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STAR-O-LITE Augusta Gem & Mineral Society, Inc. June 2014
1
President
James Cook
706-830-0139
706-860-3787
Vice President
Janet English
Treasurer
Wayne Parker
(706) 863-9171
Membership Chair
Jessica Wells
(706) 533-5902
Secretary
Verna Fowler
Editor in Training
Susan Blas
Field Trip Coordinator
Steve Huffman
(706) 210-2988
Refreshment
Coordinator
Liz Wylds
(706) 860-3633
The Augusta Gem and Mineral Society, Inc. meets at 7:30 PM the third Friday of every month at the Georgia Military College Annex located at 3836 Washington Rd, Suite 10, Martinez, GA 30907. Visitors are welcome! Annual dues are $20 for a family membership, $15 for singles, and $1 for junior members ages 8 to 18. Our web site is
http://augustagms.homestead.com/agms1.html
Newsletter article submissions should be emailed to [email protected] or sent through traditional mail to AGMS Editor, Susan Blas.
Submitted by Verna Fowler, Secretary
Presiding Officer: Jim Cook, President
Attendance: 32 members, 1 guest
April Meeting Minutes were read and approved as printed in the bulletin.
Treasurer’s Report was given by Wayne Parker, Treasurer, who reported on the Building fund, the Scholarship fund, and the General fund.
Old Business: There was no old business.
New Business: Jim Cook announced that the Bureau of Land Management is looking to enforce strict guidelines for the collection of specimens on government lands. He advised the club to go to the website of WWW.AMLANDS.org to review the upcoming guidelines.
He also has found ultraviolet lights at a reasonable price. He is willing to obtain these lights for those who are interested. He will bring them to the next meeting. Contact Jim if you are interested.
Glenn Williams reported that he has received a DVD from Montressor Mines in Huntsville, AL for consideration of possible future trips.
Jim Cook also highlighted support for the SFMS workshops at William Holland and Wild Acres. Jim has information for those interested.
Show Business: No show business report was given.
No web Report was given.
Field Trip Report: Glenn Williams, filling in for Steve Huffman, reported that the Open House for Graves Mountain was well attended with as many as 20 club members attending during the weekend.
He announced the next club field trip is to the Ray Mica mine in Burnsville, NC on May 31. Notify Steve if you are interested in attending.
Collector of the Month: Glenn Williams, Lazulite, Grave’s Mountain.
Door Prizes were not awarded due to the silent auction which also served as the program for the night.
The next club meeting will be held June 20 at
7:30 pm. We have the honor of one of our
own, one of the Huffmans,Elliot or Steve, will
be presenting the programs in May and June.
It’s official! A fishing license for the sky. The
Bureau of Land Management, U.S.
Department of the Interior, has issued
Memorandum No. 2012-182 that
establishes the policy governing collections of
meteorites. It does include casual collection of
small quantities without a permit. Go to
http://www.space.com/18009-meteorite-collectors-
public-lands-rules.html
Next Meeting
June 20
Program
By Steve or Elliot Huffman
Field Trip
June 28
Fossils, various
Tennille, Georgia
STAR-O-LITE
Augusta Gem & Mineral Society, Inc.
Meeting Minutes – May 16, 2014
! Dates/Things to Know
STAR-O-LITE Augusta Gem & Mineral Society, Inc June 2014
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The May Program was the annual Silent Auction. Members brought various treasures for the clubs’ bidding pleasure. Shown below are some of the offerings.
See if you can name the type of specimens that were offered for bid above. Answers will be given in the July newsletter next month (oh, the anticipation!)
It’s always of interest to find out the results of the bidding. The results of the auction were: Total Sales = $146.50 Portion retained by sellers = $64.00 Total Proceeds to the club = $82.50
Thanks go to Wayne Parker for sharing this information!
Tennille, Georgia June 28 Contact: Steve Huffman
At the May meeting, Glenn Williams, who will be hosting
the dig, shared some collecting tips. The Tennille site is on
private property. The dig site is an Ecocene ancient seabed
which is now a spring-fed limestone lined creek. Note:
limestone is a sedimentary rock consisting of more than
50% calcium carboniate (CaCO3).
