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THE TELEPHONE

CITY CRYSTAL B R A N T F O R D L A PI D A RY & M I N E R A L S OC I E T Y

JUNE 2017

CLUB INFO

MAY MEETING PHOTOS

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UPCOMING SHOWS &

EVENTS

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FIELD TRIPS

GOING, GOING GONE

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THE MINERAL— EPIDOTE 5

PLACES TO GO

HOW DO DESERT ROSES

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PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

HERKIMER TRIP 2017

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2017 EXECUTIVE &

LIGHTER SIDE

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INSIDE THIS ISSUE: JUNE MEETING: ANNUAL SUMMER POTLUCK DINNER

DATE: FRIDAY JUNE 16, 2017

TIME: 6:30 PM

**** ( NOTE TIME CHANGE)****

WHERE: T.B. COSTAIN/S.C. JOHNSON

COMMUNITY CENTER, 16 MORRELL

ST. BRANTFORD, ONT.

PROGRAM: POTLUCK DINNER: Re-

member to bring a salad, meat tray, buns, your own special dish or

dessert, condiments or KFC. Drinks will be supplied but you need to

bring your own plate and cutlery.

HERKIMER FIELD TRIP

SPRING 2017

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CLUB INFO

WORKSHOP: Our workshop is open Wednesdays from 1:00 to 4:00 pm and Sundays from 12-2pm.

CCFMS: Check Website for show updates. http://www.ccfms.ca

MEMBERS: Thanks to all members who help setup and remove tables and chairs for our

monthly meetings, also to our social committee for the coffee and snacks.

Thanks to our past executive for a very successful year (especially Joan Campbell

for updating our club to be non profit reliant to government standards).

Thank you to our members who volunteered to join our 2017 executive. (Constance and Steve)

FACEBOOK: Andrea Larromana has added Facebook to our website and link on our

newsletter https://www.facebook.com/groups/916113761832155/

FUTURE MEETINGS FOR 2017 : September 15: Rebecca Lee—Glaciers

October 20: Jeff Shallit—Optical Properties of Minerals

November 17: Laura Scaife— University of Waterloo

******SPECIAL NOTE TO MEMBERS: Please note the time change (6:30) for the June potluck.*******

SCENES FROM THE MAY MEETING: Guest

speaker Paul Wellhauser (Nharo) spoke on buying

and collecting minerals in Africa. (excellent program)

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2017 GEM AND MINERAL SHOWS and EVENTS

June 10 &11 (Saturday and Sunday) 51st NPGS Gem, Mineral & Fossil Show & Sale a GEOventure Hours: 10am to 5pm both days Location: Fireman’s Park, 2275 Dorchester Road, Niagara Falls Ont. Admission: $3, with coupon $2 Children 12 and under free For info contact Ashely Pol-

lock , Show Co-Chair 905-687-6503 website: www.ccfms.ca/clubs/NPGS/index/htm

Saturday, June 17th to Sunday, June 18th, 2017 48th Annual Kingston Gem Storm Hours: Saturday: 10 am to 6 pm, Sunday: 10 am to 5 pm Location: Cataraqui Arena, 1030 Sunnyside Road, Kingston, Ontario (just take Sydenham Road exit off Hwy 401) Admission: $5, Children 12 & under are free For more information, please contact: Les Moss, Show Chair, 613-384-4439 Kingston Lapidary and Mineral Club website:http://

www.mineralclub.ca/

Friday, July 21 & Saturday, July 22, 2017 Giant Jewellery “Yard Sale” at Robert Hall Originals Event Hours: 10 am to 5 pm (indoor event) Take a trip down memory lane as you peruse 1000’s of Jewellery Pieces priced to sell! Vintage, Costume, Plastic, Metal, Handmade, Over Runs, 60’s to 80’s, One-of-a-Kind. Earrings, Pendants, Fun Rings, Brooches, Bracelets, Chains, Scarf Clips, Shoe Clips.

