Page 1
MWF News October 2017, Issue No. 565 Page 1
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
Children’s Safety ............................................................... 6 Michigan Professor Honored ............................................ 5
Earth Science Week/National Fossil Day .......................... 3 President’s Message .......................................................... 1
Exfoliation in Rocks .......................................................... 2 Scholarship Foundation Donation Form ........................... 3
Forms Are Coming! .......................................................... 1 Upcoming Events .............................................................. 4
Gem Show Fakery ............................................................. 7
WHAT’S INSIDE?
MWF News Midwest Federation
of Mineralogical and Geological Societies
October 2017 - Issue No. 565
Web Site - www.amfed.org/mwf
Member of the American Federation of
Mineralogical Societies
FORMS ARE COMING! FORMS ARE COMING!
Tom Whitlatch, President
It is now full-on fall, and the best time to get
out to enjoy outdoors – also some rockhounding.
With the temperature being cooler, many
of the bugs and other critters are moving
more slowly or not at all, making for a
bit more fun. Just remember to be safe
and just ask a new rockhound or club
member along to enjoy the time too.
Fall shows are in full swing also,
which makes it a great opportunity to add
to your club membership and collection. Be sure to
check for other shows nearby to help support other
clubs as well as your own. That would make for a
great day trip for a group of club members.
It is time to think about spending some time
working with the Midwest Federation as a committee
chairman or assistant. There are a few positions that
still need to be filled. Most only require a few hours a
year but it is important that we have these positions
(Continued on page 2)
Valerie J. Meyers, Editor
Sandy Fuller, MWF Treasurer, wants to give
everyone a heads-up that the dues and insurance
renewal forms will be printed in the November issue of
this august publication. This will also be the time when
forms for your club’s 2018 events (if you haven’t
already submitted them) will be sent out.
“Please be sure that appropriate club officers
receive copies of the forms so they can be submitted on
time,” Sandy wrote.
Meanwhile, if you or your club are interested in
honoring someone’s present-day work or someone’s
memory, consider making a contribution to the AFMS
Scholarship Foundation. A form for contributions to
this excellent cause is on page 3 of this issue.
Thanks in advance for any contribution to the
Foundation, and (on behalf of Sandy Fuller) for getting
your dues and insurance information in on time!
Page 2
Page 2 October 2017, Issue No. 565 MWF News
MWF OFFICERS
President: Tom Whitlatch
1147 Staub Court NE
Cedar Rapids, IA 52402
319-551-3870
[email protected]
1st VP: David Root 2nd VP: Kevin Ponzio
1051 Meadow Lane Post Office Box 44
Jenison, MI 49428 Plymouth, WI 53073
616-498-4699 920-980-6413
[email protected] [email protected]
Secretary: Donna Moore Treasurer: Sandy Fuller
25235 N. State Route 97 8445 Grange Boulevard
Cuba, IL 61427 Cottage Grove, MN 55016
309-789-6501 651-459-0343
[email protected] [email protected]
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE, CONTINUED
EXFOLIATION: ROCKS AT THE SPA?
November Issue Submissions
Deadline: October 4th!
filled. Even if you only hold the chair for a year or two,
you will help greatly. And for those who are up to the
challenge, think about becoming a state director or
assistant director. There is a bit more dedication
needed for those positions but they are also very
rewarding. You don’t need to know a lot about rocks or
lapidary, just have a love for your club, state and
hobby. We have many current officers who are willing
to help you any way they can to enjoy whatever you
decide on.
With this being my last message as President, I
would like to take a moment and thank the dedicated
group of officers listed on this newsletter, and a few
past presidents, for all of the help I have had this year.
They also gave very great advice in dealing with the
few issues that did come up.
Remember, Just Ask!
Thomas Whitlatch
(Continued from page 1)
Dr. William Cordua, Chair, MWF Geology Committee
From the Rock Rustler’s News of the Minnesota
Mineral Club
On a field trip to central Wisconsin, a friend of
mine and I were looking at piles of cobbles from a
nearby gravel pit. Many were oval, and had layers
peeling off of them (figure 1 below).
