NELSPRUIT GEM & MINERAL CLUB

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Barbara Webster
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- November 2015: Club Get-Together: 21 November 2015 OUR CLUB NEWS: Report back: Get- Together on Saturday 26 September 2015 We once again had the pleasure of admiring Owen s large rock collection

1 NELSPRUIT GEM & MINERAL CLUB NEWSLETTER: OCTOBER 2015 Members & Friends: Friendly greetings to you All. CALENDAR OF EVENTS - October 2015: - ROCKSCIENCE OPEN DAY: 18 October 2015 Details later in Newsletter. - November 2015: Club Get-Together: 21 November 2015 OUR CLUB NEWS: Report back: Get- Together on Saturday 26 September 2015 We once again had the pleasure of admiring Owen s large rock collection and he has rocks, stones and minerals representing almost every South African district. Owen, wife Chivorn and their two sons visited Namibia a couple of months ago and had (obviously, ha ha!) gone rockhunting, so we also had the opportunity to see his latest acquisitions from various regions of Namibia. Amongst the Schorl, Fluorite, Smoky Quartz, Garnet etc. that he brought home was some Tourmaline, of which some pieces were of faceting grade in a rich blue- purple colour! Oh yes, and some of the Almandine Garnet were perfect dodecahedral crystals, gemmy deep red and facetable, with no internal crazing as the fine internal cracks that characterize Garnets are called. To top off a very enjoyable afternoon the Springboks beat Samoa - a perfect day! A big THANK YOU to Owen and Chivorn for hosting us RockHounds!! Owen and a self- collected Quartz crystal: P1

2 OTHER MINERAL NEWS The following exciting communication has been received from the Wits Gem & Mineral Club: ROCKSCIENCE OPEN DAY Sunday 18Th October 2015 It is official JoBurg has a new Mineral & Gem Open Day. The event will be held at 266 Spencer Avenue, Chartwell North Estate on 18 th October The gates will open for the public at 9h00 until 16h00. NO entrance fee will be charged. Ample secure parking will be available on the property. Besides various dealers, food and refreshments will also be available. All individuals dealing in Minerals, Gems, fossils and all rock related things are invited to book your FREE spot soonest via rockscienceg@mweb.co.za. Gates will open for all traders at 7h30 to start set- up before 9h00. You can bring your own gazebo, table/s and chairs or book same from Marlene Howard at EasyHire on To be kept in the loop on the happenings regarding this Open Day, please go to the facebook page by clicking on the following link and joining the group CLUB MEMBERS ARE REQUESTED TO FORWARD ANY MINERAL, ESOTERIC, GEOLOGICAL FOSSIL, LAPIDARY & RELATED NEWS THAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO BE INCLUDED IN THE NEWSLETTER, by to Paul Vermaak. We exchange Newsletters with the following other clubs & societies, copies are available at Get- Together s: - African Gems & Minerals (Rob Smith) - Cape Town Gem & Mineral Club - FOSAGAMS: Federation Of Southern African Gem & Mineral Societies - MHIG: Mpumalanga Historical Interest Group - Wits Gem & Mineral Club Book news: A new mineral book by Bruce Cairncross & Terence McCarthy: Understanding Minerals & Crystals has been published, and has arrived in September, available at bookstores. P2

MINERAL OF THE MONTH: WULFENITE Wulfenite 2.0cm, Tsumeb, Namibia. Pvt collection. Wulfenite 2.0cm, Tsumeb, Namibia. Pvt collection. Wulfenite 2.4cm, Tsumeb, Namibia.

WULFENITE: PbMoO4 Cleavage: good Colours: brown, mustard, orange, red, yellow Composition: molybdate

Occurrence: Tsumeb Namibia, the Congo Republic Specific gravity: 6.

some of the finest Wulfenite crystals in the world, and fine specimens have also been coming out of

3 MINERAL OF THE MONTH: WULFENITE Wulfenite 2.0cm, Tsumeb, Namibia. Pvt collection. Wulfenite 2.0cm, Tsumeb, Namibia. Pvt collection. Wulfenite 2.4cm, Tsumeb, Namibia. Pvt collection. Wulfenite 2.5cm, Tsumeb, Namibia. Pvt collection. WULFENITE: PbMoO4 Cleavage: good Colours: brown, mustard, orange, red, yellow Composition: molybdate Crystal system: tetragonal Fracture: uneven to conchoidal Hardness: 3 Lustre: greasy to adamantine Occurrence: Tsumeb Namibia, the Congo Republic Specific gravity: Streak: white Transparency: opaque, translucent, transparent The Tsumeb mine Namibia, has produced some of the finest Wulfenite crystals in the world, and fine specimens have also been coming out of the Congo Republic. S. African wulfenites are mostly small microcrystals, of interest to Micro Mineral collectors. P3

