Official Publication of the Midwest Mineralogical and Lapidary Society AFFILIATED WITH • MIDWEST FEDERATION OF MINERALOGICAL AND GEOLOGICAL SOCIETIES• AMERICAN FEDERATION OF MINERALOGICAL SOCIETIES

April, 2017

Midwest Mineralogical & Lapidary Society

2017 OFFICERS President: Dan Gumina (313) 766-8944 Vice President: Diane Kuzara (734) 675-5237 Recording Secretary: Julie Knechtges (734) 444-9151 Treasurer: Doris Snyder (313) 291-2133 Corresponding Secretary: Julie Knechtges (734) 444-9151 Liaison Officer: Peter Kuzara (734) 675-5237

COMMITTEE CHAIRPERSONS Club Services: Ana Ferguson Door Prizes: Mike Bomba AFMS Scholarship: Pat Rutkowski Local Field Trips - Mike Bomba/Gary Slominski Summer Field Trips - Bill Barr Education: Dave Hendershot Insurance: Historian: Tom Morris Michigan Material: Tom Morris Club Publicity: Membership: Ana Ferguson MMLS Scholarship: Velma Bradley Program Coordinator: Mike Bomba Property - Storage: Leonard Swisher Property - Meetings: Leonard Swisher Sunshine Reporter: Velma Bradley Refreshments: Web Site: Stacey Harper

STUDY GROUPS Advance Lapidary: Basic Lapidary: Bead Study: Diane Kuzara Faceting: Mineralogy: Dave Esch Paleontology: Wire Study: John Lindsay Silversmithing:

The Rockpile Staff : Editor Peter Kuzara, email: Kuzara1126@gmail.com 734-675-5237

PAST PRESIDENTS Robert Ellison (interim) 1956 Louis Cox 1957 Robert Heldenbrand 1958-59 Ralph Gamble 1959-60 Fred Miller 1960-61 Bert Smart 1961-62 Leo Nieman 1963 Nicholas Rothenthaler 1964-65 Robert Fedoruk 1966-67 John Good 1968-69 Cecilia Duluk 1970 Stanley Franczak 1971-72 E. Donald Stinnett 1973-74 Ralph Goniea 1975-76 Norman Hanschu 1977-78 Thomas Gibbs 1979-80 Harry Nagy 1981-82 Elspeth Gibbs 1983-84 Loretta Franczak 1985-86 Roland Snyder 1987-88 Jay Ross 1989-90 Tom Morris Jr. 1991-92 Diane Kuzara 1993-94 Bill Orban 1995-96 Glenn Swain 1997-98 Bill Peach 1999-2000 Diane Kuzara 2001-02 Cecilia Duluk 2003-04 Russ Ranker 2005-06 Dick DePodesta 2007-08 Rich Williams 2009-10 Leonard Swisher 2011-12 Mike Bomba 2013 - 14 Diane Kuzara 2015 - 16

ACTIVITIES 2017 Banquet: 2017 Swap: Lou and Cindy Talley 2017 Super Swap: Bill Barr I Tom Morris 2017 Auction:

MMLS website - www.mmls.us Email- rockhounds@mmls.us

General Club meetings are held at 7:30 p.m. on every third Tuesday of the month ( except July and August) at the Democratic Club of Taylor, 23400 Wick Rd., Taylor, MI 48180 GUESTS ARE ALWAYS WELCOME

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April Program: For April the program I will try to get is "I Dig Fossils" a real life adventure - 21 minutes, by Mason Productions. A field trip to Mazon Creek for 300 million year old fossils! My second choice will be " Burgess Shale -Impressions of Life", animals preserved in the Burgess Shale of British Columbia! 45 minutes long Mike

Death leaves a heartache no one can heal. Love leaves a memory no one can steal MMLS sends their condolences out to Julie Knechtges and her family on the death of Julie's grandmother in March.

