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The British Columbia Rockhounder
Official magazine of the
British Columbia Lapidary Society

Volume 9 -- 2006

Editor: Win Robertson

Published quarterly
Submit an article

Winter 2006
Message from the President
The year's wrap-up, and planning ahead for the Abbotsford Gem Show in April, Rendezvous in May, and more in the summer of 07.
Harley Waterson

Totems to turquoise
Karl Friedman
The Vancouver Museum hosts a dazzling display of native North American jewelry until May 2007.

Bat hotels
Sarah Efron
Old mines are being converted to allow bats to roost in them, as they play an important part in the control of insects.

Flat lapping without a machine
Pegmatite Bulletin
Using a flat piece of aluminum sheet and some Vaseline to get a great (and flat) finish.

How to clean quartz
Charles Carter
Sound advice on various methods to clean up this important and common mineral.

October 2006 backcover

Giant diamond sells for more than $12 million.
Elizabeth Boswell
The world's 10th largest diamond rough, found in in the tiny African country of Lesotho, has gone on the auction block.

Rock of Ages
A meteorite from Tagish Lake, and found in 2000, now at the University of Alberta, may suggest how life began on Earth.

'Microfossils' represent early wildlife in Canada.
Tom Spears
Tiny fossils from 540 MYa have been found in the Yukon, providing valuable insight into evolutionary trends.

Blue spinel discovered.
True North Gems report
Cobalt is the source of a rare and beautiful gem find being developed on Baffin Island in Canada's north.

Largest ruby in northwestern hemisphere found
True north Gems report
Canadian gem company reports on a 2005 find of a 440 carat rough ruby from Greenland.

Desert glass - an enigma
John W. Olsen & James R. Underwood
A rare form of naturally occurring glass, found on the Egypt-Libya border, has been known for millennia, but is still the subject of scientific inquiry.

Ode to Rock Candy Mine.
Barb Wallington
New words to an old favourite song.

The rocks are calling.
John Bowman
Account of driving to Falkland and Monte Lake to attend a rock sale.

What are those fibers in my rose quartz?
Bill Cordua
Research at the University of Missouri has found the source for the attractive pink colour in rose quartz - dumortierite.

Canadian Gold Maple Leaf.
This 99.99% pure coin is one of the world's most sought-after bullion coins.

Golden hopes and broken dreams.
James Laird
Lost and forgotten mines of the Jervis Inlet region in BC's southwest.

Beautiful coloured leaves and big bear tracks on the River Bar.
De Singleton
Report of a fall day on the gravel bars near Hope, hunting minerals.

Ancient rock star finds a home at U of A.
The Tagish Lake meteorite is the subject of considerable scientific research that should reveal exciting finds.

Why is it called "GOLD"?
History of gold, that magic metal, and how it has affected us.

Cutting opal.
The voice of experience advises on the do's and don't's of opal cutting.

Rockhounder Club News

Summer Camp 2007
August 6 - 10, 2007 at Beaver Point Resort, Tchesinkut Lake, BC.

Rendezvous 2007
May 18 - 21, 2007 at Lone Butte, BC.

Fall 2006
Message from the President
The importance of volunteering within the Society. New 'tailgate' sale floated. The Rockhounder's new look.
Harley Waterson

Eureka! Quarry near Oilsands full of ancient life
Canadian Press
Exciting prehistoric man-made artifacts found north of Fort McMurray in Alberta.

Islanders put their stamp on Summer Camp
John Bowman
The 2006 Society Summer Camp at Port McNeil on Vancouver Island produced exciting finds and times.

Q. What's the difference between fossilized and petrified?
Andrew Alden
MIneral replacement versus carbonizing.

Charley and his crew lead the way in Island hospitality
De Singleton
Report on the great Island Summer Camp - wasn't that a party?

October 2006 backcover

Rattlesnakes on railway tracks and other exciting Rendezvous adventures
De Singleton
This year's May get-together at Heffley Creek near Kamloops Lake.

The Rockhounding Ground
Janice Boyes
Humorous new words to an old Newfie song.

Strike it rich at Hedley's historic mine
Laurie Carter
Similkameen Indian Band pumps life into town with tours to the historic Nickel Plate property.

The oldest wood in the world
Carla Helfferich
The strange discovery of mummified (not fossilized) wood in Canada's Arctic.

Gold-copper-cobalt mineralization at the Merry Widow Mine, northern Vancouver Island, BC
James W. Laird
Geology and mining history of this important camp is described.

The great Cheslatta agate hunt
Jo-Ann Blomquist
Exciting new finds on a field trip with the Lakes District crowd.

Ignorant, sentimental and metamucil
Doc Rock
Or, everything I know about rocks, I learned in kindergarten.

Rockhounder Club News

Vernon Lapidary Club

Interlakes Rockhounders

Penticton Geology & Lapidary Club

Yellowhead Lapidary Club

Thompson Valley Rock Club

Victoria Lapidary & Mineral Club

Summer Camp 2007
August 6 - 10, 2007 at Beaver Point Resort, Tchesinkut Lake, BC.

Rendezvous 2007
May 18 - 21, 2007 at Lone Butte, BC.

