OUTCROP
Newsletter of the Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists
OUTCROP
Newsletter of the Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists
730 17th Street, B1, Denver, CO 80202 • 720-672-9898
The Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists (RMAG) is a nonprofit organization whose purposes are to promote interest in geology and allied sciences and their practical application, to foster scientific research and to encourage fellowship and cooperation among its members. The Outcrop is a monthly publication of the RMAG.
2024 OFFICERS AND BOARD OF DIRECTORS RMAG STAFF
PRESIDENT Mike Tischer mtischer@gmail.com
PRESIDENT-ELECT Matt Bauer matthew.w.bauer.pg@gmail.com
1st VICE PRESIDENT Lisa Wolff lwolff@bayless-cos.com
1st VICE PRESIDENT-ELECT Nate La Fontaine nlafontaine@sm-energy.com
2nd VICE PRESIDENT Jason Eleson jason@geointegraconsulting.com
2nd VICE PRESIDENT-ELECT Ali Sloan ali@sloanmail.com
SECRETARY Drew Scherer flatirongeo@gmail.com
TREASURER
Holly Lindsey hrlindsey@bafatoy.com
TREASURER-ELECT
Astrid Makowitz astridmakowitz@gmail.com
COUNSELOR
Steve Crouch scrouch@whiteeagleexploration.com
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The Outcrop is a monthly publication of the Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists
DESIGN/LAYOUT: Nate Silva | n8silva.com
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Bridget Crowther bcrowther@rmag.org
LEAD EDITOR
Nate LaFontaine nlafontaine@sm-energy.com
CONTRIBUTING EDITORS
Elijah Adeniyi elijahadeniyi@montana.edu
Marlee Cloos marlee.cloos@bpx.com
Danielle Robinson danielle.robinson@dvn.com
RMAG CODE OF CONDUCT
RMAG promotes, provides, and expects professional behavior in every engagement that members and non-members have with the organization and each other. This includes respectful and inclusive interactions free of harassment, intimidation, and discrimination during both online and in-person events, as well as any content delivered by invited speakers and instructors. Oral, written or electronic communications that contain offensive comments or demeaning images related to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, or appearance are not appropriate in any venue or media. RMAG reminds members of the diversity and mission statements found on our website. Please direct any questions to staff@rmag.org
Grand Tetons, Wyoming. Photo by Nathan LaFontaine
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COMMUNITY CONTACTS IN 2023 YOUR SUMMIT SPONSORSHIP DOLLARS SUPPORTED: 1,200 2,000 8,000 8,500 5,000 3,500 30 15 9
Geoscience Community:
October 20, 2023
We greatly appreciate every Summit Sponsor and Event Sponsor that has contributed to RMAG over the last year. We could not exist without your support
The Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists celebrated a year of remarkable achievements, bringing together a global community of over 300 geologists for the Helium Conference for one of the first events exploring Helium production from exploration to processing. Monthly Women's Coffee, Membership Happy Hours, and thematic luncheons provided a supportive networking environment. In these gatherings, experts delved into diverse subjects, with topics that spanned from landslides to the intricate geology of the Permian Basin. RMAG also offered classes on oil and gas property valuation, enriching the skill set of members. A core workshop facilitated hands-on learning, and field trips to quarries, crater impacts and other geologic marvels ignited the spirit of exploration. Notably, the association extended its community impact through outreach at community festivals and classrooms across the Denver Metro area, emphasizing our dedication to advancing geological understanding and appreciation.
2024 brings new opportunities for RMAG Your sponsorship dollars will help RMAG bring to fruition an extensive calendar of continuing education opportunities, an exciting Field Trips season, and a dynamic list of luncheon speakers on topics ranging from the state of the industry to hydrogen and more. These dollars will allow RMAG Members impact the next generation at outreach events throughout the community and provide opportunities for the geoscience community to connect and build their network.
Your sponsorship dollars will also support our excellent publications including the monthly Outcrop newsletter and the quarterly Mountain Geologist journal We recognize your financial commitment with inperson signage, and website and publication advertising, as well as through social media before each online event. With a LinkedIn group of almost 3000 members, we make our sponsors visible to the geoscience community for both virtual and in person events
Thank you to those who are already a Summit Sponsor, we look forward to your continued support in 2024. If you are not already a sponsor, please look at the many complementary benefits included with the sponsorship levels. If our annual sponsorships don't make sense for your company, or you want to sponsor something specific, ask about our single event sponsorship opportunities. Please feel free to contact our staff with questions about sponsorship by email: bcrowther@ rmag.org or by phone at 720-672-9898 ext. 102
We and the staff of RMAG thank you all for your continued support and look forward to seeing you in 2024.
Michael Tischer
Bridget Crowther 2024 RMAG President RMAG Executive Director
12
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730 17th Street, B1 Denver, CO 80202
RMAG AUGUST 2024 BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING
By Drew Scherer, Secretary flatirongeo@gmail.com
Welcome to the September 2024 edition of The Outcrop. I hope you are enjoying your summers and back to school season whether you are putting the kids back in classes, are getting ready for the next semester of college classes, are newly empty nesters, or just enjoying the lower traffic out on our rocky mountain trails.
The board met on Wednesday August 21st at 4pm MT via Zoom, all board members besides one were present. While July ended up being a quieter month for events, we have already picked up some late summer momentum with a great events like our annual RMAG Golf Tournament at Arrowhead which sold out and was a great success for our organization.