Board Meeting Summary for February 17, 2017 Meeting called to order at 7:43 PM. A motion was made to accept the January 13, 2017 meeting minutes as printed, motion carried. Treasurer's report January 31, 2017 motion to accept was made and carried. February & March program "Rockhounds the Movie" by 0. Dennie and T. Kent. March Swap flyers are available for sharing. Cranbrook field trip took place Feb 25. Gary Slominski accepted as refreshment chairman. Thank you Gary! Looking for volunteers & a chairman to head a committee to inventory and organize the storage unit. If interested please advise President Dan Gumina. Looking for a new auction chairman, if interested please advise President Dan Gumina. SuperSwap table reservations and payment will be accepted by Tom Morris after the March Swap. Next Board Meeting March 17 at Mike Bomba's house 7:30 pm. Meeting adjourned at 8:52 PM. as Submitted by Julie Knechtges Secretary.

General Meeting Summary For February 21, 201 7 Motion was made to accept the January 17, 201 7 meeting minutes as printed motion carried. Treasurer's report for January 31, 2017 motion was made to accept and carried. February & March program "Rockhounds the Movie" by 0. Dennie and T. Kent. March Swap flyers are available for

sharing. Cranbrook Institute field trip takes place Feb 25. Thank you Gary Slominski for becoming the refreshment chairman. New auction chairman is still needed also looking for a chairperson and to volunteers to inventory, clean, and organize the storage unit, if interested please let President. Dan Gumina know. Please join us in welcoming new member Adrianne Wallace. Working on new club t-shirts for club events, if you did not attend meeting please let Secretary Julie Knechtges ( see directory for contact information) know. Metro Rock Swap will be March 25th during which October SuperSwap reservations and payment will be accepted. A motion was made to adjourn meeting at 8:14 pm, motion carried. Anyone interested in a metal specimen stand please contact Gary Slominski for details. Summarized by Secretary Julie Knechtges.

Welcome New Member! David McCulloch 15831 Humphrey St. Southgate, MI 48195 TEL.313-643-3861 Email foaamer3@hotmail.com

Mine Safety Class Will be taught by John Lindsay. The class will be held in April. If interested contact John Lindsay for date, time and cost.

WIRE WRAP CLASSES Anyone interested in a study group for wire wrap pleased contact John Lindsay for dates, time and more information

NOTICE TO STUDY GROUPS IF THERE IS CHANGE IN YOUR MEETINGS PLEASE LET THE EDITOR KNOW!!!!!

Dates to Remember Contacts for study groups Bead study, Diane Kuzara, 734-675-5237 Mineral study, David Esch, 734-665-5574 Wirewrap, John Lindsay, 734-604-8561 Lapidary work shop, Frank Konieczki 734-323-2218

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AITENTION MEMBERS: The study groups with more than one night in the month, dates will be listed together.

March 25, 2017 45th Annual Metro Rock Swap Hosted by the Midwest Mineralogical & Lapidary Society. At St. Johns Lutheran Church, 13115 Telegraph Road, Taylor, MI. For table reservations and information call 734-83 7-8920

April 3n1, 17th &19th Lapidary work shop 2009 W. Michigan Ave., Ypsilanti, Mi., 7pm to 1 Opm. Fee is $2.50 for each evening.

April 6th & 20th Bead study group will meet at the Kuzara's, 20281 Thomas, Brownstown, Mi at 7pm.

April 14th Board Meeting and Rockpile Deadline TBA

April 18th General meeting will be held at the DEMOCRATIC CLUB OF TAYLOR, 23400 WICK RD., TAYLOR at 7:30pm.

April 20th Mineral Study group will meet at Dave Esch's house, 227 Barton Shore Dr., Ann Arbor Mi., at 7:30pm.

May 1st, 15th & 17th Lapidary work shop 2009 W. Michigan Ave., Ypsilanti, Mi., 7pm to 10pm. Fee is $2.50 for each evening.

May 4th & 18th Bead study group will meet at the Kuzara's, 20281 Thomas, Brownstown, Mi at 7pm.