www.roberthalloriginals.com or 519-448-1236

Friday, July 21st to Sunday, July 23rd 35th Annual Sudbury Gem and Mineral Show Hours: Friday: 5 pm to 9 pm, Saturday: 10 am to 6 pm; Sunday 10 am to 5 pm Location: Carmichael Arena, 1298 Bancroft Drive, Sudbury, Ontario Admission: Adults $5, Seniors $3, Children 6 to 12 $1, Children 5 & under are free For more information, contact: Ed Debicki, Show Chair, 705-522-5140

Sudbury Rock & Lapidary Society: website:http://www.ccfms.ca/clubs/Sudbury/

July 30 Date: usually the Sunday before the Bancroft Gemboree 21st Bancroft Gem and Mineral Club Show Hours: 10 am to 4 pm Location: Royal Canadian Legion Hall, 16 Station Street, Bancroft, On-tario Admission: Adults $3, or $5 for both the show & the Bancroft Gem and Mineral Club Mineral Mu-seum, Children 15 and under free For more information, please contact: Frank Melanson, 613-332-1032 Thursday, August 3rd to Sunday, August 6th, 2017 54th Annual Bancroft Rockhound Gemboree Hours: Thursday, Friday, & Saturday: 10 am to 6 pm, Sunday: 10 am to 5 pm Location: 2 Venues & Outdoor Area - Bancroft Curling Club, 63 Newkirk Blvd - North Hastings Community Centre, 103 Newkirk Blvd, Bancroft, Ontario Admission: to be announced for 1-day, 2-day, & 4-day passes for Adults (17+) & Youth (7-16), Children under 7 are free For more information, please contact: Bancroft & District Chamber of Commerce, 613-332-1513 or 1-888-443-9999 Saturday, August 19 Rockbound Family Day at Robert Hall Originals Event Hours: 10 am to 4 pm A fun family event! Kid’s Fossil Dig - $1.00, Lots of FREE Kids’ Crafts & Activities Mineral Identification: Bring A Specimen! Explore Outdoor Rock Piles! Giant Silent Auction - Bring your items to include in the auction! Bidding begins at 11:00 (10% commission) Free Rock Swap Space – Bring your own table & chair. Set up your stone related treasures to trade, sell, swap or give away. Contact us to reserve your free rock swap space. www.roberthalloriginals.com 519-448-1236, 1-800-360-2813138 Sugar Ma-

ple Road, St. George, Ontario N0E 1N0

Please go to Niagara Peninsula website for this year’s fieldtrips: http://www.ccfms.ca/clubs/NPGS/trips.htm

Fall: CCFMS field trip Location: Nelson Aggregates (Lincoln) Quarry, Beamsville Spring ) Fall date also to be confirmed - either Saturday, Sept 23rd or Sept 30th, 2017 contact Jim

Glen, Trip Leader email jrglen@sympatico.ca

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GOING… GOING…NOT QUITE GONE.

This is one of the world’s largest diamonds, discovered by a Christian pastor in eastern Sierra Leone‘s Kono. But an auction for its sale in Freetown has failed

after the government rejected the winning offer.

706-carat diamond found in Sierra Leone is one of the world’s biggest.

Five bids in sealed brown envelopes were handed to auctioneers. They ranged from 2 to 7.8 million dol-lars, the top bid coming from this man, Ziad al-Ahmadi, on behalf of a Belgian dealer. The government deemed the price tag was too small, for the largest uncut diamond to be found in the country for forty

years.

And for an idea of just how enormous the stone is, the engagement ring Brad Pitt gave to Angelina

Jolie had a 7-carat stone. At 706-carat, Sierra Leone‘s gem is over a hundred times bigger.

The government say it’ll now hold an international auction, bidding of its own to find a buyer willing to

upsize the price tag.

