Lone Pine Gem & Mineral Society Newsletter
July 2009
June 27 is the LPGMS/CRMS annual field trip to Cerro Gordo Mine. Once annualy the mine is opened for collecting. Don't miss this opportunity.
July 12 annual picinic meeting and silent auction, this year in Bishop at the Izaak Walton Park. The club will provide hamburgers, hotdogs, and the fixin's. You'll provide the potluck side dishes!
June 27 Field Trip to Cerro Gordo
While there are no LPGMS field trips specifically for June and July, there is the very popular annual field trip held in conjunction with the California Federation of Mineralogical Societies (CFMS) to Cerro Gordo. Cerro Gordo offers more diverse mineral specimens than any other mine in California. (More information of Cerro Gordo click here).
Most of us will be looking for Smithsonite, a zinc carbonate, usually with some iron, magnesium, and calcium, occasionally with some cadmium, copper, and cobalt. Combinations of all these elements do not exist; only particular combinations can exist.
Blue Smithsonite on the left and "Turkey Fat" Smithsonite on the right. Notice the botryoidal texture in which the mineral has a globular external form resembling a bunch of grapes. Smithsonite is normally found in the massive form and rarely found as crystals.
If you'd like to go, meet on Saturday, June 27, at Lee's Chevron at 8:00 a.m. There is a $10.00 donation to the preservation of Cerro Gordo for each person.
Bring the usual rockhounding tools especially hand cultivator (three prong garden tool) for scraping through the tailings. Bring a squirt bottle to help you see the specimens.
Bring water and lunch. Cerro Gordo is at an elevation of 8,300ft. It'll be several degrees cooler than the valley floor. The temperature can either be hot or cold so plan accordingly.
The road to Cerro Gordo is steep but normally well graded. It is suitable for almost any vehicle unless there have been a recent rains that damaged the road. (We have had rains this month.) Mike Patterson reports that RVs have come up though they aren't recommended. Mazda Miatas have also made the climb. Still, a high clearance vehicle with sound brakes and drive train is recommended.
Summer Barbecue On July 12
Now that summer is officially here and the temperatures are warm, it's time to start thinking about our annual barbecue. The barbecue is potluck, but the club is supplying burgers and hot dogs and all the fixins'. This gathering will replace our July club meeting (we'll hold a brief meeting before the festivities begin).
This year the annual picinic will be held in Bishop at the Izaak Walton Park, on W. Line St. in Bishop at 2:00 pm on Sunday, July 12.
We will have a silent auction. For the silent auction we have tables set up with various specimens and other items. Each item has a sheet of paper listing the starting bid and the bid increment. Bidders then cycle through the items adding their name and bid at the end of the current bids. Some items bring a healthy bidding war between the members and guests.
Don't miss this popular event.
Contact numbers
- President: Dana Jeffries - 760-876-5020; dana at lpgms.org.com
- Vice President: Ray Ramirez - 760-872-0624
- Newsletter editor:
