|
Nova Scotia Mineral and Gem Society Newsletter April 2001 |
|
|
Nova Scotia Mineral and Gem Society Newsletter April 2001 |
CONTENTS
Society Details
President's Message
Minutes
Upcoming Programs
Thank You
Field Trips
Links
SOCIETY DETAILS
Meeting Date, Time, and Location
Last Saturday of each month from September to May. There is no meeting in December.
7:30 PM to about 10:00 PM
Nova Scotia Museum of Natural History, 1747 Summer St., Halifax, NS, Auditorium (Lower Level)
Dues
$20 per year, due on January 1st each year.
2001 Executive
President
Vice President
Secretary
Treasurer
Bark Editor
LibrarianKen McKenzie
Terry Collett
Brenda Roscoe
Imelda O'Toole
Ronnie Van Dommelen
Andrew Brock422-0784
434-5220
477-8098
422-2374
429-6661
462-7912mckenzie@accesscable.net
marjorie.collett@ns.sympatico.ca
iotoole@is.dal.ca
dommelen@is2.dal.ca
brocktech@ns.sympatico.caSociety Mailing Address
The Nova Scotia Mineral and Gem Society
P.O. Box 29082
Halifax, NS
B3L 4T8
PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE
By the time you read this message, the Nova Scotia Mineral and Gem Society will hopefully be incorporated as a legal body under the Societies Act. This incorporation provides a number of benefits, including:
The Societies Act may be viewed on the web at http://www.gov.ns.ca/legi/legc/statutes/societie.htmProtection of our name from use by other individuals or organizations; Public listing of our society and its objectives with the Registry of Joint Stock Companies; Protection of members from personal liability for society activities; and Ability to apply for grants. In anticipation of our fluorescent minerals night, I've been experimenting with ultraviolet photography. I've photographed some of my specimens in both visible and ultraviolet light and placed the pictures on the Activities page. These photos will be archived elsewhere on our web site indefinitely after the next meeting.
Our first official field trip of the year (to Boylston and Moose Point) was a success and hopefully members will bring some of their finds to a future meeting to show off. Because trips are sometimes announced at the previous meeting and the next Bark may be too late to promote them, I try to update the Activities page of our web site with the pertinent details as soon as I get them and even send out an e-mail message announcing the change. Therefore, this is a good page to keep an eye on for last minute information about club activities.
Ken McKenzie
MINUTES OF THE MARCH MEETING
The March regular meeting of the Nova Scotia Mineral & Gem Society was held on Saturday, March 31, 2001 at the Nova Scotia Museum of Natural History. President Ken McKenzie called the meeting to order at 7:38pm with 19 members and 2 guests present.
Old Business:
There were a few errors to the minutes of the last meeting. The meeting began at 7:43 not 8:43 and the motion to adopt the minutes was made by Frank Kitts. Terry Collett moved to adopt the minutes of the February meeting as they appeared in the Rockhound's Bark with the above noted corrections. The motion was seconded by Martin Eirisch and carried.
Terry mentioned that a special 'Thank You' was owed to Frank Kitts for the specimens he donated for last month's auction/sale that was such a success.
Ken & Imelda reported on the progress of the display they were organizing for the national GMFC show.
The club has purchased a new rubber stamp with the new insurance policy information and number on it. It will be used to stamp the backs of our membership cards. These new cards are now available to all members in good standing.
The option of incorporating the society was discussed again. Ken McKenzie was able to find out that if we did decide to incorporate as a Society, the Directors would be covered from legal liability by the GMFC insurance policy. With this last question resolved, a show of hands for volunteers for the positions of Directors was called for and there were more volunteers than the required five positions. Terry Collett moved the Nova Scotia Mineral & Gem Society incorporate. The motion was seconded by Andrew Brock and carried with no opposition.
New Business:
Terry Collett, the field trip chairman, gave a brief report on upcoming events, the details of which will be published in the newsletter.
Sunday, April 22nd - Boylston area for quartz crystals (details will be posted on the Society Web Page) Sunday, May 13th - Harbourville for zeolites Amethyst Cove by boat in sometime in June Wasson's Bluff in early June for stilbite and chabazite (pending permission from the museum) East Kemptville tin mine in late summer or early fall Ronnie Van Dommelen spoke about a field trip that he, Ken McKenzie and Imelda O'Toole recently went on to the Noel Shore for Calcite. He also mentioned that the six back issues of the 'Mineral Record', which he ordered to replace the ones stolen from his car, had arrived and were now available through the library.