My friend said, “Locals call these dinosaur
eggs.” They certainly looked like eggs. But they were
found in a Pleistocene gravel deposit millions of years
too young for dinosaurs, and in an area of Precambrian
bedrock millions of years too old for dinosaurs. Plus
they were made of diabase, an igneous rock consisting
of high temperature minerals such as plagioclase and
pyroxene. It would take a very remarkable dinosaur to
lay something like that. No, these were great examples
of what geologists call exfoliation, formed by
weathering processes that can round rocks without
rolling them around.
The process is most pronounced in igneous
rocks such as granite and gabbros. All it needs to start
is some cracks in the rocks. These could be from
shrinkage during magma cooling, rebound when deep
rocks are exposed at or near the surface, or physical
processes such as expansion and contraction during
temperature extremes. Most rocks are crisscrossed with
cracks. A hairline crack is enough to allow water, air or
microbes to get in. These work to break down the rock.
The freezing and thawing of water in these cracks is an
excellent example. So is the alteration of feldspars to
(Continued on page 5)
Figure 1.
Photo by Dr.
Bill Cordua.
Page 3
MWF News October 2017, Issue No. 565 Page 3
Please Consider …………. a donation to support Earth Science and/or to honor or memorialize a friend or club member. Donations can be sent
to the American Federation Scholarship Foundation at the address below.
The AFMS Scholarship Foundation was established in 1964 to finance scholarships from a perpetual fund. The six
participating Regional Federations currently award two one-time grants of $4,000. Our MWF Scholarship Honoree
chooses two students working on advanced degrees in the Earth Sciences at a college or university in our Region.
More detailed information is published in the green pages of the MWF Directory.
The Fund has non-profit 501(c)(3) status. Contributions are tax-exempt, you receive an acknowledgment, and next
of kin are notified of your donation.
Donor(s) name: _______________________________________________________ Donation: $ ____________
Address: _____________________________________________________________________________________ (street) (apartment #) (city) (state) (ZIP code)
(if applicable) Donation is Memorial to: ____________________________________________________________
Next of Kin: __________________________________________________________________________________ (name) (relationship)
Address: _____________________________________________________________________________________ (street) (apartment #) (city) (state) (ZIP code)
Send checks payable to : AFMS Scholarship Foundation
c/o Marge Collins, MWF Chairman
3017 Niles-Buchanan Road
Buchanan, MI 49107
CELEBRATE EARTH SCIENCE WEEK AND NATIONAL FOSSIL DAY!
In conjunction with Earth Science Week Oct. 8th to 14th, the National Park Service celebrates National
Fossil Day on Oct. 11th. Ohioans really get into National Fossil Day: Among activities scheduled are a geology tour
of the Statehouse building stones (Oct. 11th, noon, in Columbus); a contest, fossil identification, and fossil
giveaways at Orton Geological Museum, Ohio State University, Columbus (Oct. 11th, 12:30 to 4:30 p.m.); and
special activities at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History (Oct. 14th, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.).
Also on October 14th, Bollinger County Museum of Natural History in Marble Hill, Missouri, will celebrate
from noon to 4 p.m. by offering identification of fossils and Native American relics, a children’s fossil dig, and a
presentation by geology professor Mike Fix about “Volcanoes in Missouri.”
Be sure to check with museums and colleges near you to see if there are Earth Science Week activities
planned.
