Welcome to FrOg On-Line #1999-03.
CONTENTS
========
1. Introduction
2. Old Business
3. Picking Table
4. The Glowing Future
5. Thomas S. Warren Day
6. Collecting News
7. Featured Specimen
8. Acknowledgements
9. "Subscriber" List
1. Introduction
===============
I wanted to get another issue out before Thomas S. Warren Day, so here it is.
God willing, I'll be there. I hope to see many of you there, too.
A comment on editing: all submissions are "re-wrapped" and reformatted to fit
within 74 characters per line. While I do not have a spelling checker, I do
correct spelling errors I happen to catch. Starting with the next FrOg
On-Line, I will no longer mark a submission edited if it was merely
"re-wrapped" and/or spelling-corrected.
This issue is rich in contributions from readers, making it a much better issue
than this year's previous issues. We're moving in the right direction. Keep
it up.
Picking Table staff and Doug Mitchell: you are welcome (as far as I'm
concerned) to use material from these FrOg On-Line messages in the Picking
Table, FMS Online, and the UV Waves, provided it is also ok with the original
author of the contribution, and appropriate credit is given.
Enjoy...
2. Old Business
===============
Earl wrote the following (slightly edited) regarding the featured specimen (a
Sterling Mine piece with a vein of massive Hydrozincite):
Date: Mon, 13 Sep 1999 19:35:18 -0400
From: Maureen Verbeek <mobeek@nac.net>
Subject: Re: FrOg #1999-02.
Hi Bill,
[...]
Congratulations on FrOg 1999-02! I will read it in detail later, but for
now a quick comment about the featured specimen, specifically the
statement about willemite having "the appearance of exsolution lamellae"
in some franklinite grains. I've seen this in numerous specimens, and the
tiny willemite veins do indeed resemble exsolution lamellae, but they're
not. In most specimens of this type the "lamellae" have the same
orientation in all the franklinite grains, which is one hint that
exsolution is not what is going on here--instead the willemite has
precipitated as a secondary mineral in minute, post-metamorphic fractures.
These are extension fractures, the same things that, in larger examples,
we call common joints.
Franklinite embedded in calcite is a splendid example of a strong, brittle
mineral in a weak, ductile host. Whenever such a compound medium is
stressed, the usual mode of deformation is fracture of the strong mineral
and plastic deformation ("flowage") of the weak one. You may have
noticed, in natural outcrops or road cuts, that firmly cemented sandstones
often are highly fractured (jointed), whereas interbedded shales are not.
This is the same effect, greatly magnified from the example you've
described. That the strong mineral breaks and the weak one does not has
wonderful parallels in other walks of life, notably in sayings that
probably all of us grew up with but that I now forget, something to the
effect that a mightly oak may be toppled by the wind whereas a flexible
birch tree will not, etc. In any event, one of the things I like best
about collecting Franklin-Sterling Hill minerals is the magnificent
stories they tell about the forces that have operated on them since their
crystallization.
More on that later--publication in preparation!
Cheers- Earl
One of the primary things I want to see in FrOg On-Line is just what Earl gave
us above: good scientific discussion. I also commend Earl for putting a warm,
personal touch in his message. I am seeking more such messages for future
issues.
3. Picking Table
================
In response to my request for an update on the Picking Table, Dick Bostwick
sent me the following message (slightly edited):
From: RBostwick@spexcsp.com
To: "William C. Mattison" <mattison@thunder.nws.noaa.gov>
Date: Wed, 06 Oct 1999 14:06:32 GMT
The 40th Anniversary issue of "The Picking Table" is on the verge of going
to the printer as of Oct. 6, and should be in print by late October. This
issue (Vol. 40) is a double issue covering the spring and fall 1999
seasons, and will be 88 pages long including an 8-page color section.