Secretary, Brenda Roscoe, reported on two items of correspondence, that being and ad from a company called 'Art Gem' and a letter from the Dalhousie Student Union regarding available meeting space. There would be a charge for the use of rooms in the Student Union Building so the matter was not pursued. Both items were tabled.
Terry Collett motioned to adjourn the meeting at 8:07pm. This motion was seconded by Doug Wilson and carried.
Respectfully Submitted
Brenda Roscoe
Secretary
UPCOMING PROGRAMS
April - Fluorescent Minerals
April will be devoted to fluorescent minerals. Andrew Brock will do a talk, and everyone will get a chance to use the club's UV lights. Specimens from Nova Scotia and other parts of the world will be on hand for viewing. Fluorescents will be the minerals of the month as well, so bring on your specimens. If you are not sure your specimens fluoresce, have them checked out - especially calcites.May - Lapidary Night
The speaker we hoped to have for lapidary night has proved difficult to track down. However, Ken has a few ideas for the evening. If you are interested in lapidary, please contact Ken.Summer 2001
A few months off to collect. Don't forget the club trips! If you plan to do any collecting along the shore, check out this excellent page for tide times.Fall 2001
September's meeting is typically set aside for everyone to show off what they found during the summer months and the review the club trips. However, October and November are still open. If you have a program idea for these months, tell an executive member.
THANK YOU
The club would like to thank Frank Kitts for donating specimens for February's auction that was such a success. Apologies for not including this thank you in last month's newsletter.
FIELD TRIPS
Trip Report - Boylston and Moose Point
The trip started early Sunday morning. An alarm is not usually necessary, even at 4:30AM; excitement usually keeps me from sleeping too much the night before a collecting trip. A good crew of keen collectors had met at Tim Horton's by 5:30 and we were off. The weather was fantastic; very mild with a beautiful orange and pink sunrise. A short stop was made at McDonald's in Antigonish for breakfast before completing the trip to Boylston.Upcoming Trip - Black Rock and HarbourvillePeople immediately carried their equipment up the hill and began scanning the slope for any crystals that were sitting out in the open. Almost right away some excellent orangey quartz crystals were found, just sitting in the open. Some boulders at the base of the slope were reduced to rubble with a sledge and pry bar, producing some nice bright specimens. Another boulder on top of the hill was not so fruitful. More poking around revealed a pocket which produced some nice specimens, even if the colour was a bit pale.
As noon approached, the tides had fallen enough that we could move to Moose Point. This beach has some interesting geological features in the cliffs including large amounts of sparkling specular haematite and large contorted veins of calcite. After a couple of hours, people had found enough specimens to be satisfied, so we returned to Boylston.
The afternoon at Boylston was less productive than the morning. The rock seemed less willing to offer up the treasures inside, however, one of the younger collectors did find a very large colourless crystal from the slopes. The rain, which was beginning to fall, was the signal to leave, as people began to head home. The end to a successful collecting trip and very fun day.
Ronnie Van Dommelen
The next club trip planned is the section of shoreline between Harbourville and Black Rock on Sunday May 13. This section of shoreline has produced some great specimens of stilbite and heulandite over the past several years. Other minerals include laumontite, apophyllite, and thomsonite. The tides are right for a fun day of collecting.
This section of shoreline has some large cliffs. Hardhats are a must for anyone collecting at the base of the cliff. Other recommended equipment includes a heavy hammer, chisels, pry bar, and plenty of wrapping material as the zeolites are easily bruised.
LINKS
This month we feature a selection of websites with related to fluorescent minerals. These are some of the better sites that I found. In particular, the Franklin Mineral Websites are outstanding. They do an excellent job of describing one of the most important mineral localities on the planet, and the best for fluorescent minerals. The image at right is a Franklin specimen showing that a combination of minerals can create an amazing fluorescent display. Image used courtesy of the Franklin Mineral Websites.
Franklin Mineral WebsitesThe Fluorescent Mineral Society
Ken's Fluorescent Minerals
Sam's Fluorescent Lamp Page
Charles Ward's Fluorescent Minerals
Lewie's Fluorescent Mineral Page
Amethyst Galleries
Franklin Minerals
Fluorescent Mineral Gallery
Jared's Fluorescent Minerals
Mark's Fluorescent Mineral Collection
This page was designed using Notepad. It is optimized for 1024x768 viewing.
All images and text copyright, and not to be used without author/artist permission.