The finance committee kicked off the meeting per usual reporting good financial metrics including reducing overhead, and positive net revenue. CEC has a good roster of talks to round out the year, this month we will have Ben Burke for our luncheon speaker, the talk is titled, “Geothermal at Blackburn Field, Nevada” which covers the feasibility study on producing 1 MW of nameplate generation capacity from a mature oil field. Should be a great informative talk whether you are in the oil & gas industry, low carbon energies field, or just interested in learning more about some geology of the Rockies. CEC has also worked out some additional details regarding our upcoming conferences and workshops, including a CCS Workshop on October 17th, and the Hydrogen-Helium Conference in April of 2025.
The membership committee highlighted strong
showings at our monthly coffee and happy hours, is drafting ideas on some family-friendly social activities for the winter and spring and identifying new ways of growing our membership rolls. Publications has a solid hopper of Outcrop stories and Mountain Geologist articles. The Geoscience Outreach (GO) committee recapped their ideas to build upon our summer events like Juneteenth, Pridefest and Teacher of the Year. And will have two volunteer opportunities for September, the Douglas County School District Elementary Resource Fair on the 20th at the Legacy Campus and the Reading Partners Trivia night on the 26th at Woods Boss Brewing. On the Rocks will host three field trips this month, going to see Permian Stratigraphy in the Northern Colorado Front Range on the 7th, observing Eagle Basin Stratigraphy on the 21st, and a sold-out trip to see the San Juan Volcanics around Lake City on the 28th
As an active member you should have received an email with the link to the Member Survey. Taking 10 minutes to fill out the form helps the organization better understand the diversity and needs of our membership which helps us tailor our programming. A couple of RMAG Board of Directors positions are opening if you would like to be more involved by taking a leadership role. And lastly, as we near the winter months we are starting the planning process for the Rockbusters Ball. On behalfalf of the board, we hope you have a great September and keep tuning into the latest happenings from the RMAG Board and Committees.
PRESIDENT’S LETTER
By Mike Tischer
Making Memories
Dear RMAG Members, Fall has arrived. Can you believe it? As we head into the shoulder season with cooler temperatures and shorter days, I hope you had a chance this summer to get out and find your geology fix. I usually spend 8 hours in front of a screen every day, and I assume many off you do the same. It’s bizarre, when you think about it. Many of us became geoscientists because we discovered our love for rocks and geology during hikes or on family vacations when we were younger. And yet, here we are, analyzing data on our computers from places we’d rather be at in person. Don’t get me wrong, looking at geoscience data from places that you may never be able to visit such as the deep-water areas of the Gulf of Mexico or the rugged peaks of the Himalayas can be very rewarding and
View from Mt Stephens Trilobite Beds. A UNESCO Heritage Site in Yoho National Park, Canada. Note the magnificent braided stream in the background. (photo: Mike Tischer)
exciting. But nothing beats going out yourself, tasting the air, touching the rocks, seeing with your own eyes the grandness and the beauty the Earth has to offer – all of it created, shaped, and sculpted over eons of time. Incomprehensible to the human mind but still very much appreciable. Truly, the greatest show on Earth.
I like to remind myself of this grandeur as often as I can. This summer I went to one of my favorite places on Earth, the Canadian Rockies. I’ve been there a few times. Yet, every time I’m driving west from Calgary and I see the first glimpse of the rugged peaks of the Paleozoic sediments that make up the front range, I get goosebumps. Every time. Nestled in this magnificent mountain range is one of the most famous geologic formations on the planet, the
Burgess Shale. The shale can be seen in many places but none of its outcrop locations is as iconic as the Walcott Quarry in Yoho National Park. Protected as a UNESCO Heritage Site and accessible only by a 13 mile in-and-out guided hike, the significance of this location for evolution and geoscience cannot be overstated. I’m sure many of you have made the trip to the quarry.
This June, I went back to this special place and visited its sister location, the Mount Stephens Trilobite beds. This quarry is not too far from its more famous sibling. It’s a shorter and much steeper hike, but it’s so worth it. The view from the quarry is stunning and the trilobites at the site are abundant and come in every shape and size you can imagine. It’s trips like this that help me recharge and realize why I love geology and why I wouldn’t want to do anything else.
I hope you all had a chance to do something similar this summer. Maybe you visited one of your favorite geo locations, maybe you discovered a new one that was on your bucket list, or maybe you just stumbled on one by accident. No matter where you went, I hope you had a chance to recharge and rekindle the passion for geology that connects us all here at RMAG. And if you did, let me know where you went, what you discovered and what your favorite places are to visit – here in Colorado and beyond (President@rmag.org).
And while you recover from your latest geo journey why not have a look at this new issue of the Outcrop. It’s bursting at the seams with great content curated just for you. Who knows, maybe you will find your next summer trip right in these pages. You never know.
2024 GOLF TOURNAMENT
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LOOKING BACK
History Of The Colorado School Of Mines Museum Of Earth Science & The Colorado State Mineral Collection
Written on the Occasion of the One Hundred-Fiftieth Anniversary of the Colorado School of Mines
BY ED RAINES, Curator, Mines Museum of Earth Science
ARTHUR LAKES began to systematically collect mineral, fossil, and rock specimens almost immediately upon his arrival at the School of Mines. In January 1877, the Golden Weekly Globe reported that Lakes had assembled a small Museum in Jarvis Hall. This building and collection burned in 1878, but Lakes was soon rebuilding the collection, and by 1880(?) he had officially taken on the role of Curator of the Geology Museum. In those early years, the collection was primarily for teaching purposes, but early newspaper descriptions always seem to mention fine specimens on display.