May 12th Board Meeting and Rockpile Deadline. TBA

May 16th General meeting will be held at the DEMOCRATIC CLUB OF TAYLOR, 23400 WICK RD., TAYLOR at 7:30pm.

May 18th Mineral Study group will meet at Dave Esch's house, 227 Barton Shore Dr., Ann Arbor Mi., at 7:30pm.

Sister Club Events April 6 -8 Indian Mounds Rock and Mineral Club. Roger's Plaza Town Center, 28th St. at Clyde Park. For information Kreigh Tomaszewski kreigh@gmail.com

April 8-9-CANTON, OHIO: Annual show; Stark County Gem and Mineral Club, Stark County Fairgrounds; 305 Wertz Ave. Contact Scott Walton,, (330)-493-5752; e-mail: 1 timothy412@att.net

April 8- 9 Columbus Rock and Mineral Society, Northland Performing Arts Center, 4411 Tamarack Blvd., Columbus,OH., For information Craig Kramer, craig.kramer@wowway.com

April 22-23-TROY, OHIO: Annual show; Brukner Gem and Mineral Club, Troy, Ohio ; 650 North County Rd 25A. contact Dewey Buck, e-mail: manningsrockshop@gmail.com

May 5-7-KALAMAZOO, MICHIGAN: Annual show; Kalamazoo Geological and Mineral Society, Kalamazoo County Expo Center; 2900 Lake Street. Contact Jerry VanNocker, (269)-979-3348; e-mail: jervannocker@comcast.net; Web site: KalamazooRockClub.org

Borax By Dave Jacobson

This month I am writing a few words about a mineral you most likely have used as a flux if you have done any casting. It is borax, Na2B407 1 OH20, hydrated sodium borate. It is found in evaporate deposits in dry lakebeds called playa deposits in dessert regions. A playa is a temporary lake, which is filled water from mountain runoff during the rainy season. In playa' s where borax is found the mountain runoff is rich in boron. Evaporation concentrates the boron forming borax and other borate minerals. It is associated with halite, trona, ulexite and other borate minerals. When borax looses water it alters to a mineral called tincalconite, Na2B407 5H20, a pseudomorph, which retains the shape of the original borax crystal. Borax was originally discovered in

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VolumeLXI Issue 4 Tibet. Today it is mined in many parts of the world including California; Stassfurt, Germany; Tuscany, Italy; and the Atacama Desert in Chile.

Borax is in the monoclinic crystal system. Crystal habits can be blocky and prismatic, often with square cross sections. The material can be massive. It also forms crusts. The crystals are transparent to translucent. When the crystal alters to tincalconite it turns white maintaining the original crystal form. The range of colors is colorless, white, yellowish or bluish. Streak is white. Hardness is 2 - 2.5. Specific Gravity is 1.7. It has a sweet alkaline taste but I don't recommend tasting any minerals, as it can be hazardous to your health. It fuses easily to a small glass sphere, which colors the flame yellow. The yellow flame is an indicator of sodium. Borax also is soluble in water.

Borax is mined as an important economic mineral. Some of its uses are in glass manufacture, pottery glazes, flux, fire retardant, water softener and fertilizer. A transparent borax mineral specimen would have to be sealed to maintain its appearance. When altered to tincalconite it is relatively stable specimen. Borax takes it's name from the Arabic buraq, for white.

The following reference materials were used in preparing this article: A Field Guide to Rocks And Minerals by Frederick H. Pough. Mineralogy For Amateurs by John Sinkankus. Simon & Schusters Guide to Rocks And Minerals. Amethyst Galleries Mineral Gallery on the Internet at http://mineral.galleries.com. http://www.geology.wisc.edu/-jill/borax.html Boron Minerals of Death Valley by Celeste Cosby, Jeanette Hawkins, Jani Kushla and Molly Robinson at http://www.science.smith.edu/departments/Geology/d v/Boron/home.html Canaveral Moonstone January 2017 From the Quarry 2/2017

Why Do Rocks Fluoresce? From the Quarry 11/2016

The word takes its name from fluorite and was first discovered by Vincenzio Cascariolo, cobbler and part-time alchemist. In 1602, he tried to

smelt a heavy white metal he thought was gold. He was very disappointed, and at one point he put it into bright sunlight. It seemed to drink in the warm light and afterwards it would glow in the dark (it was calcined barite.)

