NEW DIGGINGS
SEPTEMBER 2011
New Business: Fonda claim is cleaned up.
Wheelbarrow is in good shape. Downed tree was
removed.
The newsletter of the
WORCESTER MINERAL CLUB
NEXT MEETING
September 20, 2010
7:15 PM
September Meeting Speaker
This month’s meeting will feature a presentation by
Fritz Moritz. It showcases mineral microphotography
accomplished using the free software CombineZ,
which provides greatly increased focal range by
"stacking" multiple images. It details the equipment
he uses, walks through the processing steps in the
simple to use software, and compares single images
with stacked images. It discusses shortcomings of the
technique and how to avoid them and presents a
gallery of images created using the technique.
June Meeting Minutes
Submitted by James Evans
(volunteer secretary for the night)
Minutes of June 21, 2011. Meeting called to order by
Larry Bull at 7:30 P.M. Motion to accept minutes of
May 2011 seconded and approved. Note: Correction
to the newsletter that a possible mineral trip was
planned for Ludlow, VT not Montreal. Further
discussion on this trip was conducted by Larry Bull.
Treasurer’s Report: motion to accept, seconded, and
approved.
Old Business: None.
Question if club should invest in a pump for the claim.
Pros and cons discussed – no conclusion. Reminderwe are strictly working at the new club claim site
which is about 150 feet down the path form the old
site.
Reminder: Bring in specimens that you collect and
don’t want for the grab bags for the kids at the up and
coming mineral show.
Presentation for the night was Larry Bull on Mineral
Cleaning.
Submitted by James Evans (volunteer secretary for
the night)
Notes From The Editor
What happened to summer? No really. Where did it
go? The “break” that our club takes during July and
August flew by for me.
I'm rather anxious to see what the upcoming months
have in store for all of us. Our September meeting
will feature Fritz Moritz as a speaker. More info is
available elsewhere in this newsletter.
Mark your calendars for November 19th and 20th . We
will have our 36th annual show those days. Please
consider volunteering your time for the show. Flyers
to advertise the show will be available at our next
meeting.
Just a note: Our web site has been receiving over 40
visits a day.
PAGE 2
NEW DIGGINGS
SEPTEMBER 2011
WORCESTER MINERAL CLUB
The Rarest of Minerals
Inter-Galactic Diamonds
More than 4400 mineral species are found in nature. Some
mineral collectors are species collectors who try to build a
collection with as many of these species as possible. It is
safe to say that no one has ever collected every known
mineral, nor does any museum have a complete collection.
New species are found and described each year and many
mineral species are quite rare. Many of these species are
known only from a few “spots on rocks” at their discovery
site – usually referred to as the “type locality”.
any additional samples will be collected soon. Whether or
not it is truly rare on the Moon is a separate question – for
all we known the Moon could be crawling with the stuff.
Diamonds may be a girl’s best friend, but would your
fiancée accept a black diamond in her engagement ring?
We are not talking about clear black like a nice faceted
smoky quartz, either. Would she want a diamond that was
black, opaque, and looked like intergalactic space grunge?
Not all diamonds are transparent and many that come
out of the diamond mines are less gemmy than those you
see in the jeweler’s shop. These lower quality diamonds
are sold as abrasives, but most mines make the bulk of
their profits from the gemstone diamonds they produce.
However, in Brazil and the Central African Republic, there
are diamond-mining operations that only produce black
diamonds known as carbonados.
What is the rarest mineral of all? Many candidates
could be submitted for this honor. For some rare
species, rarity is really a function of the inaccessibility
of the collecting site. Tranquillityite, from the Mare
Tranquillitatis (Sea of Tranquillity) on the Moon is
undoubtedly one of the rarest of all minerals. It is a
dark red-brown hexagonal mineral with the interesting
formula (Fe2+,Ca) 8(Zr,Y)2Ti3(SiO4)3O4, but it is its
origin more than the structure that makes it rare.
Apollo astronauts collected it and it is unlikely that
any additional samples will be collected soon.
Whether or not it is truly rare on the Moon is a
separate question – for all we known the Moon could
be crawling with the stuff.
Another extreme rarity is ernstburkeite, a trigonal
magnesium methane sulfonate hydrate, Mg(CH3SO3)
2·12H2O. Although this compound is known synthetically
(i.e., it can be made in a lab), it has only been found in
nature in Antarctica. It was found as a small (0.005 mm)
inclusion in an ice core taken from a depth of 577 m below
the Dome Fuji Base on the East Dronning Maud Plateau in
East Antarctica. Not exactly the site of you next field trip!