When Horace Patton was named curator of the collection in 1893, he categorized the collection into a student lab collection, a blowpipe analysis collection, a species collection, and an exhibition collection. In 1906 the exhibition collection was moved to the north end of Guggenheim Hall, but following Patton’s retirement the exhibition collection was put in storage in 1922.
THE ALLISON-BOETTCHER COLLECTION
In spite of the lack of an official mineral exhibit or museum, the School of Mines mineral collection
continued to grow, and one major addition was acquired and put on exhibit in a special safe in the Arthur Lakes Library —the Allison-Boettcher Gold Collection. Frank C. Allison, owner of a cigar store in the Albany Hotel, Denver, assembled a noteworthy collection of gold and silver specimens during a thirty-five-year period beginning around 1900. While the collection contained many specimens from the early days of Colorado mining, it also contained fine specimens from California, Mexico, Australia, and Europe. It is reported to have been exhibited at the Century of Progress Exposition in Chicago, and some claimed that it was the finest private collection in the United States.
In the depression years, Mr. Allison found himself so short of funds that his creditors were demanding that they be allowed to seize the collection at meltvalue (about $8000). Allison acquired temporary funding but by 1937 had to inform his creditors that he must sacrifice the collection. They approached assayer (and School of Mines Alumnus) Charles O. Parker with a proposal to liquidate the collection, but Parker contacted CSM President Melville F. Coolbaugh, Board of Trustees representative John T. Barnett, and Claude K. Boettcher of the Boettcher Foundation. They all agreed that something should
Building, 101 14th Street (across from Capitol).
Colorado State Museum
Room 1— State Mineral Collection at the Colorado State Museum, C. 1898.
Room 2— State Mineral Collection at the Colorado State Museum, C. 1898.
be done to save the collection, so Mr. Boettcher contacted his father, Charles Boettcher, and the father-son team agreed to sponsor a purchase and gift to the School of Mines. The collection was placed on exhibit in Arthur Lakes Library in a special safe. In 2014, the gold and the safe were moved to the Geology Museum.
Today, the special safe sits at the top of the stairs to the lower level next to an exceptionally large balance once used at the Denver Mint. Sharing space with some of the Allison-Boettcher gold specimens from the early day Central City Mines is the renowned Frederick Mayer collection of Colorado Territorial Gold Coins. On loan from the Mayer family, this assemblage is second only to the Smithsonian collection which is locked away in the vaults and has never been displayed. The combination of the Mayer Coins with the Allison-Boettcher gold is almost certainly the most important assemblage of Pikes Peak Gold Rush specimens ever displayed.
THE BERTHOUD HALL GEOLOGY MUSEUM
When Berthoud Hall was completed in 1940, Patton’s exhibition collection was unpacked and put on display in the new hall, but it soon had to be placed in storage again to make room for US Army wartime training facilities. After the war, museum curator J. Harlan Johnson unpacked the specimens and began a systematic expansion of the collection that continued until his retirement in 1957.
Jerri Hamilton, Nancy Knepper, John Shannon, and Virginia Mast followed as curators/directors up to the end of the 20th century. By 1985 the collection in Berthoud Hall had grown to more than 40,000 specimens of minerals, fossils, rocks, gemstones, and artifacts, with more than 3500 specimens on display. During these years the gemstone collection received significant donations, especially from Charles L. Leavitt and Helen Von Ammon in 1979, and Edward Taubman in 1980. One of the most important additions that the museum has acquired
Hoffman Mural collage of mid 20th century mining scenes.
Long Wave Fluorescent Minerals.
Miss Colorado Crown and Gemstones.
Colorado Meteorites with map showing where they were found.
Display of Creede District.
came as the result of the transfer of the Colorado State Mineral Collection to the School of Mines. It allowed the museum to begin to build a reputation as a valued participant in many mineralogical and geological functions.
THE COLORADO STATE MINERAL COLLECTION
A short discussion of the Colorado State Mineral Collection is in order because not many other states have an “official” State Mineral Collection. In the mid-1890s the newly created Colorado Bureau of Mines began to assemble what was to become the “official” State Mineral Collection. Soon this collection became a featured exhibit in the new Colorado State Museum Building on 14th Street, just across the street from the Capitol. (The museum building is still standing but is now used for offices
by the State Legislature.)
Through the years the Colorado State Museum also became the home of displays exhibited by the State Historical Society of Colorado. The museum building was home to both the Bureau of Mines and the Colorado Historical Society, and both organizations were state agencies with duties and funding defined by the Colorado Legislature. Throughout these years the State Mineral Collection continued to grow. In the 1950s more than seven hundred specimens were donated by the Colorado Scientific Society. Many of these specimens were from collections assembled during field studies by famous Colorado geologists, mining engineers, and metallurgists, such as Whitman Cross, Richard Pearce, W.F. Hillebrand, John A. Porter, E. G. Stoiber, Peter von Diest, Anton Eilers, and R. C. Hills.
In 1959 the legislature transferred custody of what had become known as the State Mineral
Display of Colorado Pegmatites.
Display of South American Minerals.