It was two centuries before the significance was noted by Sir George Stokes. With the mineral fluorite, he recognized the principle of fluorescence. He set it apart from other known forms of fluorescence, such as "thermoluminescence," the beautiful flow radiated by many minerals when heated gently, from "chemiluminescence," the cold light produced by some chemical reactions, from "bioluminescence," as seen in decaying wood, and from "triboluminescence," the sparks oflight seen in the dark when struck or scratched with a sharp object. At that time the only known source of ultraviolet light was sunlight. Then in 1867, a Frenchman by the name of Becquerel, using a new "phosphorescope" detected a delicate red fluorescence in calcite and timed its phosphorescence at one-half second. via Washington Agate & Mineral Society Newsletter, 4/15; from Rockhound Special, 6/02 via The CMS Tumbler, 9/16

DID YOU KNOW? The intersection of Woodward A venue and Grand River Avenue in Detroit proudly displayed the world's first traffic light in 1915, leaders of 19 countries and 26 states came to check it out in the first 6 months.

Bagley' s Comer was the orginal name of Bloomfield Hills.

When the territory of Michigan was created on January n», 1805, Detroit was chosen as its capital.

Hog's Hollow was the original name of Utica, Michigan.

Michigan's first police woman began walking the beat in Detroit in 1893. From the internet

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THE ROCKPILE April 2017 Volume LXI Issue 4 Michigan is the only state in the nation that important to know where they are found and was owned by four different countries. U.S., how they change in different environments. England, France and Spain. He characterized leesite, leoszilardite and

redcanyonite along with a small team including alumnus Shawn Carlson '91 and staff scientist Owen Mills '08 who runs the Applied Chemical and Morphological Analysis Lab (ACMAL) at Michigan Tech. Everyone is familiar with rust; in mineral-speak, rust is an iron oxide or oxyhydroxide, which means it's a secondary mineral formed by the interaction of air and water. These three yellow minerals are like uranium rust and while the glowing green stereotype of uranium is close it's not quite right. Though small and barely visible to the naked eye, leesite occurs in bright yellow aggregates of stacked blades or radiating needles up to one millimeter in length. The mineral also forms powdery masses nestled against a backdrop of companion minerals, most notably gypsum. Leesite's atom arrangement stacks in alternates of uranium and oxide layers, and potassium is what sets it aside as a new mineral. Given its chemistry and structure, it's a member of the schoepite mineral family; miners called the general mess of these minerals growing on the tunnel floors "gummites." Leoszilardite is pale yellow. A carbonate formed through uranium ore interacting with air, it's also water soluble. Its most distinctive feature is bladed crystals. "If you look at leoszilardite in a picture, you can kind of pick out that they have an unusual shape," Olds says. "But put them under the SEM (scanning electron microscope) and it's obvious." The mineral is formed when uranium ore interacts with oxygen, so there's a solid chance that the uranium mining industries only increased the amount of leoszilardite that exists in the world. Olds says Ieoszilardite is a particularly interesting find because of the Carbon Mineral

In 1942, the Davison Freeway in Detroit was completed and became the world's first urban freeway.

From the internet. "You can slow the aging process down if it had to work its way through Congress." Will Rogers

Three new uranium minerals from Utah Leesite, leoszilardite and redcanyonite are three new uranyl minerals discovered growing on the walls of old uranium mines in southern Utah. An alumnus of Michigan Technological University found them while exploring old uranium mines in Utah. These three new minerals are all new compounds of uranium and other components, allowing researchers to study how different forms of uranium can propagate in the natural environment. During the height of the Cold War in the early 1950's, uranium mining became a boom industry for Utah. Salt Lake City was known as the "Wall Street of Uranium Stocks," and the state's then-notoriously lax financial securities laws allowed for exploration companies to explode in the town while many never produced a single ounce of uranium. "Have you ever seen the Hills Have Eyes? It's that kind of creepy; barren desert landscape," says Travis Olds '12, now a graduate student at Notre Dame studying uranyl mineral compounds. He adds that he and others find mineralogy so exciting because of "the idea that there are things we still don't know -- and someone can see a pretty crystal and appreciate it." Olds specifically studies uranyl minerals because, as radioactive materials, it is