This makes it twice the size of any prior "Picking Table." About half of
the 80-page text is devoted to the usual columns and technical articles:
the President's Message; news from the Franklin Mineral Museum and
Sterling Hill Mining Museum; coverage of local field trips, mineral shows,
and events; a Jaszczak article about graphite from Sterling Hill; and
brief notes about cuspidine from Franklin and znucalite from France. The
rest of the text is approx. 50 "collector's stories" sent in by FOMS
members for the 40th anniversary issue, a truly remarkable anthology by
authors ranging from FOMS co-founder Richard Hauck, N.J. Zinc geologist
and Franklin Mineral Museum curator Jack Baum, and UVP founder Tom Warren,
to some prominent mineral dealers such as Tony Nikischer and Fred Parker,
and several of our younger collectors who are building their collections
with material available today from the local dumps and quarries. The 8
pages of Gary Grenier's color photos are "eye candy" for Franklin/Sterling
Hill fanatics, with some of the best shots ever taken of many local
crystal and fluorescent classics: franklinite, willemite, zincite,
rhodonite, hardystonite, esperite, and so on. All in all this "Picking
Table" summarizes neatly both the Franklin-Sterling experience and the
attractions of its minerals: both what we collect, and why. It is a
landmark issue in the history of the FOMS, and will be a key document for
current and future collectors of our local minerals.
Whether or not the FOMS could afford a color section was only settled on
Sept. 26, the last day of the 1999 Franklin-Sterling Gem & Mineral show.
Simply put, the FOMS cannot afford color based on membership fees and
income from its Swap-and-Sell events, so the money has to come from the
Color Fund, which in turn relies entirely on voluntary donations from FOMS
members and friends. This year the income from the FOMS auction on Sept.
25 was also dedicated to the Color Fund, and throughout the show FOMS
officers and members solicited cash donations as well. By the end of the
show enough pledges had been received - in addition to donations and
auction revenues - for the FOMS to risk authorizing a color section.
Needless to say, this required courage on the parts of treasurer John
Cianciulli and president Steve Kuitems. Anyone within the reach of the
FrOg Newsletter who has not contributed to the Color Fund in one way or
another is urged to do so - no joke - and heartfelt thanks are extended to
all who have made this PT possible.
4. The Glowing Future
=====================
Saturday, October 16, 1999:
Thomas S. Warren Day, four events including two collecting opportunities,
see "Thomas S. Warren Day" below.
Sunday, October 17, 1999:
FOMS field trip, 9 A.M. to 3 P.M., Lime Crest Quarry.
Saturday, November 06, 1999:
7 P.M. to 10 P.M., night dig on the Buckwheat Dump, poundage fee charged,
benefits the Franklin Mineral Museum.
Saturday, November 20, 1999:
FOMS field trip, 9 A.M. to noon, Franklin Quarry.
FOMS meeting, 1:30 P.M., speaker and topic to be determined.
5. Thomas S. Warren Day
=======================
A correction and an invitation, but first, by way of review, here's the
schedule:
9 A.M. to noon - collecting on the Mine Run Dump at the Sterling Hill Mining
Museum.
10 A.M. - dedication of the new Thomas S. Warren Museum of Fluorescence in the
GeoTech Center (which is in the basement of the old mill site).
1:30 P.M. - FOMS meeting, Kraissal Hall at the Franklin Mineral Museum. The
speaker will be Bill Mattison; his talk is titled "The Chilling Side of
Fluorescence".
6:30 P.M. to 9:30 P.M. - collecting in the Passaic and Noble Pits, and the Mine
Run Dump at the Sterling Hill Mining Museum.