Collection from the Colorado Bureau of Mines to the State Historical Society, and the Bureau of Mines was relocated to a different building where it could concentrate on the regulation of the mining industry. State Historical now ran the Colorado State Museum and the State Mineral Collection.
By this time, the exhibits extended through two floors in approximately one hundred display cases. After several years, State Historical began to realize that their personnel were not equipped to oversee such an extensive scientific collection—they could not even answer the most basic questions posed by visitors to the Museum. To the non-scientists of the society the exhibit was simply a lot of rocks in glass cases. By the mid-1960s they had had enough of geology and mineralogy and decided to try to find a new home for those old rocks. The
Colorado School Mines (a state organization that was specifically defined in the Constitution) seemed to be a likely home.
On October 25, 1965, an agreement was reached in which the State Historical Society of Colorado transferred the State Mineral Collection to the Colorado School of Mines. The agreement specifically stated, however, that the collection “shall absolutely remain vested in the State of Colorado as provided in Colorado Revised Statutes of 1963, chapter 131, Article 1, section 9.” To the best of our knowledge, there are not any other states that have actually claimed ownership of a mineral collection, and certainly never transferred control/curatorship (twice) by legislative acts and legal agreements. The actual transfer of the collection took place in three parts. The major transfer took place in 1966,
Part of the Hydraulic Fracturing Display.
and much smaller transfers of “special” specimens (that State Historical had on exhibit?) followed in 1973 and 1980. When the transfer was completed, close to 10,000 specimens from this very historically important collection had been added to the Mines Collections.
FROM THE JOHN SHANNON AND GINNY MAST YEARS TO A NEW GEOLOGY MUSEUM
Other significant additions were made to the Geology Museum collections during the last two decades of the twentieth century. In a new twist, some of these donations fell into the realm of historic art and artifacts. First and foremost, famous muralist Irwin Hoffman donated his award winning six panel mural series on the History of Mining from the 1939 Golden Gate International Exposition in San Francisco. The Mines Museum did not have enough
wall space to hang the murals, so they were loaned to the National Mining Hall of Fame in Leadville. In 1983 Robert Nye donated a magnificent silver pitcher and tray commissioned by Colorado Senator Edwin Wolcott as a gift to his friend Jacob Sanders. The two pieces depict extraordinarily accurate renditions of frontier scenes from the last great silver boom-town of Creede, where Sanders and Wolcott made their fortunes in mining silver from the Last Chance Mine. Also, both the Thomas Allen and Frederick R. Dowsett Mining Lamp collections were donated to the Museum and many artifacts are on display. In the 1970’s the Denver Area Association of Jewelers created a gold and gemstone crown so that Miss Colorado would have a crown unique to Colorado. The Association recently donated the crown to the Museum. It is on display except when it is retrieved by the Miss Colorado Pageant for its annual competition.
Display of Lapidary Art
In 2003 a new Geology Museum was constructed as a part of the new General Research Laboratory building (GRL). This facility was largely the result of the efforts of Dr. John Trefny, President of Mines from 2000-2006. The new museum has about 15,000 square feet devoted to displays, including a special exhibits room funded by one of the museum’s premier donors, Martin Zinn. The museum also has a gift shop, which provides an important source of funds for operating expenses. Also, about 1500 square feet are dedicated to archival specimen storage, and some three hundred square feet are used for specimen identification and exhibit preparation.
After a dispute over ownership was resolved, the Hoffman Mining Murals were returned and are now prominently displayed along the western wall of the main floor display area.
THE MUSEUM TODAY
The museum has seen significant growth over the past 10 years. Visitor numbers have increased from roughly 8,000 visitors in 2008 to more than 30,000 each year since 2020. While some exhibits are considered “permanent” the museum strives to improve these displays by adding new acquisitions and shifting arrangements to highlight new points of emphasis. Some displays are changed annually, others less frequently. Usually between 1500 and 2000 specimens are on exhibit at any given time. The Museum has nine display cases devoted to Colorado Minerals arranged by counties and Mining or Pegmatite Districts. There are also exhibits on Paleontology and Meteorites, an Apollo program Moon Rock, early-day Colorado Gold Rush specimens and Colorado Territorial Coins, Gems, Lapidary Arts,
Gold Safe Display.
Petrified Wood, Fluorescent Minerals, Underground Mine Lighting, officially designated State minerals and gemstones, and several displays are devoted to specific aspects of mineral formation (paragenesis). The Museum has minerals from all continents on exhibit with entire display cases devoted to South America, Mexico, Africa, Europe, and Asia. Significant specimens from Australia and the Pacific Islands are also displayed. In 2021 the Museum, in conjunction with the Mines Petroleum Engineering Department installed an exhibit on Hydraulic Fracturing to provide accurate information on this particularly important, but often misunderstood process.
The museum also has off-site exhibits in Berthoud Hall and the Clear Creek County Court House, and recently displayed specimens from Colorado in the State Capitol Building. Each year the Museum exhibits at the Denver Gem and Mineral Show and the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show. In the recent past the museum has also exhibited at various shows and events in Socorro, New Mexico, Colorado Springs, Fort Collins, the Jefferson County Fair Grounds, the National Mining Museum and Hall of Fame at Leadville, and Heidelberg, Germany. Additionally, the museum coordinated with the U.S. Department of Energy’s Critical Materials Institute for an exhibit explaining the minerals, sources,
processing, and finished products that depend on the designated critical elements.