© 2017 Thomson Reuters

Spring & Fall 2017 CCFMS trips Beamsville Quarry, Beamsville, ON Fall date also to be confirmed - either Saturday, Sept 23rd or Sept 30th, 2017 Bowmanville Quarry, Bowmanville, ON Sunday, June 4th, 2017 Fall date also to be confirmed - usually around Thanksgiv-ing Day weekend Spring, Summer, & Fall 2017 Ridgemount Quarry, Ridgeway, ON Any Friday that’s convenient for you - you must call ahead to make a reservation (905) 680-3755. Penn-Dixie Paleontological & Outdoor Education Center, Blasdell, New York Can be visited on any day that’s convenient for you - kid-friendly Beryl Pit & Rose Quartz Mine, Quadeville, ON Can be visited on any day that’s convenient for you - both sites are pay-to-collect - kid-friendly Rose Quartz Mine is by appointment only - you must email the site owners, please. You will need to register with field trip leaders for all clubs field trips pls & thnx- numbers-stuff, insurance-stuff, and all that r Summer 2017 Ridgemount Quarry, Ridgeway, ON Friday, July 14th, 2017 Ridgemount “South” Quarry, Ridgeway Friday, July 21st, 2017 - partially kid-friendly

1.Vending machines are twice as likely to kill you than a shark is. 2. Coconuts kill more people than sharks every year. So do cows. 3. The probability of you drinking a glass of water that contains a molecule of water that also passed through a dinosaur is almost 100%.

4. Honey is made from nectar and bee vomit.

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Our workshop is open on Wednesday afternoons from 1:00 to 4:00 pm and Sun. 12-2pm.

Note: THE CLUB NEEDS A NEW LAPIDARY WORKSHOP CHAIRPERSON!!!!!

WHAT IS EPIDOTE?

Epidote is a name that is used in two different ways in mineralogy: 1) the "Epidote Group" is the name of a group of silicate minerals that share common structural and compositional characteristics; and, 2) "Epidote" is the name of

the most common mineral in the Epidote Group.

Epidote is a silicate mineral that is commonly found in regionally metamor-phosed rocks of low-to-moderate grade. In these rocks, epidote is often associ-ated with amphiboles, feldspars, quartz, and chlorite. It occurs as replacements of mineral grains that have been altered by metamorphism. It is frequently found in veins that cut granite. It occurs as monoclinic crystals in pegmatites. It is also found in massive form and as monoclinic crystals in

marbles and schists that were formed or altered through contact metamorphism.

Epidote usually ranges between yellowish green to pistachio green in colour. Less often it is brownish green to black. In massive form it is usually translucent with a vitreous luster. Well-formed crystals from marble

and pegmatite are often transparent.

Epidote has a chemical composition of Ca2(Al2,Fe)(SiO4)(Si2O7)O(OH). It is an end member of a solid solution series with clinozoisite. In that series, the iron of epidote is gradually replaced by aluminum to the end mem-ber clinozoisite composition of Ca2Al3(SiO4)(Si2O7)O(OH). Clinozoisite is usually lighter in colour than epi-

dote because iron is what produces epidote's greenish to brownish colour.

What is Epidote (the mineral group)?

Members of the epidote mineral group have a crystal structure that consists of isolated and paired silica tet-rahedrons. They share a generalized chemical composition of A2M3(Si2O7)(SiO4)O(OH). "A" is a pairing of cal-cium, manganese, strontium, lead, or sometimes a rare earth element. "M" is usually aluminum pairing with iron, magnesium, manganese, or vanadium. Some of the member minerals of the epidote group are listed in

the table with their chemical compositions.

Epidote is a rock-forming mineral. Many regionally-metamorphosed rocks contain small amounts of epidote. Two rock types that contain significant amounts of epidote are epidosite and unakite. Locations where these

rocks can be found are rare, but at those locations significant amounts of these rocks can be present.

Epidosite is a metamorphic rock composed mainly of epidote with small amounts of quartz. It forms when

basalts in sheeted dikes and ophiolites are transformed by hydrothermal activity or metasomatism.

Unakite is a rock that forms from the metamorphism of granite. Less-resistant minerals in the granite are al-tered to epidote or replaced by epidote, with the orthoclase and quartz remaining. It is an interesting pink and green coloured rock that was first discovered in the Unakas Mountains of North Carolina, from which its

name was derived.