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Page 4 October 2017, Issue No. 565 MWF News
UPCOMING EVENTS
Date and Time Organization Place Contact
Sept. 30-Oct. 1 Grand Traverse Area Rock and Heritage Center, 322 Sixth Street, Pierre LaFoille,
Sat 9-5, Sun 10-4 Mineral Club Traverse City, MI [email protected]
Sept. 30-Oct. 1 Midwest Mineralogical & County Fairgrounds, 10871 Quirk Road, Bill Barr, [email protected]
Sat 10-5, Sun 10-4 Lapidary Society rock swap Belleville, MI
Oct. 7-8 Central Arkansas Gem, Mineral Community Center, 5 Municipal Drive John Schoeneman,
Sat & Sun, 9-5 & Geology Society Jacksonville, AR [email protected]
Oct. 7-8 Lincoln Orbit Earth Science Orr Building, State Fairgrounds, 801 E. Ed Wagner,
Sat 10-6, Sun 10-5 Society Sangamon Avenue, Springfield, IL [email protected]
Oct. 13-15 Michigan Mineralogical Society Macomb Expo Center, Building P, 14500 John Peters,
Fri 9-6, Sat 10-7, Sun 11-5 E. 12 Mile Road, Warren, MI [email protected]
Oct. 14-15 Loup Valley Gem & Mineral Knights of Columbus Hall, 3115 6th St., Deb Gonsior,
Sat 9-5, Sun 10-4 Society Columbus, NE [email protected]
Oct. 14-15 Ozark Mountain Gem & Mineral Expo Center, 635 St. Louis Street, Larry Lillich,
Sat 10-5, Sun 10-4:30 Society Springfield, MO [email protected]
Oct. 20-22 Central Michigan Lapidary & County Fairgrounds, Main Arena, 700 Roger Laylin,
Fri 6-9, Sat 10-6, Sun 11-5 Mineral Society E. Ash Street, Mason, MI [email protected]
Oct. 20-22 Three Rivers Gem & Mineral County Fairgrounds, 2726 Carroll Road, Russell Greim,
Fri & Sat, 10-6, Sun 11-5 Society Fort Wayne, IN [email protected]
Oct. 21-22 Des Moines Lapidary Society State Fairgrounds, Knapp Center, 3000 Karen Leibold,
Sat 9-5, Sun 10-4 E. Grand Avenue, Des Moines, IA [email protected]
Oct. 21-22 Flint Rock and Gem Club Carter Middle School, 300 Rogers Lodge, Bill Wendling,
Sat & Sun, 10-5 Clio, MI [email protected]
Oct. 21-22 Minnesota Mineral Club Armory, 8180 Belden Boulevard, Maureen Scaglia,
Sat 10-5, Sun 10-4 Cottage Grove, MN [email protected]
Oct. 21-22 South Suburban Earth Science Prairie State College, 202 Halsted, Jan Podbielski,
Sat & Sun, 10-5 Club Chicago Heights, IL [email protected]
Oct. 28-29 Akron Mineral Society Emidio Expo Center, 48 E. Bath Road, Sandy Sharter,
Sat 10-6, Sun 10-5 Cuyahoga Falls, OH [email protected]
Oct. 28-29 Black Hawk Gem and Mineral Mississippi Valley Fairgrounds, 2815 Craig & Kellie Moore,
Sat 10-5, Sun 10-3:30 Club Locust Street, Davenport, IA [email protected]
Nov. 4 Midwest Mineralogical & Democratic Club, 23400 Wick Road, Dan Gumina, [email protected]
Sat, doors open at 7 Lapidary Society auction Taylor, MI
Nov. 4-5 Mid-Michigan Rock Club Chippewa Nature Center, 400 S. Badour, Debra Young,
Sat & Sun, 10-5 Midland, MI [email protected]
Nov. 4-5 Racine Geological Society Fountain Hall, 8505 Durand (Hwy. 11), John Lowman,
Sat 10-5, Sun 10-4 Sturtevant, WI [email protected]
Nov. 11 Gem City Rock Club Community Room, Quincy Mall, 32nd Jane Huelsmeyer,
Sat 10-5 and Broadway, Quincy, IL [email protected]
Nov. 11-12 Anoka County Gem & Mineral Community Center, 4800 Douglas Drive, Martha Miss,
Sat 10-5, Sun 10-4 Club Crystal, MN [email protected]
Nov. 11-12 Northwest Illinois Rock Club Highland Community College, 2998 Brian Green,
Sat 9-5, Sun 10-4 W. Pearl City Road, Freeport, IL [email protected]
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MWF News October 2017, Issue No. 565 Page 5
MICHIGAN PROFESSOR HONORED
clay minerals in the presence of water. These processes
work most effectively on edges and corners, working
their way inward to cores of unweathered rocks.