There was one error in this section of the last FrOg On-Line. The following
correction is cut and paste from a recent FMS Online message, Doug Mitchell
editor:
-------------------------------------- Warren Museum dedication error
Subject: Re: Tom Warren oopsie
Date: 20-Sep-99 at 07:46
From: [Richard Bostwick], RBostwick@spexcsp.com
[excerpt]
There is an error in my recent announcement of the dedication of the
Thomas S. Warren Museum of Fluorescence at the Sterling Hill Mining
Museum on Oct. 16. Tom Warren will be accompanied there by his
daughter Bethany and her husband Don Griffiths (not his daughter
Virginia and her husband as I originally stated). This announcement
appeared in FMS115 e-mail dated Sept. 4, 1999 and in the May..Aug '99
UV Waves. I sincerely regret this error.
Richard Bostwick, NE VP, FMS
Now, an invitation. Those who attend this FOMS meeting are invited to bring a
specimen or two to dunk in liquid nitrogen, to see if its fluorescence changes
when chilled to about -320 degrees Fahrenheit. Do not bring specimens that are
delicate (fragile), gemmy (translucent or transparent), or water soluble.
Specimens will be dunked as time and liquid nitrogen supply permit.
6. Collecting News
==================
Five great collecting reports from four collectors follow. All self-collectors
are invited to report to me by e-mail the results of their diggings within the
"official" "Franklin-Sterling Hill Area" as defined by Dr. Pete Dunn on page 71
of his 1995 monograph "Franklin and Sterling Hill, New Jersey: the world's most
magnificent mineral deposits".
A. Sterling Hill
----------------
Four readers reported their recent collecting experiences here. Their reports
follow (slightly edited).
>From Chris Thorsten:
From: Chris <chris@atomic-pc.com>
Subject: Noble / Passaic trip report
Hi Bill,
This Sept. 11 trip to the Passaic-Noble Pit was really great, in my
opinion: here are some of the things I found...
1. wollastonite in association with non-fluorescent calcite, pyrite,
diopside, and sometimes galena; this wollastonite came from a new find
in the Noble Pit that's separate from the one that came out a couple
years ago. This newer find is characterized by richer wollastonite
coverage, and the fluorescence is a bright as the best of the previous
find. Bob Hauck wouldn't tell us where the new find was exactly, so we
sniffed around the Noble Pit for a while. (He wanted us to enjoy the
search). After a short time I happened upon a large specimen of the
"right kind" of rock, and sure enough, there was the good wollastonite
which revealed itself after my 20-lb sledge hit it a couple times! I
also found a piece of this rock in a place where it couldn't have been
put by a person, leading me to believe that the outcrop was also
there... Bob gave a couple of hints and finally confirmed that yes,
this was the outcrop.
2. more of that scapolite-group mineral, which is probably meionite (you
might want to ask Dick Bostwick about this; he told me that most
"scapolite" from the area is meionite). Mixed with a red-orange
fluorescing calcite, this meionite fluoresces a beatiful magenta color
under short wave.
3. a few pieces of apatite or fluorapatite, characterized by a dull orange
fluorescence SW, and a bluish color under visible light. Mixed with
calcite and sometimes meionite, this makes for some nice (but
unfortunately small) specimens.
4. for micromineral collectors, there's an unidentified mineral in the
weathered magnetite rock, forming white, acicular sprays of micro
crystals. I had thought this mineral to be cerussite, but it could be
natrolite or something else. I would really love to know what to label
this stuff, since I have several specimens of it in micromount boxes.
5. also for micro collectors, there was some unidentified green, secondary
copper mineral which occurred as tiny spots in a decomposing
calc-silicate type rock, along with goethite / limonite and several
other minerals. This copper mineral looks like malachite, but who
really knows?
6. The Passaic Pit has some very interesting things lurking in its rock
piles. I found fluorescent sphalerite, and of course nice willemite
and calcite combinations. There is also a biotite-like mica, sometimes
in large plates, and also massive gahnite, plus the occasional
andradite crystal. Dave Slaymaker was walking along the road in the
Passaic and kicked up a large, weathered franklinite or magnetite
octahedron with modified faces. Nice find! There were also some good
crystals of the weathered augite ("jeffersonite") in the pits.