4 FOSAGAMS: Gemboree 2016 Get ready for next year s 50Th anniversary of FOSAGAMS! Communique I Be sure not to miss next year s 50th FOSAGAMS birthday celebrations. We would love to have all of you at the Gemboree to be held at Easter. The Gemboree promises to be action- filled pure adventure- not for the faint of heart!!! We will be collecting tiger s eye, mugglestone, carnelians, agates and jasper. Ludi von Bezing obtained permission for us to collect at Angelierspan. This is a well known pegmatite site where the following minerals and materials are to be found: albite, apatite, beryl, ilmeno- rutile, lepidolite, muscovite, orthoclase, quartz, spessertine, spodumene, tourmaline, etc. You can read Ludi s report on this site when the 1996 Gemboree (arranged by the Pietermaritzburg and Natal Clubs) visited it, at / magazines / July 1996 (vol. 28 no 2). Pieter Smit, our contact at Prieska will accompany us to the tiger s eye, jasper and mugglestone sites as well as his yard where he will be selling the following: tourmalines, garnets (red), rhodalite, corundum, sapphire, rubies, crystals, amethyst crystals, blue lace agates, galena, jasper, rose quartz, Botswana and Brazilian agates, scapolite (yellow, shape similar to tourmaline), sodalite, aquamarine, sugilite, lamps, spheres etc. The Soon le Roux Youth Camp situated on the banks of the Orange River will serve as the main venue. The housing available ranges from rooms (including bathroom and kitchen), taking 2-4 people. Dormitories housing up to 8 people are also available, (one basin per room). If you make use of the dormitories, please bring along bedding, cushions, towels etc. Ample place is avalable in the caravan park & includes electricity. All campers, please secure your tent with a proper lock since Prieska s monkeys are inquisitive and very clever! The kitchen and bathrooms will be shared and all the facilities in the kitchen may be used: stoves, fridges, freezer, cups, cutlery, spoons, mugs, plates etc. Accommodation has also been arranged at the Hoërskool Prieska s hostel ranging from 2-8 bed rooms with shared ablution facilities. Bring along bedding, cushions, towels etc. Further accommodation is also available at guest houses. A list of these guest houses and contact details will be communicated in the next Gemboree N/letter. We have contracted a local caterer who will cater for all meals. All the meals will be served at the Soon le Roux Youth Camp. More info re the menu to follow in the next newsletter. Remember to bring your swimming gear, there s a lovely pool to be enjoyed. P4

5 Gemboree 2016 cont. We have received several donations for the auction to be held. Pieter Smit donated a lovely tiger s eye sphere (70mm in diameter). The family of the late Horst Windisch donated a collector s piece of quartz crystal from Shaft 5, Messina Mine measuring 21x10cm as well as a frog carved out of sodalite (9x10cm). We are very grateful for these donations. Any further donations and ideas for fun and games will be appreciated. Looking forward seeing all of you at next year s Gemboree! Linda Stone President FOSAGAMS FOSAGAMS Tour 2016 Part of the 50Th birthday celebrations of FOSAGAMS will be another tour to Namibia and southern Zambia. It will be a first travel tour to this part of Africa and Malcolm Jackson will be leading the tour. August will be best time for undertaking this tour to these specific areas, so please make the prior necessary arrangements regards your leave, and remember passports must be valid for up to a a certain period after the tour. Proof of certain inoculations may be required upon re entry into South Africa as the tour will be entering Zambia. Be sure to prepare in advance should you want to participate. Malcolm was also the 2014 Namibia Tour leader, which was a very exciting and successful tour. Rocky Regards Paul Vermaak DISCLAIMER: If you have received this in error, or wish to be added/removed from our mineral related mailing list, please REPLY to this paulvermaak1@gmail.com with subscribe or unsubscribe NEXT TO the heading. P5

JANUARY Catawba Valley Gem & Mineral Club, Inc.

JANUARY Catawba Valley Gem & Mineral Club, Inc. TAR HEEL ROCKHOUND JANUARY 2017 Catawba Valley Gem & Mineral Club, Inc. 2017 Officers and Committees President: Harry Polly Editor: Slade Harvin Show Chairman: Dean Russell 828-244-6651 252-702-7299 828-303-1448