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Geological State Symbols Across the US - #4 Arkansas 

The next state up is Arkansas. Here are the stats:                                                                                        [...]

Photos of the Bingham Canyon Mine Landslide 

The Deseret News has an article about the recent landslide at the Bingham Canyon copper mine. They also have a collection of fifty-one

Metamorphic Fabrics 

With many rocks, we identify them through their minerals. But with metamorphic rocks, often the fabric is the most basic feature. Like this rock, which is defined as gneiss from ...Read Full

Good Old Pough 

Frederick Pough, author of the classic A Field Guide to Rocks and Minerals, died on this date in 2006, aged 99. The little rock book he first published in 1953 has been a mainstay for generations of rockhounds and geologists. In my review, I said, "This old friend to generations of geologists and mineral hounds is both authoritative and readable--and includes physical and chemical tests for every mineral. If I had to discard all but one geology book, I'd keep my Field Guide." ...Read Full

Tribolunimescence in Quartz 

Triboluminescence is a flash of light produced when a material is subjected to friction, impact or breakage. The phenomenon is also known as fractoluminescence and mechanoluminescence. Triboluminescence is common in minerals because about 50% of crystalline materials are thought to exhibit the

This Week's Geo-Quiz: Geo-Extremes 

If the minerals and the rocks and the continents and all the other geological features were Olympic contestants, which would be the gold medalists? That's the premise of this week's "Who Wants To Be a Geo-Whiz" quiz on geological extremes. This is a race for gold—silver and bronze are for

Pinal County endorses Resolution Copper land exchange 

The Pinal County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously last week to urge Congress to pass the land exchange bill that is key to the Resolution Copper mine being developed. H.R. 687, or the "Southeast Arizona Land Exchange and Conservation Act of 2013" will have a hearing in the House Subcommittee on Energy and Minerals on March 21. Meanwhile, opponents to the mine spoke against a

REE - Rare Earth Elements 

Geology.com has a good article on Rare Earth Elements if you want to prepare for the next Geology club meetingREE - Rare Earth Elements - Metals, Minerals, Mining, Uses:Harry

This Week's Geo-Quiz: Seismology 

You know your rocks, your minerals, your fossils. Igneous petrology? Bring it on, right? But maybe a million-imaginary-dollar quiz centered around seismology makes you shake a little in your shoes. Do your hands acquire a tremor? Does the prospect make you tremble? Well, this quiz should. Go on, take the quiz

An Evolved Magma Ocean on Mercury 

A new paper in Earth and Planetary Science Letters is a good example of how science can be done. It takes six measurements made by the MESSENGER spacecraft, currently orbiting Mercury, and attempts to decipher the early history of the whole planet from them. The spacecraft used fluorescence data from 11 areas, which yielded only the ratios of the elements calcium, magnesium and iron relative to silicon, and that's all. The authors noticed that the data in two different regions formed two [...]

Critical Mineral Resources Draft 

The Geological Society of America has published a Position Statement Draft on Critical Mineral Resources. From the draft… “This position statement (1) summarizes the consensus views of The Geological Society of America on critical minerals

Mysterious Rocks: Part Five 

Now that I’ve established the fact that all 3d rocks are the result of mineral transformation that takes place underground, I can move ahead and address some of the formations that are equally mysterious and miss-understood. Concretions and flint nodules are more misunderstood rock anomalies,  and thought to be formed by minerals accreted to a

Baryte (BaSO4) 

Minerals of the Avon regionBaryte   (Barium Sulphate – BaSO4)Colour: White but is often coloured by other minerals to a pink or pale brownPolymorphism: Forms a series with SelestineName: From the Greek for weight due to it’s high specific gravity       Crystal system: Orthorhombic with up to 70 formsSpecific gravity: 4.5 measured (4.47 [...]

Fun with PHREEQ at Red Creek 

Most freshwater on earth is not that highly saturated with dissolved metals or minerals. However, there are exceptions to be found all over the world from natural acid rock drainage to the alkali springs of Jordan. If the concentrations of dissolved metals are high enough the water can be toxic. For example, water draining from

Nonfuel Mineral Production Increases 

Nonfuel mineral production values increased in the United States for the third consecutive year, up $1.7 billion since 2011. [...] The estimated value of mineral raw materials produced at mines in the United States in 2012 was $76.5 billion, a slight increase from $74.8 billion in 2011. Net exports of mineral raw materials and old

Enigma 9 : Olivine ... what will happen to you? 

Olivine is the first mineral to crystallize when magma is cooling. It is the reason why Olivine is often present in the gabbros, but also in the basalts. Olivine can crystallize at a temperature of about 1000 ° C. This is the first mineral of the Bowen reaction sequence (see enigma 7: Minerals!) read

Join me for the premiere online episode of "Arizona Mining Review" 

Join me on Wednesday, January 23, for the inaugural live episode of the online streaming video magazine Arizona Mining Review. Arizona is regularly the number 1 or 2 producer of non-fuel (i.e., other than coal) minerals in the US, and mining historically was one of the largest component of the Arizona economy.    Today, Arizona provides nearly two-thirds of all the copper used in the

Got rocks in your head? Then attend ‘Mineral Madness’ 

The Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum will hold its annual “Mineral Madness” mineral show and sale this weekend, January 19 & 20, 2013. There will be thousands of minerals on display with something for beginning rock hounds to serious collectors. In addition to the mineral show, there will be activities for families and children all around the

Geo-Quiz of the Week: Minerals 

<p>Do you have a mind of many facets? Is your knowledge of the mineral kingdom crystal-clear and diamond-hard? Then try your brain against the touchstone of <a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&#038;zu=http://geology.about.com/cs/mineralogy/a/aa_quiz2_minerl.htm">the Minerals Geo-Quiz</a>! In this Mohs test of the intellect, see which scratches

Enigma 7 : Minerals 

When the magma becomes rock !   Since one month, the scientists aboard the JR have examined with the rocks coming up to the seafloor. Once their physical properties recorded (see previous enigma), these rocks are described.  Several teams of researchers and technicians are in charge of this work.     read