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Leesite Photo by Travis Olds

Leoszilardite Photo by Travis Olds

Redcanyonite Photo by Travis Olds

Challenge. The challenge runs through September 2019, with the goal to discover as many new carbon-based minerals as possible.

The Deep Carbon Observatory, the organization leading the project, predicts there are still at least 145 unknown carbon minerals. Leoszilardite is one of eight discovered and officially recognized by the International Mineralogical Association since December 2015. The final mineral is named for the area where these rare minerals are found. Redcanyonite varies in hue from orange to red-orange and the color comes from what chemically makes the mineral new -- manganese and ammonium in its structure -- and being a sulfate, it is not soluble in water, unlike leoszilardi te. Redcanyonite is one of the rarest uranyl minerals known because it can only grow within narrow constraints: access to manganese ions is the main driver, but it also can only form in organic-rich layers, the most likely source of ammonium. All three specimens represent a small and unique slice of Earth's crust where human activity spurred the formation of previously unknown minerals. "The only way to better understand the chemistry of uranium is to go out and find new minerals -- and describe their topology, their structures," Olds says. "They teach us a lot about how uranium can then be moved in the environment." Sources: Michigan Technological University. "Three new uranium minerals from Utah." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 8 February 2017. W\ \! W.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017 /02/17020813 18?0.htm

http://www.popularmechanics.com/ science/ environment/a25163/tlu · ee-new-uranium-related-minerals-discovered-i n-utah/ Photo credit: Travis Olds

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This Prehistoric Human Ancestor Was All Mouth Trilobites By NICHOIAS WADE JAN. 30, 2017

Photo An artist's impression of Saccorhytus, the oldest

known members of an ancient group called deuterostomes. Credit Jian Han, Northwest University, China

About 540 million years ago, our ancestors were insignificant creatures no more than a millimeter in size. They wriggled around in the sediments of shallow seas, _gulped prey into their minuscule, baglike bodies and expelled the water through cone-shaped spouts around their mouths.

Animals this small do not fossilize well, which is why this stage of the distant evolutionary past is so little known. A cache of 45 individuals has now been unearthed in Shaanxi Province, in central China. They are described in the Monday issue of the journal Nature by a team led by Jian Han of Northwest University in Xi'an, China

The creatures are the oldest known members

of an ancient group called deuterostomes, said Simon Conway Morris, a paleontologist at Cambridge University in England and a member of the team. Deuterostomes, which lie pretty close to the base of the family tree of all animals, are ancestral not just to humans but to a wide array of animals ranging from sea urchins and starfish to the vast family of vertebrates.

The deuterostomes, a name that means "mouth second" in Greek, were so called by anatomists to distinguish them from the protostomes, or "mouth firsters," the other members of a vast group of animals with bilateral symmetry. In the early embryo - a sphere of cells formed shortly after the egg is fertilized - the protostomes form the mouth first, anus second. The deuterostomes do it the other way round.

But strangely, the new deuterostome fossils seem to have no anus, presumably using the mouth for evacuation. At least the researchers cannot see one. "Our material is generally crushed, and despite the superb preservation we might have overlooked the evidence," Dr. Conway Morris said.

The fossils were found in rock strata, stated to be some 540 million years old in a news release issued by St. John's College, Cambridge, of which Dr. Conway Morris is a fellow. The release describes the fossils as "the earliest known prehistoric ancestor of humans," referring to their status as the earliest known deuterostomes. Although slightly older animal fossils are known, they lie on branches of the tree of life that do not lead to humans. From The New York Times Jan. 30~ 2017

HAPPY EASTER FROM THE ROCKPILE STAFF!

