Most Recent Meeting Minutes
Minutes of the Meeting of Shenandoah Valley Gem and Mineral Society
Meeting date: May 13, 2024
There were 20 members with an additional 6 new members present at the meeting.
--Thanks to those who brought minerals to represent May flowers:
Cindy brought pink rhodochrosite for peonies, grape agate for lilacs, howlite for fringe tree and for spring greens - jade, malachite, fluorite, unakite, bloodstone and epidote
Debbie brought pink rhodonite, blue sodalite, lavender tourmaline, orange/green/blue calcite, pink dolomite, orange sunstone and green fuchsite
Charlie brought a beautiful multi-colored agate
Larry brought a "flower" from the antique mall, chalcedony, fluorites, & brochantite. He also had fossil casts he got from Bob & Mary at their garage sale.
Rachel brought yellow sulphur
Mike had several micros (with photos of each) in various colors
Apologies to others - I don't think I got them all!
--Jack had printed some show fliers for us to peruse and choose our favorites to use for advertising. The SHOW is Sep 20-22, with set up on the 19th. {An important NOTICE - Rachel and John will not be there on Saturday to do the Kiddie Sandbox, do we have any volunteers for that day? John can be there early to set it up and show you how to run the activity. They will be there on Sunday.}
--Charlie and Cindy had an update on the Herrick Auction for June 8. The rocks are all for cabbing/cutting. Most are 4-14" across.
[Our SHOP SAW can only cut 8" tall/12" long specimens.] Most pieces are rough, many black obsidian, petrified wood and several agate nodules. Most pieces are not the best quality, but several cabs can be cut from them. Original prices are on some specimens, but our starting bid list is probably 10% of actual worth. PLEASE EMAIL ME @ loverocksandminerals@gmail ASAP if you plan to attend.
--A couple of suggestions for field trips were given to me; the Barger Quarry in Lexington and the Virginia Gold Prospectors camp in Dilwyn. Let me know if you (or several members working together) would like to investigate these possibilities and organize one or two trips - possibly in the fall. Thanks in advance.
--Tom Tucker, a long-time member, demonstrated a few tricks to identify unknowns and gave some sage advice. He has a degree in chemistry and was/is a geologist.
He said that years ago, pyrite could be easily found in Dumfries Creek. The area is now a National Park, so no collecting there. (He noted that a lot of locations where collecting was once allowed are now parks, shopping malls, or private. Not helpful for us rockhounds!)
He demonstrated a chemical test for copper by placing a few grams of CuSO4 in a jar (from ZEP root control agent) and adding ammonia hydroxide. The solution turned blue, indicating copper.
While living in MT for 15 years or so as a geologist and as a tourist businessman, he traveled a lot. He once traveled from Casper Wy to Yellowstone, and found a huge pile of whitish material. This apparently was a pile of tailings from the Pratt sodium mine.The material was probably (Na3H(CO3)2 · 2H2O) trona, or natrum. This chemical was mined and carried off by the train-car load. Tom had grown some natrum crystals to show us. He used pool Clorox from Wal-mart and mixed this chemical with water. The clear fragile crystals absorb water easily and there was water pooling in the bottom of the bowls.
Tom demonstrated using drops of 10% HCl on calcite and limestone. Bubbles and vapor appeared readily. (A good test to show whether a specimen is limestone or dolomite - dolomite will not fizz.) Concentrated white vinegar will work, but not as well.
He brought some pieces of porcelain from an old commode that can be used as a streak test plate for us to take.
He mentioned that a good place to collect geodes is near Hamilton, IL at the Jacob mine. The keokuk geodes collected there contain either quartz or calcite. The charge is by the bucket-full. These geodes can also be found near Keokuk, Iowa. Keokuk geodes are some of the most beautiful in the world, and people travel from all over to collect them.
THANK YOU, TOM, FOR YOUR INTERESTING DEMONSTRATIONS!
❖ ❖ ❖
Upcoming meeting notes: (Details later)
May - Tom Tucker will invite us to bring unknown minerals and he will explain/demonstrate how to identify them.
June - Marcia Morris will take us on a virtual trip to South Africa from her visit in March
July - our annual picnic at the pavilion at Bridgewater Baptist Church
August - George Lott (from local archaeology club) will do flint knapping
Club Officers and Staff 2016-2024
President – Michael Pabst
Vice President – Leo Cloutier
Educational Outreach -- Deborah Grimm
Secretary/Newsletter -- Deborah Grimm
Field Trip Coordinators - TBD
Co-Treasurers – Scott Gregory/Deborah Grimm
Show Team Leaders – Scott Gregory/Jack Glenn
Web Site Coordinator – Jack Glenn
Club web site: shenandoahvalleyrockclub.org
Club Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/ShenandoahValleyGemMineralSociety
Club email: svgem-min-club@live.com