Removal of edges and corners will round the rocks in
place, the result being termed “spheroidal weathering”.
Little slabs of weathered rocks peel off. The
unweathered, now rounded centers are called core
stones.
For more, see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Spheroidal_weathering. Doing a Google search for
“spherical weathering” or “rock exfoliation” will also
get you many fine images. Figure 2 (below) is a picture
taken in Grapevine Canyon, a neat hiking area in Big
Bend National Park in Texas. Note the 3-foot-long
walking stick leaning on the rock for scale. Here we
can see granitic rocks weathering in place, becoming
rounded without moving.
(Continued from page 2)
More locally, one sees this is in the granite
quarries in the Wausau area. The weathered, or
“rotten,” granite is easy to quarry and haul away as
road metal or what-have-you. The large core stones can
be sold as landscape boulders. A lot of scenery in old
Western movies features spheroidally weathered
granite. These include the Joshua Tree National Park in
the Mojave Desert and the Alabama Hills near Lone
Pine, California. For more: https://en.wikipedia.org/
wiki/Alabama_Hills. These processes will continue as
chunks of rocks are transported by rivers or glaciers.
The “dinosaur eggs” in figure 1 formed in that way.
Many local agate collectors see the results of a
similar process producing the “peeler” Lake Superior
agates (figure 3, below). Boundaries between color
bands can be incipient zones of weakness, allowing
cracks to form easily. The rigors of being freed from
bedrock and rolling around in glaciers cause the layers
to peel apart like an onion. This exposes rounded
lustrous chalcedony layers, which are the 3-D
expression of our beloved agate bands.
©2017 Dr. Bill Cordua
Figure 3.
Photo by Dr.
Bill Cordua.
EXFOLIATION IN ROCKS, CONTINUED
Valerie J. Meyers, Editor
You may remember an article in the April
issue about merelaniite, a new mineral discovered by a
team led by Dr. John Jaszczak, a physicist at
Michigan Technological University in Houghton.
Shortly before that article ran, Dr. Jaszczak received
what is arguably one of the greatest honors a scientist
can attain: a mineral was named after him.
According to the A.E. Seaman Mineral
Museum’s “Showcase” (March 2017 edition),
jaszczakite is “a single grain of an orthorhombic
sulfite of gold, bismuth and lead from the
Nagyborzsony gold deposit, Hungary.” The name was
announced by authors Luca Bindi of Italy and Wernar
Paar of Austria in the December 2016 issue of
Mineralogical Magazine.
Congratulations to Dr. Jaszczak!
Figure 2. Photo by Dr. Bill Cordua.
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Page 6 October 2017, Issue No. 565 MWF News
Ellery Borow, AFMS Safety Committee Chair
Via EFMLS News, October 2017
Kid safety? Isn’t kid safety the same as adult
safety? Well, yes it is, more or less, and that is the crux
of the matter –– the “less” part, that is. Kids are
generally less –– less experienced in matters of safety,
less tall, less heavy, have smaller hands and overall,
have smaller proportions than adults. There are thus
some special considerations when it comes to kid
safety.
1. Some safety goggles are made of hard plastic
or rubber. They do not easily conform to the smaller
faces on kids. Solution: try using softer vinyl framed
goggles which are flexible enough to properly fit kid
faces. Goggles with elastic head bands can easily be
adjusted to fit kids. If one is using safety glasses with
side shields make sure the temples are sized to fit kids.