Bring a shovel so you can dig down past the upper most
sand layer. You’ll want a 1/8” small box screen if you’re
looking for smaller items. Of couse the larger the screen
(mesh) size, the larger the items you will be targeting. If you
don’t have a screen/seive, the Dollar store sells plastic
colanders that work well and wear well. Club collectors’ at
the site have found a dire wolf and megalodon tooth
(shown below), ray teeth, Manta Ray plates, an arrow head
point, and fossilized sand dollars (shown below) among
other discoveries. You may chisel out sand dollars within
the stream bed, but are asked not to take out big chunks of
limestone.
Little Pine Garnet Mine, June 21, 2014: A Dixie Mineral Council Program of the Southeast Federation of Mineralogical Societies, Inc, Field Trip Hosted by the Forsyth Gem and Mineral Club, Inc. (Winston-Salem, NC) , 9:00 AM to 4:00PM.
Glenn Williams, with blue Lazulite from Graves Mountain. Glenn,
YOU ROCK (of course!)!
Collector of the MONTH
Snipets from the May Program
AGMS Upcoming Field Trips
STAR-O-LITE Augusta Gem & Mineral Society, Inc June 2014
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The collecting talent is rich at the Augusta Club. Turns out, some of youngest collectors have a wonderful eye for collecting. Shown below are some of our youngest members displaying their treasures.
Thanks so much for sharing!
Fossils of giant 'Titanosaur' found in Argentina
Published May 18, 2014, FoxNews.com
(http://www.foxnews.com/science/2014/05/18/fossils-giant-
titanosaur-found-in-argentina/?intcmp=latestnews)
Paleontologists in Argentina's Patagonia region have
discovered fossilized remains of a so-called Titanosaur, which
may have been the largest dinosaur ever to walk the earth.
Titanosaur was a long-necked, long-tailed sauropod (think
Apatosaurus or Brachiosaurus) that walked on four legs and
lived during the Cretaceous Period, approximately 95 million
years ago.
Jose Luis Carballido, a paleontologist at the Egidio Feruglio
Museum in Trelew, Argentina, said in a statement Friday that
a Titanosaur weighed around 100 tons, or "the equivalent of
more than 14 African elephants.
"This is a true paleontological treasure," Carbadillo's
statement continued. "There are many remains and they
were practically intact, something that does not frequently
happen."
The Titanosaur bones are among 200 fossils at the site in
Patagonia's Chubut province, approximately 800 miles south
of Buenos Aires. The site was accidentally discovered in 2011
by a farm worker. Experts believe that the remains of seven
dinosaurs and the broken teeth of carnivores are among
those at the site.
Jack, Avery, and Alex
brought some
wonderful specimens
to show fellow club
members.
News from the Web
STAR-O-LITE Augusta Gem & Mineral Society, Inc June 2014
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All 101 of Brad's bench tips are available in "Bench Tips for Jewelry Making" from Amazon.com at the following: http://amazon.com/dp/0988285800/
SAWING JUMP RINGS
The difficult part of making jump rings for me has always been holding the coil while cutting off the individual rings. I use a saw to get the best fit when closing the rings later. I've seen all sorts of suggestions for ways to hold the coil, but the one that works best for me is this little jig made from scrap wood. It's about 2 inches wide and 4-5 inches long with a groove cut down its length to cradle the coil of wire and a thin stop attached to the front end.
Photo: Jump Rings
To cut the rings, thread your saw blade through the coil, hold the coil down in the groove and against the front stop, and saw at bout a 40 degree angle.
Don't forget to use some wax or cutting lube. It really does make a difference. If you don't believe me, do an experiment while you're cutting a mess of rings. Count how many rings you cut before breaking a blade, first without lube and then with some every 6-8 rings.
SAVE WHEN BUYING SILVER
Silver products like sheet, wire, and casting shot are sold by the Troy ounce at what is called the spot price. That's what companies pay for the pure metal on the commodities market, and the spot price changes daily. But in addition to the spot price, there is also a cost to fabricate the metal into wire or sheet, so the price of the item you buy is the cost of the metal plus the cost to make it. Different products have different fabrication charges because each takes a different amount of labor. Also, different companies will have different fabrication charges because of local labor rates and their desired profit margin. You can save money by finding a company with a lower fabrication charge. Also, note that the fabrication charge per ounce is less on larger orders, so you can save more by buying more. Find a friend to place a joint order and split the shipping charges. But for casting purposes, there's an even better way to save. Buy your silver at a coin store. They sell bars and rounds in pure and Sterling for the spot price plus about a dollar per ounce. The local coin shop adds only a small profit over the spot price. Further, they often waive the sales tax on a cash buy. So I save about $3 per ounce, pay no tax, no shipping charges, and support a local business.
