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The Rockhound's Bark: |
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The Rockhound's Bark: |
CONTENTS
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.
2003 Executive
President
Vice President
Secretary
Treasurer
Ken McKenzie
Fred Walsh
Karla Pelrine
Ronnie Van Dommelen
422-0784
852-4611
477-9940
429-6661
mckenzie at accesscable.net
kmpelrin at dal.ca
dommelen at dal.ca
Society Mailing Address
The Nova Scotia Mineral and Gem Society
c/o NS Museum of Natural History
1747 Summer Street, Halifax, N.S.
B3H 3A6Acting Newsletter Editor
Ronnie Van Dommelen
email: dommelen at dal.ca
I have greatly enjoyed these last four years as President. The club has evolved, hopefully for the better, during this time. As one member recently said to me, we don’t have as large a club as at some points in the past, but we have a good mix of interested people. As long as members are enjoying our monthly gatherings, I feel the club is a success.
I wish the new President and incoming executive the best, and club prosperity for years to come.
Ken McKenzie
IN MEMORY - ANDREW BROCKAs most of you now know, Andrew Brock passed away recently after a battle with cancer. Andrew was a very active member of the club for several years, most recently holding both the club librarian and newsletter editor positions. Andrew was an enthusiastic field collector; not afraid to get up in the early hours of the morning in search of the elusive specimen. He also traded and had fine specimens of Nanisivik pyrite, the rare zeolite brewsterite from a recent trip to Scotland, and a fluorescent mineral subcollection. It was always a pleasure to spend time with Andrew. He was certainly one of the most good natured, pleasant, and kind people I have known – and will be missed. Our condolences to Wilma and Jared, Andrew’s wife and son.
Ronnie Van Dommelen – Acting Editor
MINUTES OF THE OCTOBER MEETINGThe meeting was called to order by President Ken McKenzie at 7:45 PM, October 25, 2003. Ten members and guests were present.
As the last meeting was an informal one, no minutes were available from it.
It was announced that long time member Harry Crosman passed away recently. Also, Andrew Brock is not very well. Members wished him the best.
Old Business
Our June tour of the museum’s mineral collection was a success. Terry Collett, Ronnie Van Dommelen, and Doug Wilson have followed up on Curator Deborah Skilliter’s expression of interest in the club’s expertise to help sort through parts of the collection not well organized or identified. She will contact them next summer.
Ronnie Van Dommelen announced that he had some rare photographs of the Colonial Copper Company of Cape D’Or scanned through a service of the Public Archives and asked if the club would cover part of the cost. Terry Collett moved that we pay the entire cost. Gordon Stewart seconded and the motion was carried.
Ronnie also told the club about some minerals he had analyzed through x-ray diffraction. Three were found to be new to Nova Scotia.
Further discussion of buying a camera mount to photograph micro minerals took place. Ronnie will look into the possibility.
New Business
Ken McKenzie called for a nomination committee for next month’s election. Terry Collett volunteered for the position. All positions except Vice-President are up for election.
For correspondence, Ken received an e-mail from the manufacturer of our lapel pins asked if we required more. The members felt this was not necessary.
The meeting adjourned at 8:15 PM. It was followed by a presentation on the Colonial Copper Company, by Ronnie Van Dommelen.
Fred Walsh Acting Secretary
FINANCIAL REPORTIt has been quite a while since I last gave a financial update. The major costs for our club over the past year have been for insurance, the museum rental, our magazine subscription, and post office box. After discussing the idea with Ken, I have decided not to renew our post office box, for a savings of $112 per year. Instead, me will be receiving mail at the museum now, which should not be a problem, as we don’t receive a lot of mail. Out current bank balance is $1094. That includes a recent one-time expenditure of $157 to cover scanning of some historic mining photos at the Nova Scotia Archives. All of the coming year’s expenses have been covered, with the exception of insurance, and we have yet to collect dues.
Ronnie Van Dommelen Treasurer
RENEW YOUR MEMBERSHIPJust a notice that club dues will soon be collected. I can collect dues at the November meeting, and also in January. If you prefer, you can send your dues to the new club address.
November 2003
We are very happy to have a guest speaker for our November meeting. During the past six years Tim Fedak has been conducting research on the plant-eating prosauropod dinosaurs found near Parrsboro, Nova Scotia. Working through the Fundy Geological Museum, the research has uncovered new specimens and offers fresh insight into the dinosaurs that roamed the Atlantic provinces 200 million years ago. Mr. Fedak will discuss the importance of the research and what new discoveries have been made up to now.
No programs have yet been planned for the winter months. If you have ANY topics you would like to see discussed, make your ideas known.
WELCOMEThe club would like to welcome two new members Susan and Robert McNeil. They spend their summers at Big Beach, Cape Breton and live in Ontario the rest of the year. They are interested in the mines, rocks, minerals, and gems of the region. Happy collecting!
IN THE NEWSTrue North Gems, a Canadian mineral exploration company, has reported finding a richly colored blue beryl in the Yukon. The various color variations of beryl are given common names including goshenite, emerald, helidore, monganite, bixbite, and aquamarine (colorless, green, yellow, pink, red, blue). While the company says this new mineral should be considered an aquamarine they say the color is much darker than typical aquamarine. Instead it is closer to blue velvet, approaching the color of sapphire in some cases. The coloring is due to iron ions. From the company’s website, it appears that it will be marketed under the name True Blue. For more info check out: truenorthgems.com
As an aside, there has recently been a lot of buzz about something called pezzottaite from Madagascar. It was originally thought to be a cesium rich beryl, but in fact the cesium content turned out to be so high that it has been accepted as a new mineral (so it should not be called a beryl variety).
AT THE MUSEUMThe following are scheduled events at the Nova Scotia Museum of Natural History that members may find interesting.
Lumpy, Bumpy, and Flat as a Pancake: The Evolution of Nova Scotia Landscapes
November 19, 2003, 7:30 p.m."Join Dr. Ian Spooner of Acadia University, who will explore many of the better-known landscapes, such as the Cape Breton High-lands, the drumlin fields of New Ross, and tidal features of the Bay of Fundy. Special geological door prizes will be awarded at each event. This is part of the Beyond Last Billion Years Talk Series, co-sponsored by the Atlantic Geoscience Society. Cost: Free; food bank donations appreciated (Museum Auditorium, 7:30pm)"
Silver and Other Precious Metals in Nova Scotia
January 21, 2004, 7:30 p.m."Nova Scotia's rich geological history includes precious metals such as silver and gold. Join precious metals geologist Paul Smith, of the Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources, to find out more about precious metals, their formation, mining history, and ongoing exploration. Cost: Free; food bank donation appreciated. (Museum Auditorium, 7:30pm)"
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