One would find it uncomfortable to have safety glasses
sliding down the nose every time one looked downward
- and let’s face it, looking downward is a large part of
rock, mineral and fossil collecting.
2. Heavy-duty work gloves in large or
sometimes medium sizes are easily found in most
stores. Heavy-duty kid work gloves are not so easily
found. Solution: try looking for ladies’ small-size
heavy duty gloves. Sometimes the more well stocked
suppliers will have smaller heavy-duty gloves.
3. Hard hats for kids? Sometimes I have seen
the play hard hats, but never have I seen downscale
hard hats that meet all the various ANSI or OSHA
specifications. Solution: check out the adjustability of
the head band and suspension system. Some are more
adjustable than others. Seek one that can be adjusted to
fit smaller heads. The benefit is that a good hard hat
can be adjusted to fit as the child grows.
4. Steel-toe work shoes in smaller sizes? There
again, in some specialty work clothes establishments
one can find safety toe work boots that fit smaller lady-
size feet. The problem there is often finding the correct
width, but with a little luck one might be successful in
finding a safety shoe that fits. As fast as kids grow, it
will be quite a trick to keep kids in proper safety
CHILDREN’S SAFETY REQUIRES SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS
footwear. The best one can mostly hope for is just
providing good sturdy work boots. Oh, there are steel-
and safety-toe sneakers, so there may be some suitable
offerings there as well.
5. Kid-appropriate tools? Sure, kids love to
hammer on things. Can one find kid- appropriate rock
collecting tools? Solution: I have found none
specifically made for kids, but what I have seen are
what I call “travel tools,” tools that are smaller – less
heavy rock picks, crack hammers, and chisels. Why
does a kid need smaller tools? Well, smaller tools are
more easily controlled in kids’ smaller, less strong, and
less coordinated hands. Mind that any use of tools
should be suitably adult supervised. Safety and first-aid
kits should have kid-sized bandages packed in with all
the adult-size bandages.
We like protecting our kids from harm. Large,
dangerous working mines, quarries, pits and other
hazardous commercial operations often limit kid entry.
Insurance and liability requirements in operating
facilities often dictate that no one under 18 is permitted
on site. Thus, kid-specific safety gear is often not
needed because kids are often not permitted inside.
Common sense should reign in other collecting
sites. In general, safety requirements are similar for
kids and adults – keeping hydrated, minding site-
specific rules and regulations, wearing safety goggles,
and so on. The trick with kid safety, the one thing that
makes it easier for adults, is this one simple guideline:
kids use adults as role models. If kids see their parents
wearing goggles, they will want to as well, because it’s
the adult thing to do. If kids see their parents using
gloves, kids will want to as well. Kids learn from us, so
if we adults set a good example, our work in keeping
kids safe is made much easier. The bonus with that
approach is that we stay safe too (for our kids’ sake).
November Issue Submissions
Deadline: October 4th!
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MWF News October 2017, Issue No. 565 Page 7
TIPS TO HELP AVOID GEM SHOW FAKERY
Krissa Klein, Rockhound Times
www.rockhoundtimes.com
I recently attended a gem show, and was
somewhat appalled at the number of blatantly fake
minerals for sale there. Dyed stones, heat-treated
minerals, reconstituted amber and turquoise being sold
as the real thing – and in some cases, cheap minerals
being sold as more expensive look-alikes.
Dying or altering or minerals is not necessarily
wrong – up until the moment the dealer tries to scam
the customer into believing that it's a natural stone, not
a man-made object. In most cases, when I asked, the
dealers assured me that these fakes were, of course,
completely natural and unaltered. Some of them may
have thought they were telling the truth, I don't know.
But as a mineral collector, it is becoming more and
more important to know exactly what you are buying,
and how to identify the scams. I thought I'd give a
brief overview of some of the most common fakes I
saw.
