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

Volume 10 -- 2007

Editor: Win Robertson

Published quarterly
Submit an article

Winter 2007
President's Message
Walt Pinder
Christmas greetings and thoughts about the new year.

Dolomite
Short information on this mineral.

Identifying faceted stones without costly gear
Peter Collins
Practical ways to check gem identities without breaking the bank.

Black Tusk quartz from Whistler
Greg Peterson
A new discovery of stunning crystals from the backcountry a few hours from Vancouver.

Some stones really are unlucky!
Hans Durstling
A warning to all - some gems are highly radioactive, yet there is little awareness and no legislation covering their use.

Intergem, Idar-Oberstein
Andrew Danneffel & Tanya Hazzard
Description of Europe's premier coloured stone fair - October 2007.

Are there any good rocks in Korea?
De Morgan
Jade, jadeite, lava tubes and much more in a geological tour of this Asian country.

Bralorne & Pioneer Mine
The early years
History and development of BC's most prolific gold producer, near Lillooet.

Top 10 gemstone special effects
Andrew Alden
Explanations of how a gem's optics transform light, making them glitter, glow or shimmer.

Geologist discovers Martian mineral.
Canadian scientist finds evaporative mineral in Ashcoft BC lake that replicates what may occur on Mars.

Cullinan Mine visit
Lisa Elser & Tom Schlegel
Taking a tour of the South African mine where 3 of the world's largest diamonds were found.

History of brooches
One of the first forms of decoration, brooches have changed over the centuries.

Using Opticon to fill pits in cabachons.
This 2-part epoxy can hide blemishes and enhance a faulty cab.

Fire agate
Wes Roth
A field trip to the Opal Hill Fire Agate Mine near Blythe in SE California.

The wonderful world of the lapidary arts.
Rose Kapp
Getting pleasure from the hobby of "pebble-pushers".

Baby Mammoth.
Steve Raeburn
Icy Siberian wasteland reveals mammoth carcase preserved for 10,000 years.

Cutting amazonite.
Carol J.Bova
Practical advice on how to handle this fragile but highly refractive gem.

Feathered giant crushes dinosaur theories.
John Von Radowitz
Almost one and a half tons of feathered raptor make Chinese palaentologists rethink evolution.

Rockhounder Club News

The BC Lapidary Society Summer Camp "08".

Gilbert A.Labine
1890-1977 - the Canadian whom the world came to know as 'Mr Uranium'.

Winter 2007 backcover

Fall 2007
President's Message
Walt Pinder
On the importance of volunteering and reaching out to other groups and individuals.

Petrified Wood
Bill Cordua
The extraordinary colours & composition of Arizona's Petrified Forest N.P. explained.

Domesticating the gold bugs, and the copper bugs too
Carla Helfferich
Bacteria and bioleaching are important new developments in mining.

Rockhounding in Oregon
John Bowman
Prineville, the Dust Devil Mine, Rainbow Ridge, Flook Lake and more. Account of a great road trip south.

Newfoundland rock ramblings
John Bowman
You can't visit The Rock without looking at the rocks.

I found my thrill on Strawberry Hill
De Morgan
A 3-day field trip to the Buse & Monte Lakes area near Kamloops produces good finds.

Trip to Australian opal mine in 2005
Ron Wade
Fair dinkum trip to Queensland to see the Queen of Gems, mate.

Fulgerites: fossil lightning
Andrew Alden
Fused sand from lightning strikes have much to tell scientists about the past.

How to do a case for the Show
Denver Gem & Mineral Guild workshop
Excellent advice for anyone planning to put a lapidary display in a show of any kind.

Summer Camp 2007.
Anne Williams
Report on the Society's week-long trip to the Lakes District near Burns Lake, BC.

Lustrous behavior
Bill Cordua
The science behind why some minerals shine, and some don't.

Chicken cannons & other Interlake Club adventures
De Morgan
Report on the spring Rendezvous weekend trip, hosted by the Interlakes Club.

Summer Camp 2007 - Tchesinkut Lake
or Bears don't digest Saskatoon berries
De Morgan
Much to do, and more to experience during the Society's summer trip - this year in the Lakes District.

Rockhounder Club News

Alberni Valley Rock & Gem Club
Burnaby Laphounds Club
Creative Jewellers Guild
Interior Zone Meeting
Yellowhead Lapidary Club
Vernon Lapidary & MIneral Club
High Country Rockhound Club
Penticton Geology & Lapidary Club
Shuswap Rock Club
Parksville & District Rock & Gem Club
Port Moody Rock & Gem Club
Ripple Rock Gem & Mineral Club
Vancouver Island Zone Meeting
Victoria Lapidary & Mineral Society
Club Shows & Sales

Fall 2007 backcover

Summer 2007
President's Message
Thanks to all those who make the BCLS function so smoothly.
Walter Pinder

Vancouver Island Gemboree - collective impressions
Jan
Boldly going where few rockhounds have gone before.

