual Dues: Individual Membership: $15.00, Senior Couples: $12.00, Senior Individual: $10.00, Family: $20.00.

Newsletter Submissions: Please send submissions for publication (announcements, photographs, notes, letters, articles, etc.) in the Smoke Signals newsletter to the Editor no later than the first day of the previous month. For example, August 1 for the September issue. Advance items are appreciated. Material may be e-mailed to Kellie Moore at kalsinean1@aol.com, or submitted via the U.S. Mail: Kellie Moore 718 Franklin Ave Davenport, IA 52806 If e-mailing an article, it may be included within the body of the e-mail message or sent as an attachment. Copyrighted material submitted for publication must be accompanied by a written release from the copyright holder. All material submitted is subject to editing. No anonymous submissions will be considered; however, the submitter's name will be withheld or a pseudonym may be used at the submitter's request. The deadline for all submitted work is the 20th of the month before it is to be published. Late and\or unused entries may be published in later issue. Looking forward to receiving an article from you! .Editor: Kellie Moore 718 Franklin Ave, Davenport, IA 52806.

Disclaimer: The conclusions and opinions expressed in Smoke Signals are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of the Officers, Editor, or members of the club. Copyright © 2014 by the Black Hawk Gem & Mineral Club, Inc. With the exception of items that are specifically copyrighted by their authors, other clubs may use material published in Smoke Signals as long as proper credit is given and the meaning or sense of the material is not changed. Visit us at: www.blackhawkgemandmineralclub.com

Affiliations Midwest Federation of Mineralogical & Geological

Societies

http://www.amfed.org/mwf/

American Federation of Mineralogical Societies

http://www.gamineral.org/afms.htm

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