Photo: Silver Rounds ==================================
Bench Tips by Brad Smith
STAR-O-LITE Augusta Gem & Mineral Society, Inc June 2014
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Researcher Donates Collection for Education from www.srs.gov, News Releases, 5/14/14 http://www.srs.gov/general/news/releases/nr14_srnl-donation.pdf
Photo: Dr. Carol Jantzen with the donated feldspar crystal on display
When Dr. Carol Jantzen was just one year old, her
father gave her a mineral pick. Even though she was
barely able to hold the tool, it sparked a lifelong
interest in rocks, minerals and fossils. Jantzen is now a
Materials Scientist and Geochemist at the Savannah
River National Laboratory (SRNL) and has donated her
extensive mineral collection to the Ruth Patrick Science
Education Center at the University of South Carolina –
Aiken for the creation of the Fredericks Mineral
Gallery. The gallery is named for her parents and
features a 250-pound feldspar crystal.
“My dad had me collecting minerals and rocks when I
was barely able to walk,” she said. “My father was a
geologist and a rock and mineral ‘dealer’. We made
educational kits for the Hayden Planetarium and
Museum of Natural History in New York City. When I
was seven or eight, I got the job of gluing the little
numbers on each rock or mineral in the educational
kits. I got good at gluing and watching television at the
same time. Later, after I had my BS and MS, I wrote
guide books for the educational kits with titles like
‘How is Coal Formed?’ and ‘What is a Mineral?’.” “My
father went on to supply educational kits for schools
and later universities around the country, as well as
dinosaur bone and other minerals for cereal giveaways.
He also bought and sold large quantities of minerals
and I was paid in minerals rather than money.” Jantzen
said she received the best of the specimens.
“I am a strong believer in science education as I lived it
all my life. I hope students learn a love of geology from
this collection, a love of earth science and how natural
minerals form in wondrous shapes and sizes. The 250-
pound feldspar crystal can be touched, stroked, and
hugged, so children can run their hands along the
crystal faces and consider how neat it is that it wasn’t
cut that way, but it grew that way.”
Jantzen said it’s vital for scientists and researchers to
share their knowledge with the next generation. “If the
current scientists, researchers and collectors do not
reach out to the next generation and beyond, we will
be a country without scientists. The time to interest a
child in science is early. The earlier the interest, the
more certain one can be that the boy or girl will carry
that interest into adulthood.” More of Jantzen’s
collection will be donated to the Ruth Patrick Science
Education Center over the next ten years.
Photo: Pictured with her father in 1947
Note from the Editor: Dr. Jantzen shared that although
there is not yet a “mineral gallery”, the Fredericks
Mineral Gallery fund has been established. Others can
donate specimens, and their names will appear on the
Regional News
STAR-O-LITE Augusta Gem & Mineral Society, Inc June 2014
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specimens they donate. Plans are to add a new wing to
the building allowing for dedicated space for the
gallery. So canvas those priceless specimens you may
have hidden away, and consider a donation that will
benefit the community. The big feldspar crystal
(microcline host with albite lamellae) was collected
from the Ruggles Mine in New Hampshire.
Glenn Williams received a compact disk (CD) from Montressor’s Mines, Natural Minerals, Crystals, and Gems out of Hunstville, Alabama. The CD contained the May 2014 cataloge.
The email address is [email protected] if you would like to request a calogue or additional information. The CD will be brought to the next club meeting, so others may puruse the items for sale such as Jasper, Chert, Opal, Rubies, Petrified Wood, Tumbled Stones, Silver, Topaz, etc.
In May, a honored Mary Anning
who helped shape early paleontology in the 1800s.
By Amina Khan. May 21, 2014, 2:58PM From the Los
Angeles Times, Science Now, Discoveries from the world
of science and medicine
http://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-
mary-anning-google-doogle-fossil-hunter-20140521-
story.html
The Google doodle celebrated the 215th birthday of Mary
Anning, a 19th century fossil collector and paleontologist
who, even as a poor working-class woman in a field
dominated by wealthy upper-class men, helped shape the
study of ancient extinct creatures in the early years of
geology and paleontology.