Significant mineral specimens from the Museum collection have been illustrated in numerous mineralogical and geological books and journals. In partnership with the Colorado Chapter of the Friends of Mineralogy and the Friends of the Colorado School of Mines Museum, the Museum has sponsored a number of seminars and field trips both on campus and most recently at Creede, Silverton, Cherokee Ranch, Gunnison, as well as Pala, California and Nacimiento, New Mexico.
The Museum Director has designed several STEM programs for K-12 students, with field trip activities and outreach events available, as well as teaching kits for teachers. The Museum Curator makes presentations at several seminars annually, including New Mexico Tech’s annual Mineral Symposium, the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show, the Denver Gem and Mineral Show, Friends of Mineralogy seminars, and the Mining History Conference. The Museum also has an active group of volunteers who assist with various aspects of the day-to-day operations, as well as working on special projects. Many other activities are highlighted on our website, and Facebook page
Display of European Minerals
O nt h eR o c k s O nt h eR o c k s F i e l d T r i p s
Join us for this one-day tour of Colorado’s most interesting nonpetroleum-producing basin, the Eagle Basin of northwestern Colorado We will visit several geologic highlights, including the famous Leadville Limestone, the enchanting Belden “stromatolite gardens” and petroleum source rocks, the dynamic Minturn fluvio-deltaic system, and redbeds of the self-described Maroon Formation. The trip will involve hiking up canyons and over steep terrain of up to one mile.
HYBRID LUNCH TALK
Speaker: Benjamin Burke
Date: September 11, 2024 | 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm
Geothermal at Blackburn Field, Nevada
The Results of a Feasibility Study on Producing 1 MW of Electricity at Mature Oil Field
Presenter: Benjamin Burke
The US Department of Energy, Geothermal Technologies Office, awarded an assistance agreement to Gradient Geothermal in 2022 for the study and implementation of geothermal power generation at Blackburn Field, Pine County, Nevada. This presentation summarizes the results of the year-long feasibility study and operational planning effort that is the first of three phases for the project with an emphasis on the geoscience
and reservoir engineering work that went into the project.
The specific basis for selecting Blackburn Oil Field as a candidate for geothermal coproduction and conversion is outlined with specific mention of Blackburn in Hulen (1993) and Johnson et al. (2020), which mentions it as a top five candidate for geothermal co-production or conversion. Blackburn Field sits in the Pine Valley in Eureka County, Nevada, between the Cortez Mountain Range and the Sulphur Spring Mountain Range. The geographic center of the field is located immediately east of Nevada Route 278 at 40.234057 N, -116.145080 E. The field location is south of Carlin, Nevada, and southeast of Elko, Nevada.
Pine Valley sits in the east central side of The Great Basin, an area within the geologic province known as the Basin and Range covering eastern California, most of Nevada, and western Utah. The area is characterized by numerous parallel, linear mountain ranges separated from each other by valleys or basins. Peer-reviewed literature that discusses Blackburn Field are generally two types of studies: ones that focus on Blackburn Field directly following the discovery of hydrocarbons there by Amoco Production, Inc. in
O nt h eR o c k s O nt h eR o c k s
I S C H E R S P E A K F I S C H E R S P E A K S T A T E P A R K S T A T E P A R K
Join RMAG to explore the scenery and scientifically significant geology of Colorado's newest State Park, Fishers Peak. Starting with the oldest rocks we will see are the Cretaceous coal-bearing Vermejo and lower Raton formations at the park’s trailhead. The trip progresses in the Paleogene middle, upper Raton Formation, and Poison Canyon Formation to the Neogene volcanic features which form some of the more spectacular scenery in the park.
HYBRID LUNCH TALK
1982 or more general studies about the stratigraphy, structure, or geochemistry of northern Nevada, eastern Nevada, or the Great Basin. Blackburn Field-specific literature begins a few years following the discovery of the field in 1982. Exploratory drilling for Blackburn Field began in 1980 with the drilling of the Blackburn 1 and 2 wells. The third well drilled
in 1982, the Blackburn 3, was the discovery well for the field.
The presentation focuses on the subsurface technical details of the feasibility study, such as 3D seismic analysis, produced fluid geochemical analysis, subsurface thermal flux analysis, and their impacts on estimated geothermal power production.
Benjamin Burke (he/him/his) is the Chief Executive Officer of Gradient Geothermal, formed by the combined expertise of Transitional Energy LLC and X Machina Sustainable Technologies Inc., is based in Denver, Colorado and was founded to create the world’s premier producer of geothermal energy in the oil and gas sector. Prior to his current role, he held individual contributor and management roles as a geoscientist in the oil and gas industry in Houston and Denver with the ExxonMobil Upstream Companies, Anadarko Petroleum, Noble Energy, Fidelity Exploration & Production, Fifth Creek Energy, and Highpoint Resources. He began his career as a geoscientist with Woodard & Curran, Inc., an environmental consulting firm, in Cheshire, Connecticut.
Ben holds an AB magna cum laude from Bowdoin College in Geology and Russian Language, an MBA in general management from Texas A&M University, and a PhD from Dartmouth College in Earth Sciences. He is also an Affiliate Professor in the Geology & Geological Engineering Department at Colorado School of Mines and a Collaborating Professor in the Department of Geological and Atmospheric Sciences at Iowa State University. He serves as the President Elect of RMAG and on the board of the Denver Earth Resources Library. He is a past member and chair of the Academic and Applied Geoscience Relations Committee of the Geological Society of America. He enjoys gravel cycling, alpine skiing, and, very occasionally, whitewater kayaking. From an early age, he is a hobbyist-level lunar and planetary astronomer.