Jade trade chips away at a bit of China's soul
Frontier mentalities clash with tradition in China's ancient jade land.

Welcome to Magdalena; the Land of Opals
Randy Lord
A visit to Jalisco state in Mexico mixes gracious customs and spectacular gemstones.

Gold panning instructions
Tips and tricks to improve your skills at finding those elusive nuggets.

Ticks all around
Carol Strom
There may be an up side to the down side of discovering a tick on yourself.

Scientists identify crystal as oldest known solid on Earth
A 4.3 billion year old zircon formed shortly after the planet coalesced.

The Abbotsford Club experience Rendezvous 2007
Anne Williams
Report on the annual trip, this year to the south Cariboo.

Abbotsford Show features Pacific Rim minerals
John Bowman
Report on the wide variety of excellent displays at the BCLS Show this year.

Iron: not just your basic metal
Andrew Alden
This important metal makes up much of our planet, and has influenced humankind's development.

Our mineral afflictions
Humerous look at medical symptoms brought on by rockhounding.

The art of mosquito swatting
Larry Gedney
Science assists in the challenging need to get rid of those summer pests.

Phantom crystals
Doris Kemp
Faint inner crystals are sometimes visible within larger ones.

Pit stop at Monte Lake (or I'll do anything for agate ...)
Bill Needoba
A narrow escape at a popular collecting site serves as a reminder to exercise caution there.

Rockhounder Club News

Alberni Valley Rock & Gem Club
BCLS Wagonmaster's fieldtrips Summer 2007
Burnaby Laphounds Club
Shuswap Rock Club
Surrey Rockhound Club
Courtenay Gem & Mineral Club
Fraser Valley Rock & Gem Club
Ripple Rock Gem & Minerals Club
Courtenay Gem & Mineral Club
Hastings Centre Rockhounds
Port Moody Rock & Gem Club
Richmond Gem & Mineral Club
Spruce City Rock & Gem Club
Thompson Valley Rock Club
Victoria Lapidary & Mineral Society
Vernon Lapidary & Mineral Club
Richmond Gem & Mineral Club
Yellowhead Lapidary Club

Summer 2007 backcover

Spring 2007
Message from the President
A summary of who the BCLS is, and where it's heading.
Harley Waterson

The people of the Cariboo Gold Rush
James Douglas
Governor James Douglas provided a steady hand over the new province of BC as gold fever swept Western Canada.

Brachiopods
These shellfish have been around for a long time, and differ from bi-valves.

"Enhydros" - terminology that's all wet
Julian C.Gray
Liquid inclusions, and crystal inclusions within those liquid inclusions, are discussed.

Manure ... a true story
How commercial fertilizer acquired it's common name!

The Dinosaurs
Prof A.E.Seaman
Humorous poem.

Walker Mineralogical Club
Vancouver Island Field Trip
Olena Dingeldein
Account of Toronto club's August 2006 trip with local geologist Jim Laird.

The Ten Commandments of rock collecting.
Advice worth remembering.

Metal Detecting
Ken Dewerson
A guide to metal detectors, what they can do, and what you can use them for.

Dominican Republic amber.
The history of how this Caribbean amber came to be discovered, and is now known throughout the world.

Feldspar.
Anita D.Westlake
This common mineral in the earth's crust comes in a bewildering number of subtle variations.

Scientists amazed at find of Yukon microfossils
A new discovery of 540 million year old fossils offers clues to how early life evolved in the Cambrian.

Las Vegas rocks and minerals
John Bowman
What would you expect from the world's crassest city?
The world's largest nugget, petroglyphs, and even a chunk of the Blarney Stone!

Rendezvous May 18-21, 2007.

Rockhounder Club News

Ripple Rock Gem & Mineral Club
Maple Ridge Lapidary Club
Burnaby Laphounds Club
Courtenay Gem & Mineral Club
Selkirk Rock & Mineral Club
Creative Jewellers Guild
Surrey Rockhound Club
Port Moody Rock & Gem Club
Penticton Geology & Lapidary Club
Shuswap Rock Club
Yellowhead Lapidary Club
High Country Rockhound Club
Club Shows & Sales

March 2007 backcover

Volume 9 -- 2006

Volume 2 -- 1999 Not available online

Volume 1 -- 1998 Not available online

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