Uses of Epidote

Epidote has no significant use as an industrial mineral and has only minor use as a gemstone. High-quality transparent crystals are sometimes cut into faceted stones. These have never attracted much interest in the commercial jewelry market, probably because their colours are not customer favorites. Most of the faceted

stones produced are purchased by gem and mineral collectors.

Unakite is a popular rock used by lapidaries to make beads, ornamental objects, and cut into cabochons. It is considered to be a semiprecious stone. The bright pink and pistachio green colours are very unusual and attract attention. Unakite is popular as a tumbled stone. A small amount of epidosite is also cut into cabo-

chons. (geology.com)

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Oil Museum of Canada www.lambtonmuseums.ca/oil 2423 Kelly Road, P.O. Box 16 Oil Springs, ON N0N 1P0 519-834-2840 Directions: From Highway 402 take exit 25 (Oil Heritage Rd/County Rd 21) south to Oil Springs, approximately 25 kms. Look for our National Historic Site Sign. Hours:

May 1 – Oct 31 Open Daily 10 am – 5 pm

Bruce County Museum & Cultural Centre http://www.brucemuseum.ca/

33 Victoria Street North (in the town of Saugeen Shores) Southampton, ON Canada

Stones and Bones Museum http://www.stonesnbones.ca/ 223 N. Christina St. Sarnia, Ontario, Canada Phone: (519) 336-2100 (519) 336-2100

This not for profit museum has an international collection of over 6,000 objects all artistically displayed in a historic gallery setting. From common backyard fossils to rare and remarkable gems, dinosaurs and arti-facts, our vast collection is always on permanent display, with regular new additions.

HOW DO DESERT ROSES FORM?

A gypsum rosette is not a rose at all, it is a mineral which crystallizes in a unique rosette growth pattern. Desert rose is the colloquial name given to rose-like formations of crystal clusters of gypsum or baryte which include abundant sand grains. The 'petals' are crystals flattened on the c crystallographic axis, fanning open in radiating flattened crystal clusters. Gypsum is an evaporite, which means its crystals form during the evaporation of water. The crystals are shaped like prisms or flat plates, and can grow up to 1 meter. Gypsum can appear as transparent crystals (selenite); fibrous, elongated crystals (satin spar); granular and compact masses (alabaster); and in rosette-

shaped aggregates called desert roses.

Some even form large clusters comprised of many small rosette crystals which are the color of sand and usually brown. In order for gypsum rosettes to form they must have an arid environment, a large source of CaSO4 (calcium sulfate), and a seasonal fluctuation of water. In terms of geological time gypsum rosettes form very rapidly in that they form in tens to hundreds of years. This would explain their abundance across the world. The rosette crystal habit tends to occur when the crystals form in arid sandy conditions, such as the evapo-ration of a shallow salt basin. The crystals form a circular array of flat plates, giving the rock a shape simi-lar to a rose blossom. Gypsum roses usually have better defined, sharper edges than baryte roses. Celes-tine and other bladed evaporite minerals may also form rosette clusters. They can appear either as a single rose-like bloom or as clusters of blooms, with most sizes ranging from pea sized to 4 inches (10 cm) in di-

ameter.

There are two typical forms of rosettes found.

In more shallow regions is an amber colored compact ball of intergrown crystals with small, thin blades pointing out from the core seems to be the standard.. Sometimes large transparent amber blades protrude

out of this core producing spectacular specimens.

In deeper layers, the crystals in the rosette are larger, more distinct and blocky. The colour in these speci-mens are typically yellow, but can also be colourless. Large blades protruding from these rosettes are also

blocky.

In both forms, some of the large blades may have clay or a rock included. All the crystals are fluorescent and phosphorescent, glowing a pale white under ultraviolet light. Read more at http://www.geologyin.com/2017/06/how-do-desert-roses-form.html#rG9Hg812tjZ1gIka.99

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Message from the President.