2024 2024 CCS Workshop
October 17, 2024
Denver West Marriott
Join the Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists for a workshop on Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS). With a diverse range of insightful and comprehensive presentations covering a diverse range of technical and non-technical considerations for the permanent subsurface storage of CO2. This workshop is designed for geoscience professionals interested in CCS, offering a balanced mix of expert knowledge and practical case studies. R E G
I S T R A T I O N
Speaker: Stephen Drylie
Date: October 2, 2024 | 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm
Core Analysis for Emerging Energy
Presenter: Stephen Drylie
As industry interest, public support, and government subsidies for various energy transition technologies grow, numerous opportunities for investing in these new technologies have emerged. However, in order to responsibly pursue these opportunities, operators must adequately characterize the reservoirs and assess major operational risks. While the applications and risks may be new,
many of the core testing methodologies that have been perfected over decades of oil and gas exploration can be directly applied. This presentation will detail how various core tests can be leveraged in carbon storage and other applications, and when appropriate, modifications to test procedures and interpretations will be discussed.
STEPHEN DRYLIE is the engineering manager for CoreLab’s integrated studies group and director of its Carbon Capture and Storage JIP. Stephen has been working in the industry for 17 years beginning with a focus on fracturing and production/reservoir engineering. In this role, he oversees the testing program and integration of the JIP and other core analysis programs. In his current role, he assists with integrating core analysis results with petrophysical log analysis and well operations to help optimize reservoir plans and improve efficiencies. Before joining the industry, Stephen earned his degree in chemical and biomolecular engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology.
CALL FOR ABSTRACTS
DEADLINE: OCTOBER 28, 2024
The Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists is seeking oral presentations, prospects, and exhibitors for its 2025 North American Helium & Hydrogen Conference. We plan to cover a range of topics related to Helium & Hydrogen exploration and commercialization including (but not limited to):
Helium & Hydrogen - Exploration Methods
• Elemental Properties, Source, Migration, Entrapment
• Geophysical Methods
• Geochemical Methods
• Remote Techniques – Aeromagnetics, Gravity, and soil gas geochemistry
• Associated Gases such as Carbon Dioxide (CO2)
• Analogs
Helium & Hydrogen – Temporary Storage
• The geologic condition for temporary underground storage of gases
• How to monitor long term storage
• Geologic/Geophysical modeling for underground storage integrity, seal, etc.
Non-Hydrocarbon Commercialization
• Getting from the contingent resources to reserves
• Helium or Hydrogen produced with other gases such as CO2
• Purification: Wellsite methods and success stories (or failures)
• Value Chain Considerations
Play Characterizations and Case Studies in North America:
Western Sedimentary Basin:
• Albert, Saskatchewan, Montana, Dakotas Rockies Basins:
• Paradox Basin, Green River Basin, Holbrook US Cranton Plays:
• Mid Continent Rift Zone, Anadarko Basin, DJ Basin, Kansas, Nebraska, Texas Permian Basin Eastern Basins and Plays:
• Quebec, Illinois Basin, Appalachia, Upper Michigan InternationalPlays
Markets, Regulations, Financing
• The current state of the Helium and Hydrogen markets
• Helium and Hydrogen pricing in opaque markets
• Global and regional supply and demands
• Local, State, Regional, Federal regulations and Professional Standards: updates and changes.
For More information and to submit an abstract please visit: https://www.rmag.org/He H Abstracts
Questions? Email heliumconference@rmag.org
DEADLINE: OCTOBER 28, 2024
Meet Marlee Cloos
Development Geoscientist at BPX Energy
RMAG’s Publications Committee is featuring a monthly Member Corner. We hope you’ll enjoy learning about the diverse community of Earth scientists and wide variety of geoscience disciplines that comprise our membership. If you would like to appear in an upcoming column, or if there is someone you would like to nominate, please contact staff@rmag.org
HOW DID YOU END UP INVOLVED IN THE GEOSCIENCES?
My interest in geology began early in life. My dad is a now retired geology professor at the University of Texas at Austin, so I grew up surrounded rocks. I specifically had an interest in fossils (I even had “Paleontology Barbie”) when I was young, but didn’t think I would end up in the geosciences until after my first semester in college. I started college as a nutrition major, but decided to take Intro to Geology to fulfill an elective and quickly decided that my childhood interest was something I wanted to turn into a career. I minored in biology with the goal of studying paleontology in graduate school. Unlike Paleontology Barbie who came equipped with a rockhammer to excavate dinosaur bones, my grad school thesis was focused on using fossil pollen to study the paleoenvironment of the late Cretaceous Woodbine Formation in North Texas.
WHAT JOBS HAVE YOU HAD DURING YOUR CAREER?
After graduating from grad school in 2018, I moved up to Denver with the hopes of finding a job in the geosciences. The job market for young professionals was challenging, and I eventually found myself in need of any job. I ended up finding some temporary contract work in the Land Administration department at Anadarko. My job was mostly answering landowner inquiries, and while it was a unique component of the Oil & Gas industry, I was itching to get back into geology. Once Covid hit, job prospects were even more uncertain and I decided it might be time to look for a different career path. I worked at a small real estate company in Denver that developed
affordable housing communities across the US. I’m proud of the work that I did at that company and I developed a very different skill set than I would have if I had been in geology, but after two years I knew this wasn’t my passion and was ready to start looking for geoscience roles again. After a few months of applying to various roles, I was lucky enough to land my job at bpx energy!