True citrine is almost never orange-tinted. It is
lemon yellow, or even a bit greenish. And I have never
seen it in geode form. If it's in a geode or crystal vug,
it's probably amethyst. Real citrine crystals tend to be
longer and slenderer than fake ones, which are usually
short and stubby. And fake citrine is usually very
colored at the tip, fading to white at the base. Another
clue is price. True citrine is a valuable and rare
gemstone, and it's very unlikely you're going to find it
tossed around in the bargain bin at a rock show.
Cut citrine. Photo by Wela49, via Wikimedia
Commons.
Tiger's eye is usually brown/gold in color.
Sometimes you will find reddish pieces (in Tiger Iron,
for example), but if it's natural, it'll likely only be a
small reddish streak or patch in an otherwise normal-
colored piece. Fully red specimens have been heat-
treated to create the color.
There's a variety of blue-gray tiger's eye, called
hawk's eye, but it is rarer than the gold color. Beware
when buying blue, because it is often dyed rather than
natural. If it's a particularly bright blue rather than gray
-blue, it's probably fake. Bright green tiger's eye is
dyed. Don't ever believe green tiger's eye.
Unpolished tiger’s eye. Photo by Simon Eugster —
Simon 15:34, via Wikimedia Commons.
Most of the agate jewelry and slabs you will
see have been dyed – brilliant greens, yellows, blues or
pinks. True agate is generally more muted in color. If
the quartz crystals in the center of an agate slab are
colored, it's probably dyed. And dyed agate bands
usually appear more blurred than the naturally-colored
pieces. If there's a whole bunch of complete different
colors all being sold in the same case, they're probably
all fakes.
Aurora Borealis Coating: This is a synthetic
coating, the same stuff that gives rhinestones their
glitter. It's used to make mineral specimens more
sparkly and colorful. When asked, the dealer selling
A.B.-coated aquamarines insisted that they were
"totally untreated!" It was only when confronted with
(Continued on page 8)
Page 8
Page 8 October 2017, Issue No. 565 MWF News
Valerie J. Meyers, Editor
Midwest Federation of Mineralogical and Geological Societies
[email protected]
Post Office Box 13456
Overland Park, KS 66282-3456
Non Profit Org
U.S. Postage
PAID
Fiatt, IL
Permit No. 1
the little note of "AB" on the label, that she finally
’fessed up.
Turquoise is another popular fake. Much of
what you'll see sold as turquoise is plastic, howlite
coated in blue dye, or lumps of plaster. Sometimes it'll
be real turquoise dust from scrap material, glued
together into a lump. Always ask where the turquoise
came from, and if the dealer can't give a convincing
answer, don't buy it. It should not be patchy white,
although it may often have black lines running through
it. It should also be opaque, not translucent.
"Peacock ore" is another name for the mineral
Bornite, but most of what you'll see at rock shows is
actually chalcopyrite which has been chemically
treated to bring out the rainbow-colored effect.
Fake amber is, fortunately, not too hard to
identify once you know what to look for. Commonly
what you'll see is reconstituted amber, where scraps
have been melted down and re-formed. This treatment
is made obvious by circular, dish-shaped fractures
(Continued from page 7) within the material. Real amber rarely has any interior
fractures, and certainly is not filled with them.
The other common scam is fake insects within
the amber. If you see a piece that has a single, perfectly
laid out dragonfly in dead center, assume it's fake –
unless it's in a museum somewhere. Remember, the
bugs in amber were stuck in tree sap, and you can see
that they were trying to escape – they'll have broken
wings, be twisted at odd angles, and generally LOOK
like bugs trying to get out of tree sap. Also, there's
usually a bunch of debris in any piece of amber. If
there's one large bug and no smaller ones, bits of
leaves, broken off wings, or dirt, be suspicious.
Baltic amber.
Photo by Brocken
Inaglory, via
Wikimedia
Commons.
TIPS TO HELP AVOID GEM SHOW FAKERY, CONTINUED