Anning, born May 21, 1799, was "the greatest fossil
hunter ever known," according to the National History
Museum in London. She helped discover the first
described ichthyosaur skeleton when she was just 12
years old; her older brother Joseph found the skull and
she found the rest of the body.
In her early 20s, she found the first two reported
plesiosaur skeletons, along with a host of other major
discoveries, and continued to uncover significant fossils
throughout her life by combing the Blue Lias cliffs near
her home in Dorset, England. She made myriad other
contributions to science. Her observations helped show
that so-called bezoar stones, thought to have magical
healing properties, were actually fossilized feces left by
long-dead beasts. She also found fossilized ink sacs in
squid-like fossils known as belemnites, and her friend
and colleague Elizabeth Philpot even managed to
restore the dried-up ink, which Anning used in her
scientific illustrations.
As a woman, particularly one from the working class,
Anning was not allowed to join the Geological Society
of London, which was filled with rich, landowning men
from England’s elite. But she was visited and consulted
by giants of early 19th century geology and
paleontology, including Charles Lyell and Adam
Sedgwick (who taught Charles Darwin at the University
of Cambridge). Anning had very little education,
learning to read and write from lessons at her church’s
Sunday school. But she devoured articles in scientific
journals, and her knowledge of fossils often
outstripped the men who came to her fossil shop.
Anning, who died when she was 47 of breast cancer,
was a remarkable paleontologist who, as a member of
the working class and a religious minority, was
frequently denied credit by the male paleontologists
and researchers who studied and benefited from her
work. Note from Editor: GIRLS ROCK!
Google and Beyond
Buying and Selling
STAR-O-LITE Augusta Gem & Mineral Society, Inc June 2014
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Exciting news! The young bald eagle at Berry College,
visible from the college Eagle Cam, has fledged and is
the only live streaming camera of a bald eagle nest in
Georgia. Check it out at
http://www.berry.edu/eaglecam/. The eagle hatched
in February.
The screen shot above, taken earlier in the year (April
2014) shows the young eagle between the male and
female pair.
Shown above is a more recent screen shot from the
Approach Cam that is pointed up toward the nest
tree (from 5/16/14). The young eagle spends quite a
bit of time out of the nest as she tries out her wings.
It is thought the young eagle is female since she is
quite large. Viewing from the Eagle Cams can be
conducted at night, as well, since the camera is
equipped with infared technology. B3 now spends
most of her time out of the nest. In October, nest
building will likely begin again.
More locally, Dr. Jim Beasley, mammalogist at the
Savannah River Ecology Laboratory (University of
Georgia) had the thrill of photographing a rare
visitior to the Savannah River Site (located in Aiken,
Barnwell, and Allendale counties). The photo below
was taken in January, 2014.
Evidence has revealed that there were a minimum of
3 goldens this year, possibly 4. The images were
captured as part of a scavenging study to better
understand the fate of mammal carcasses and the
community of scavengers utilizing various sized
carcasses. Kelsey Turner, one of Dr. Beaselys’
graduate students, was also able to capture a images
of a Golden Eagle.
Check out the Beasley Wildlife Lab at
http://srel.uga.edu/facstaffpages/beasley/people.ht
ml for additional information on Dr. Beasley’s
research efforts.
Nature Corner
STAR-O-LITE Augusta Gem & Mineral Society, Inc June 2014
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STAR – O – LITE published monthly by the
Augusta Gem & Mineral Society, Inc.
Editor, Susan Blas
3513 Wakefield Court
Martinez, GA 30907
FIRST CLASS
TIME DATED MATERIAL
PURPOSE OF THE AUGUSTA GEM & MINERAL SOCIETY INC. To encourage interest in rocks, minerals, fossils, and related subjects of the lapidary craft.
To sponsor educational programs within the membership, to increase the knowledge of its members in the
properties of identification and evaluation of rocks, minerals, fossils and related subjects.
To cooperate with other mineralogical and geographical clubs and activities.
To arrange and conduct field trips to facilitate the collection of specimens and minerals.
To provide an opportunity for the exchange and exhibition of specimens and minerals.
The Augusta Gem and Mineral Society Inc. is affiliated with the American Federation of Mineralogical Societies via its
membership in the Southeast Federation of Mineralogical Societies and the Eastern Federation of Mineralogical &
Lapidary Societies. Please visit our web site at: http://www.augustagemandmineralsociety.org/