WHAT DOES YOUR CURRENT JOB ENTAIL?
I am currently a Development Geoscientist on the Eagle Ford team at bpx energy. My job is a mix of operations and development so its always exciting! I enjoy the fast-paced atmosphere and solving the complex problems of the subsurface.
WHAT IS THE BEST CAREER LESSON YOU HAVE LEARNED SO FAR?
It took me about four years after graduating to land a job in the geosciences, and I think the best thing I learned is persistence. I was hopeful that I would end up in a geology role and wasn’t afraid
to branch out into other roles in the meantime. I didn’t know how many strikes and slips my career path would take, but I kept an open mind that what I was learning along the way would help me achieve my goals.
WHERE WAS YOUR FAVORITE FIELD TRIP IN SCHOOL?
In grad school I took a field trip out to southeast Utah. I was in awe of the size of the aeolian sand dunes. Also got to check two national parks off the list and met my husband Alex!
WHAT GEOLOGIC PERIOD WOULD YOU TRAVEL TO IF YOU WERE GIVEN A TIME MACHINE?
I would go back to the late Cretaceous. I would love to see the diversity of flowering plants, mammals and birds that existed during that time period, as well my favorite dinosaur Spinosaurus to see firsthand if it actually did swim.
WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR FAVORITE MEMORY THIS YEAR?
I took a trip to Alaska this summer and stopped at Katmai National Park. My favorite memory would have to be standing on the Brooks Falls Platform watching dozens of bears catch salmon. We were equally enthralled by the jumping salmon as the bears and cheered on the few that managed to make the jump upstream without being caught.
WHAT ARE YOUR HOBBIES OR PASSIONS OUTSIDE OF WORK?
I love gardening and have a small vegetable patch. Every year has had its own challenges and I enjoy experimenting with different vegetable varieties and seeing what grows well here. This year I can’t seem to grow green beans, but my shishito peppers and eggplants are very happy!
DO YOU HAVE ANY PETS?
I have a chihuahua named Toaster. He’s a friendly chihuahua who loves bananas, very short walks, and sitting in my chair with me when I work from home.
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE BOARD GAME?
Wingspan. It’s a little hard to learn, but its addicting once you pick it up. And you can learn so many fun facts about birds!
My chihuahua, Toaster.
By Ronald L. Parker Senior
Dark green beryl var. emerald crystals with quartz, silver-blue molybdenite, biotite and schorl from Carnaiba mining District, Pindobacu, Bahia, Brazil. The elongate emerald crystal in foreground is 3 cm long. Photo by Ronald L. Parker
Beryl, Be3Al2Si6O18, beryllium aluminum silicate, actually describes a family of highly prized colorful gem minerals that are mostly found in granitic pegmatites. Common beryl is bluish or whitish and forms as massive clots filling in pegmatitic spaces between other crystals. Some non-gem beryls constitute truly massive single crystals – including the largest yet known. Gem beryl occurs as euhedral crystals—mostly well-formed, flat-topped, hexagonal prisms—that constitute a family of prized varieties. Beryl gemstones are classified by color and include: clear goshenite; pale green beryl, blue to blue-green aquamarine; pink to orange morganite, golden yellow heliodor, dark green emerald and the rarest gem of all—red beryl. Although beryls are mostly from granitic pegmatites, some form in schists and gneisses and in hydrothermal veins. Beryl is the principal source of beryllium, which is used as a metal alloy and in electronic and nuclear technologies. The economic significance of beryl is heavily weighted toward its attraction as a source of gem minerals and its prevalence in jewelry – including some of the most expensive jewels known to humanity.
On July 1st, 2024, Hurricane Beryl became the earliest Category 5 storm on record in the Atlantic. At the time I was reminded (thanks Nate!) of the geological link. I decided it was time to investigate this beautiful and interesting mineral family that was the target of many of my museum photographic attempts over the last several decades. It didn’t take long for me to realize that I had ‘bitten off more than I could chew.’ I quickly learned that the beryl universe is vast and that it has been studied in great detail by many great scientists. It would take many years for me to distill all the great information on this amazing mineral family. Consequently, my treatment here should be regarded as just skimming the surface. There is much, much more to investigate!
Beryl, Be3Al2Si6O18, is a beryllium aluminum silicate that is a prominent cyclosilicate. Beryl is found in abundance at gem and mineral shows because it is produced from many localities, it has so many flavors and it is especially attractive to the human eye. Beryl tends to be easily identified. To quote Jones (2011): “There is no trick to identifying beryls: Their simple hexagonal shape, flat termination and Mohs hardness
Red beryl from the Ruby Violet Claims, Wah Wah Mountains, Beaver County, Utah. Red beryl is one of the rarest gem minerals in the world. Crystal is 12 mm long. Photo used with permission from John Betts Fine Minerals
help distinguish them from other minerals” (p. 71). Not all beryls are euhedral (with good crystal faces) and not all beryls are of gem quality. In fact, most beryl is anhedral – without good crystal faces (see my photo of the beryl-filled table). Common beryl is usually pale green, faint yellow or white and opaque. These beryls are useful as hexagonal specimens or as beryllium ore. Common beryls include some truly massive crystals running 10s of feet long, several feet thick and weighing tons. Jones (2011) indicates that “Many New England and South Dakota pegmatites have yielded large quantities of such beryls” (p. 56). The largest crystal known is beryl. It hails from Malakialina, Madagascar, registering 18 m (59’) in length, 3.5 m (11.5’) in diameter and weighing 420 tons (Rickwood, 1981). This massive beryl exceeds even the largest of the giant selenite laths discovered in the Cave of Crystals at Naica, Mexico, which is a mere 11.4
Bin of pinky toesized common blue beryls at the 2008 Richmond Gem and Mineral Show, Richmond, Indiana. Although none of these are gemmy, most display the hexagonal prismatic symmetry that is a diagnostic property of beryl. Photo by Ronald L.