It is interesting to note that rarity does not always create
value. You may have the world’s largest specimen of
“whatchamaycallitite” a 1 mm-long beauty of a species
which is known from only five almost microscopic crystals
found in one locality (which just happens to be in your
backyard). But chances are good that you won’t be able to
sell that specimen for anywhere near the price of a modest
1-cm rhodochrosite from the Sweet Home Mine, Colorado.
©2011, Andrew A. Sicree, Ph.D.
Carbonado is a variety of diamond that is black or
dark gray. Carbonados are adamantine in luster (i.e.,
they are shiny) and opaque. Unlike most diamonds,
they are not single crystals, but rather are
polycrystalline, composed of many small crystals.
Their polycrystalline nature makes them more porous
than other diamonds and also tougher. Toughness is
resistance to breakage unlike hardness, which is
resistance to scratching (carbonados are about the
same hardness – 10 on the Mohs scale – as all other
diamonds).
Carbonados can and have been cut as gemstones, in spite
of their lack of transparency – but they do not take a polish
as good as more normal diamonds.
Carbonados come from sedimentary deposits in Brazil
and the Central African Republic, on opposite sides of the
Atlantic Ocean. They are not associated with normal
diamonds nor are they found with kimberlite, the host rock
of most diamonds. Geologists are uncertain of the origin of
carbonados. Some researchers contend that these stones
originated in outer space and fell to Earth as a giant
meteoroid about 2.3 billion years ago at a time when Africa
and South America were joined in a single supercontinent.
©2011, Andrew A. Sicree, Ph.D.
PAGE 3
NEW DIGGINGS
SEPTEMBER 2011
WORCESTER MINERAL CLUB
MEMBERSHIP RENEWALS
Caves in Connecticut?
NAME (please print)
ADDRESS
CITY, STATE, ZIP
HOME PHONE:
WORK PHONE:
E-MAIL:
The picture above was taken at Bolton Notch State
Park in Bolton, CT. Most of the rocks in the area
seem to be metamorphic. Quartzite, schist, some
garnets are in the area. There is a trail that will lead
to the top of the cliffs with a fairly nice view.
Are you interested in : Minerals? 
Fossils?  Gems?  Lapidary? 
Earth Sciences?

Museum Trips? 
Collecting Trips? 
Have you collected before? If yes, how long?
_____________
Please list any equipment/tools/resources you
have for rockhounding:
Please list other interests, hobbies, or special
skills:
How did you hear about the club?
MEETING CANCELLATIONS
In the event we need to cancel a meeting due to
weather conditions, we will announce
cancellations on Worcester area radio stations.
Tune to WTAG (580 AM) or WXLO (104.5 FM).
You may also call one of the club officers if you
are unsure about a meeting’s status.
 INDIVIDUAL MEMBERSHIP $10.00
 FAMILY MEMBERSHIP $15.00
Names of other family members,
(include age if under 18)
Please accept my dues and application for membership in the
Worcester Mineral Club
MEMBERSHIP
Please use the short form to the right if you would
like to join or to renew your membership in the
Worcester Mineral Club. Please include the number
of members in your family and indicate if any are
under 18 for our EFMLS membership and insurance.
Please send it in with your payment. You may also
renew at the next meeting.
Signed ____________________________________
Date ____________________________________
Remove this page and send to the address listed on the newsletter
with dues made payable to the Worcester Mineral Club, Inc.
Applications for membership will be voted on at the next regular club
meeting, which you are welcome to attend.
PAGE 4
NEW DIGGINGS
SEPTEMBER 2011
The Worcester Mineral Club is a Member of the
Eastern Federation of Mineralogical
and Lapidary Societies
and the
American Federation of
Mineralogical Societies
NEXT MEETING: TUESDAY,
DECEMBER 7, 7:15 P.M.
New Diggings
Newsletter of the Worcester Mineral Club
PO Box 2278
Worcester, MA 01613
WORCESTER MINERAL CLUB
When
The Worcester Mineral Club generally meets on the
third Tuesday of each month (September - June) at
7:15 P.M. at Trinity Episcopal Church, Main Street,
Shrewsbury. Show up 15 min. early, bring a couple
of cool specimens and share a story or two.
Where
Exit 22 off I-290 (Main Street/Shrewsbury). Follow
Main Street toward Shrewsbury for about 1.5 miles.
Trinity Church is on the right just after St. John’s
High School.
Got A Computer?
We're on the web at:
worcestermineralclub.org