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THE MIDWEST MINERALOGICAL AND LAPIDARY SOCIETY (MMLS) is an educational non-profit organization founded in 1956. The Society now has more than l 00 members and is affiliated with the Midwest Federation of Mineralogical Societies and the American Federation of Mineralogical Societies. Significantly, MMLS has been recognized numerous times by the Midwest and American Federations with first place (gold level) awards in the annual All American Club Awards Program.

PURPOSE: The purpose of The MMLS shall be (I) to promote interest in and increase knowledge in the fields of mineralogy, geology, and paleontology, including lapidary and related arts; (2) to publish articles and information pertaining to these fields; (3) to encourage collections and to display specimens in these fields; and (4) to arrange field trips in support of the interests and activities specified.

GENERAL MEETINGS: the third Tuesday of each month, September through June, 7:30 p.m. at the Democratic Club of Taylor, 23400 Wick Rd., Taylor, MI 48180 GUESTS ARE ALWAYS WELCOME.

MEMBERSHIP: Applications for membership can be obtained at any general meeting or from any MMLS member. DUES: Entrance fee - $3.00; annual dues - $15.00 (adult), $1.00 (junior) on a year basis. Membership expires each Dec. 31.

ANNUAL EVENTS: March - Rock Swap and Sale November - Auction Coming is October 2016 our second Rock Swap and Sale!!

STUDY GROUPS: Special-interest study groups meet monthly, September though June. No additional fees are involved. Currently the following groups are active: Basic Lapidary Advanced Lapidary Wire Study Bead Study Mineralogy Silversmithing ( Silversmithing is now on hold until further notice.)

FIELD TRIPS: Several one day field trips and one longer (one to two weeks) field trips are conducted each year. Mostly, these field trips focus on the collection of mineral and fossil specimens at quarries, mines, and other known collecting sites in the United States and Canada. Field trips are restricted to MMLS members.

SCHOLARSHIP FUND: MMLS has established a scholarship Endowment Fund which provides scholarships to qualified students enrolled in an accredited college or university in southeastern Michigan who have completed at least their junior year and have a major in geology, mineralogy, paleontology or lapidary and related arts.

SEAMAN MINERAL MUSEUM: MMLS has designated the A.E. SEAMAN Mineral Museum at Michigan Technological University, Houghton, Michigan, as it's "adoptive" museum, pledging to support it with gifts to the museum's endowment fund and the donation of mineral specimens and services.

INTERNET WEB SITES OF INTEREST: Midwest Federation: www.amfed.org/mw£'index.htrnl American Lands Access Association: http: //amlands.org

American Federation: www.amfed.org

The Rockbound rs 10 Commandments: 1. Thou shall not touch thy neighbor's minerals unless he places them in thy hands. 2. Thou shall not test the strength of crystals by pushing, squeezing or biting. 3. Thou shall not drop thy neighbor's fossils, for many do not bounce properly. 4. Thou shall not place thy neighbor's specimens in thine own pocket. 5. Thou shall not collect at a neighbor's land unless unless thy neighbor knowst he's there. 6. Thou shall not argue names of minerals too violently; for sometimes thou couldst be wrong. 7. Thou shall not climb above thy neighbor's head when on a field trip, lest thou art willing to spend the rest of the day digging him out. 8. Thou shall protect thine eyes, hands & feet, so that they mayst enjoy many future field trips. 9. Thou shall not encroach upon thy neighbor's diggin's, lest thy neighbor's hammer be dropped upon thee. JO. Thou shall not break uncollectable specimens.

Midwest Mineralogical and Lapidary Society of Michigan

EDITOR 20281 THOMAS BROWNSTOWN, Ml

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ated Material

The ROCKP/LE

• Bulletin Editor Contest Awards

1993 -1st Place (Large Bulletin) AFMS 1991 -1st Place (Large Bulletin) MWF 1990-1st Place (New Editor) AFMS 1990-1st Place (New Editor) MWF