It is now already more than 2 weeks ago that we had our AGM. It was a bit disappointing not to see more people at our AGM, but we had more than enough members to have a quorum so we could have a proper AGM. After the elections we were left with two offices that do need somebody to take care of it. Joan has been secretary for a number of years and she has done a great job in helping us getting a constitution that is required by law

for organizations that are incorporated like we are. Joan did a great job and then you have to know that she is not all that much interested in stones and minerals. She feels we are in good shape and it is time for her to move on with her other interests and commitments. A big THANK YOU for Joan. The next of-fice that needs somebody to take care of it is our clubhouse and the workshop. Over the years we had Brad and Russ looking after the workshop and we were spoiled that way. Robert Whiting took care of the workshop for the last few years and we are grateful that he did it, but he is going to be away a lot so

he decided not to take on that office. Thank you very much for all the work you have done Robert!

So now we are asking our members to come forward to fill the spots of secretary and workshop chair-

person. We do not need elections to fill these positions. The executive can appoint them.

Andrea has been very busy organizing the trip to the ROM. It was great with about 50 people going to the ROM. She organized the trip to Herkimer N.Y. The attendance there was a bit more modest. Andrea has also come up with things to do in Bancroft when they have their Rockhound Gemboree August 3rd-6th 2017. We can go on the El Dorado experience on Saturday August 5th and/or visit the McDonald Mine

and Smart Mine on Sunday August 6th. Thank you Andrea!

Have a great and safe summer ! John Moons

Silent Auction Clarification: The questioned was raised about our silent auction mone-

tary rules.

It should be noted that members are invited to bring their lapidary, jewellery, gems or

minerals etc. to any general meeting and set up a silent auction on their own behalf.

All proceeds (100%) from these personnel auctions are kept by the member.

In the case of the Annual Show in April; 25% of the auctioned proceeds are kept by the society and the

balance 75% is given to the member at a reasonable amount of time after the show.

Workshop: Signs have been placed in the workshop, please read and take note. Reasonable cleanup of

the equipment after usage is necessary.

Herkimer Field Trip 2017

On Saturday May 20th the members

of the Brantford and Niagara clubs

went to the Ace of Diamonds mine

in Herkimer, NY to collect Herkimer

Diamonds! Group members had a

lot of fun and brought home some

specimens of their own. Special

thanks to Bill and Anne McIlquham for meeting up with the

group and giving some helpful tips and tricks for collecting.

(story and photos by Andrea Larromana)

(N.B.)The executive would also like to commend Andrea on her

time and efforts in planning and arranging the ROM trip, Herkimer and Bancroft field trips. Field trips are defi-

nitely an integral part of a mineral society. WELL DONE ANDREA!

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Mailing address: 1 Sherwood Drive, Brantford, Ont. N3T 1N3 Website: www.brantfordlapidarymineral.ca

THE TELEPHONE CITY CRYSTAL 2017 EXECUTIVE:

PRESIDENT: JOHN MOONS 519-752-9756 campbell.moons@silomail.com

VICE PRESIDENT: STEVE JOHNSON steve1johnson@hotmail.com

TREASURER: FAYE MEADOWS 519-725-4678 fayemeadows@rogers.com

SECRETARY: to be filled

SHOW CHAIR 2017: BOB PARRY 519-448-1236 robert@roberthalloriginals.com

NEWSLETTER EDITOR: ROGER CAMPBELL 519-442-6542 roger.camp@sympatico.ca

SOCIAL: CONSTANCE HANSCOMB 519-717-4826

SOCIAL: ANDREA & DAVID LEARMONTH: andrea.lynn.learmonth@gmail.com

PROGRAM: BETTY PARRY 519-448-1236 betty@roberthalloriginals.com

FIELD TRIPS: ANDREA LARROMANA 519-761-2135 andrea.larromana@yahoo.ca

CCFMS REP.: KATHY LAHAY 519-725-4678 kllahay@rogers.com

LIBRARIAN: DARREN GAGE 519-758-8426 darren_gage@hotmail.com

WORKSHOP CHAIR PERSON: To be filled

LIGHTER SIDE