As I sort through the 108 lbs of rock I brought home the other day, I'll
let you know if anything else surfaces...
Chris Thorsten
>From Mark Boyer:
From mboyer@pace2001.com Tue Sep 28 15:38:30 GMT 1999
Subject: RE: collecting.
Date: Tue, 28 Sep 1999 11:43:03 -0400
Bill:
I carried out 70 pounds of material, mostly wollastonite from the recent
find in the Noble Pit. One specimen with complete coverage of
wollastonite with patches of calcite weighed 30 pounds. Other items I
collected were some hemimorphite botryoidal masses and some scapolite with
fluorapatite. Also collected a beautiful 4-inch diameter circular
dendrite.
Mark
>From Dave Slaymaker:
Date: Tue, 28 Sep 1999 10:41:09 -0700 (PDT)
From: David Slaymaker <dh10000@yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: collecting.
Hi Bill,
[...]
I didn't get much at Sterling this time. I spent a lot of time digging in
Passaic for apatite but only came up with a few small pieces. But a nice
peachy flourescence none the less. Also found a nice solid chunk of
phosphorescent willemite - which isn't unique but is new to my collection.
Hoping to get more of that next time.
I know those two hardcore diggers Mark and Chris will have more for you.
Best wishes,
David Slaymaker
>From Nathan Schachtman:
Date: Mon, 27 Sep 1999 09:30:34 -0400
From: "Nathan A. Schachtman" <nschacht@voicenet.com>
Subject: FrOg #1999-02.
Bill,
[...]
I was at the Franklin show, but I didn't get a chance to see you. I
apologize. I did participate in the Passaic and Noble Pit collecting
adventure on Sunday, and it was very exciting. It's been a long time,
perhaps too long, since I have been collecting in the Franklin area.
There was abundant zincite, hydrozincite with good blue SW FL, willemite
with the expected green FL and PH.
Away from the zinc ore areas, there seemed to be lots of hemimorphite,
sulfide vein minerals (galena, sphalerite, bornite), accessory minerals
such as gahnite, pyroxenes, apatites, etc.
I found one very nice magnetite octadedron with hoppered faces, which made
my day. There will be lots to look at under the scope and under the UV
lamp for a while.
Cheers.
Nathan A. Schachtman
Haddon Heights, NJ
B. Buckwheat Dump
-----------------
Chris Thorsten submitted the following (slightly edited) report about a day of
Buckwheat Dump collecting:
Date: Thu, 07 Oct 1999 10:13:50 -0400
From: Chris <chris@atomic-pc.com>
Hi Bill,
I'd like to add on another mini-report of a Buckwheat trip, this time from
last weekend:
Claude Poli and I searched all day for the elusive, exotic "orchid
apatite" (which may not even be apatite anyway, but something "weirder",
if that's a real word)... but we found virtually none. I hunted the dump
for "the right type of rock" and found some promising looking chunks,
which I handed to Claude as he sat hunched over with his battery-powered
lamp beneath a black canvas bag to keep the sunlight out. Specks, just
specks, that was all we found of the "orchid". That stuff is elusive, to
understate things.
Meanwhile, Mark Boyer was digging away in the Second Massive Crater, which
had appeared earlier this summer. That hole produced nice sphalerite &
calcite combinations, and also a pyroxene-containing rock that had calcite
and exsolution willemite. Well, Mark came up with a few nice pieces which
Claude checked under the lamp. We still don't know what the vitreous /
resinous matrix is that the willemite is embedded in, but it makes for an
intriguing piece with streaks of forest-green fluorescing willemite
running through it.
Upon abandoning hope of finding the "orchid" this time, I went down
towards the shed and, in a frenzy of sledge hammering, uncovered some nice
powder blue-fluorescing microcline. Some of that stuff is almost as
bright as margarosanite. Since I can't afford margarosanite, this will
make a decent substitute on my display shelves. Some of it also had tiny,
tiny specks of yellow-fluorescing powellite/scheelite in it, making one
wonder what on earth happened beneath the then-nonexistent town of
Franklin 800 to 1300 million years ago...