Summer 2006
Message from the President
Rendezvous round-up and the question of insurance; a trip to Oregon, Nevada and California; and Carey Plume agate.
Harley Waterson

Vancouver Island Field Trip
Mt Tzouhalem Quartz Crystals
Wanderer
A new discovery near Duncan produces doubly terminated gems.

Petroglyphs in British Columbia
History & Heritage Tour Operators in BC
What they are, how they came tobe, and where to find them.

Hunting for Canada's "Hidden" Gems
Mari-Lou Rowley
Update on the Yukon emerald development and a new blue beryl discovery.

Golden Hopes and Broken Dreams
Lost and forgotten mines of Southwest BC - Part 4 - Howe Sound
James Laird
The area along Highway 99 has seen a lot of prospecting and extraction.

June 2006 backcover

Fluorite (Fluorspar)
Fact and fiction about this rainbow coloured mineral.

The Pangaea Theory
US Geological Services
The Permian supercontinent, plate tectonics, and the shape of our planet today are examined.

Salt Casting
Callie & Dennis Chapman
Techniques & tips in silver working to create that spiky, nugget effect.

Tips from the Frugal Tumbler
Ron White
Good advice on how to use coarse grit more effectively.

Lapdiary
Wikipedia source
What's in a word? Stone working analyzed.

Wagonmaster Field Trips
Up-coming field trips.

Rendezvous 2006 - Heffley Creek, BC
John Bowman
Report on the annual spring rite, hosted by the Thompson Valley Club, north of Kamloops.

Lakes District Rock & Gem Club - Burns Lake Area Agates
Jo-Ann Boyd-Blomquist
Two field trips during the short summer season.

Rockhounder Club News:

Ripple Rock Gem & Mineral Club

Island Gemboree Janice Boyes

Victoria Lapidary & Mineral Society

Creative Jewellers Guild of BC

Richmond Gem & Mineral Club

Fraser Valley Rock & Gem Club

Club Shows & Sales - Fall & Winter 2006

Rendezvous 2007 May 18-21, 2006

Spring 2006
Message from the President
The Abbotsford Show, Wagonmasters, Maple Ridge's crusher, moving the Society's storage locker, Diane Dixon joins committee.
Harley Waterson

Tucson Report 2006
Wanderer
Who's who and what's what at the premier North American rock & mineral show.

News from Carmacks, YT
Dawn Charlie
Update on what Yukon-north rockhounders are doing.

Meteroite sells for $93,000
A 160kg ironie sells at auction for a record amount in New York.

Stromatolites
Not as rare as you think, these ancient fossils have been collected in WY, NV and UT for years.

Vancouver Island Trip - 2 : Mt Arrowsmith quartz crystals
Wanderer
Field trip to this well-known central Island mountain.

Mar 2006 backcover

Shrew-like creature discovered in Alberta.
Julia Necheff
The discovery near Red Deer of a 60 million year old rodent reveals new insights into early mammals.

Surprise!
Side effect of Indonesian tsunami is tons of titanium dioxide.

The antiquity of rings
Mae Williams
Fascinating history of rings from early Egyptian era to the present.

Reticulation
Tim McCreight
Techniques for drawing metals into textured patterns.

Famous collections and jewellery connoisseurs
Royalty, movie stars, dictators and others have always collected quality gems. Some notable collections are described.

Gemstones through the ages
Leanne Ware
Extensive description of the myths and fables surrounding popular gemstones.

Slabs for cabs.
Catherine J. Gaber
Practical advice on getting the most out of a gemstone slab.

How to rescue your workshop
Warren Redford
Ideas on how to reduce the clutter in your shop, and be a good citizen too.

Landslides in a nutshell
Andrew Alden
Gravity always wins, as everything breaks, slides or tumbles.

We had to do what for the cat?
Humorous account of how much it costs to ... well, read it yourself!

Geology and beer
Kenneth Chang
The science of how the local bedrock instills a flavour to the water used in brewing.

Rockhounding adventure
Bill Neeboda
Extreme rockhounding in February on the chilly Fraser River bars.

Wood ticks
Reprinted reminder of those little critters that can make spring rockhounding unpleasant, even dangerous.

Alberni Rock & Gem Show - a report on the AVRGC show.

Victoria's showcases - report on the VLMS show.

Hunting for pyrites on Woodside Mtn.
John Bowman
This peak east of Harrison Mills provides fine specimens on a club outing.

Alaska minerals
John Bowman
A visit to Gary McWilliams' rockshop in Bellingham, WA.

A field guide to gold, gemstone & mineral sites of BC - revised edition
This handy guide to the lower mainland has been re-issued April 2006.

BC Society Show
Report of the annual Abbotsford Show in April.

Club Reports:

Fossil fish find.
An important fossil discovered in Ellesmere Island in Canada's Arctic dates to 375 MYa.

BC Club Shows & Sales.

Summer Camp - Port McNeill: August 6-11.

Bead stringing - finishing.
Practical advice on beading techniques.

Wagonmaster field trips

Volume 8 -- 2005

Volume 2 -- 1999 Not available online

Volume 1 -- 1998 Not available online

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