The three of us divided up our finds at the end of the day. Each of us
put in a lot of work digging, hammering, and overturning rocks while the
Franklin marching band played and played up top. Still, somewhere on or
in the dump, sits a boulder of the "orchid" material... I will find it,
or my name isn't Yosemite Sam. Wait a minute...
Chris Thorsten
http://members.xoom.com/njminerals/
7. Featured Specimen
====================
Specimens do not have to be mineralogically complex or expensive to be or look
interesting. This specimen was chosen to illustrate that.
The specimen, from the Sterling Mine, has a roughly triangular display face
with edges measuring about 9.5, 10.5, and 11 cm. It consists mainly of very
light gray Calcite matrix. Embedded in the Calcite are numerous irregular
Franklinite grains up to 8 mm across, numerous irregular tan-gray Willemite
grains mostly under 3 mm across, and several irregular yellowish brown grains
of Tephroite (probably) up to 3 mm across. About a third of the way up from
the bottom of the display face, and approximately centered left/right-wise is a
roughly elliptical grain of yellowish brown Tephroite about 4.5 cm long and 2.5
cm wide.
Under short wave ultraviolet light, the Calcite fluoresces bright orange-red,
and the Willemite fluoresces bright yellowish green. Closely spaced lines of
Willemite exsolution lamellae appear in the large Tephroite grain. There are
also a few bright yellowish green fluorescing fine hairlike crack fillings of
Willemite running through the specimen. The Willemite crack fillings and the
exsolution lamellae have a bright enduring greenish phosphorescence. The
overall effect is an orange-red matrix with numerous small black and yellowish
green spots, plus a large black "eye" with closely spaced parallel yellowish
green lines running through it. This eye is to me the highlight of this
specimen.
I purchased this specimen late this summer for under $10.
Readers are invited to submit featured specimen write-ups. Specimens must be
from the "official" "Franklin-Sterling Hill Area" as defined by Dr. Pete Dunn
on page 71 of his 1995 monograph "Franklin and Sterling Hill, New Jersey: the
world's most magnificent mineral deposits". Featured specimens need not be
fluorescent, unique, complex, exotic, or expensive. The write-up needs to do
two things: (1) paint a picture of the specimen with words, and (2) highlight
what's special about it.
8. Acknowledgements
===================
I'd like to thank Chris Thorsten, Earl Verbeek, Dick Bostwick, Mark Boyer,
Nathan Schachtman, and Dave Slaymaker for their contributions. This issue
would have been short, dry, and boring without them.
9. Subscriber List
==================
NY Dick Bostwick rbostwick@worldnet.att.net
NJ Mark Boyer mboyer@pace2001.com
CA Kevin Brady kbrady@cslanet.cals
PA Bob Carnein ccarnein@eagle.lhup.edu
VA Peter Chin Peter.Chin@USPTO.GOV
NJ John Cianciulli rockman@warwick.net
MD Gary Grenier william.grenier@mercantile.net
MN Tim Hanson tim@ens.net
NY Tema Hecht thecht@worldnet.att.net
John Jaszczak jaszczak@mtu.edu
Jay Lininger matrix@redrose.net
CA Dan McHugh dmchugh@eee.org
CA Doug Mitchell DMitchell@compuserve.com
CO Pete Modreski pmodresk@usgs.gov
WA Don Newsome uvsystems@aol.com
AZ George Polman polmans@compuserve.com
NJ Nathan Schachtman nschacht@voicenet.com
NJ Dave Slaymaker dh10000@yahoo.com
NJ Chris Thorsten chris@atomic-pc.com
NJ Jim Tozour jtozour@home.com
NJ Earl Verbeek mobeek@nac.net
Herb Yeates yeates@cts.ne.jp Japan