Stunning display of beryl var. aquamarines set in a matrix of white feldspar, smoky quartz, muscovite and garnet. This massive specimen (37” x 25”) was discovered by Steve Brancato in 2003 and collected in 2004 from Diane’s Pocket on the slopes of Mount Antero, Chaffee County, Colorado. The aquamarines are about 5” long. Photo taken by Ronald L. Parker at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science in 2010.
Parker
m (37.4’) long and 12 tons (Garcia-Ruiz et. al., 2007).
Euhedral beryl is notable for a strong habit as elongate hexagonal prisms. These crystals commonly have flat pinacoid {0001} ends and, less frequently, muted pyramidal faces that bevel the edges where prism and pinacoid faces merge. Flattened hexagonal prisms – like pucks – are also known, but uncommon. Beryl euhedra often exhibit striations or grooves along prism faces that parallel the c-crystallographic axis. Sometimes, euhedral faces are altered by leaching fluids that leave etch pits and enhanced grooving after crystal growth. Beryl has a weakly developed basal cleavage that sometimes resembles the basal pinacoids. Sometimes these broken surfaces reveal screw dislocations imparted during nucleation and growth (see green beryl, p. 44). Beryl has a vitreous luster and a transparent to translucent diaphaneity. The specific gravity of beryl is close, or slightly above, the granitic crustal rocks that it is most often associated with—2.63 to 2.91 g/cc. Beryl is remarkable as one of the hardest substances of the mineral world, with a Mohs hardness of 7.5 to 8 (Chang, 2002; Johnsen, 2002; Klein, 2002; Nesse, 2004).
It is true that non-gem beryl can sometimes be mistaken for quartz or apatite. Quartz has lower symmetry and lower hardness, often shows strong pyramidal faces and never has pinacoid faces. Quartz displays striations on prism faces that are perpendicular to the c-axis, unlike the c-axis parallel striations in beryl. Apatite has much lower hardness (H=5) (Wenk and Bulakh, 2004).
Like many of the cyclosilicates, beryl has hexagonal symmetry largely because the structural backbone is comprised of rings of Si6O18 tetrahedra that are connected by 2 of the 3 basal oxygens. The Si6O18 rings are vertically stacked parallel to the c-crystallographic axis and of are bonded by octahedrally-coordinated (6-fold) Al3+ and tetrahedrally-coordinated (4-fold) Be2+. Beryl manifests the highest symmetry of the hexagonal crystal class: dihexagonal-dipyramidal (6/m/2/m2/m) (Klein, 2002). In this class, the principal crystallographic axis (c) is a 6-fold axis of rotation with a perpendicular mirror plane. Each of the a1, a2 and a3 crystallographic axes,—perpendicular to c and 60° apart from each other—is a 2-fold axis of rotation with a perpendicular mirror plane.
Compositional variation in beryl results in striking changes to physical properties, especially color. MINERAL
var.
weighing 3.05 kg (15,256 carats) and almost a half meter in long dimension is from Minas Gerais, Brazil. Photo taken by Ronald L. Parker in 2002 at the Smithsonian Institution.
This identical symmetry is repeated for the non-crystallographic axes that bisect (30° apart from) the a1, a2 and a3 axes. Euhedral beryl hexagonal prisms proudly trumpet their 6/m2/m2/m symmetry with prism faces intersecting each other at a cool 120°, in keeping with the ‘Law of Constancy of Interfacial Angles.’
This giant beryl
aquamarine crystal,
LEFT: Nerf football-sized chunks of common beryl for sale at the Denver Gem and Mineral Show, September 2023. From Minas Gerais, Brazil. Because this stuff was selling for $30 a pound, I bought a tiny piece. Photo by Ronald L. Parker.
BELOW LEFT: Several beryl var. goshenite crystals from Erongo Mountain, Karabib District, Erongo Region, Namibia. Note the thin slivers of black tourmaline (schorl) which are a commonly observed in association with the beryl from this locality. The top pinacoid face is 4 mm across at its widest. Photo by Ronald L. Parker
BELOW RIGHT: Perfectly hexagonal light green beryl crystal purchased for $5 at a mineral sale at the Colorado School of Mines Museum of Earth Science in early 2024. From Madagascar. The uneven fracture on the near face hints at a screw dislocation, which is mimicked at the back (hidden). The flat prism face on top is 2.0 cm across and 4.0 cm long. Photo by Ronald L. Parker
The largest proportion of substitutions involve alkalis (Li+, Na+, K+ and Cs+). Because of a smaller ionic radius, Li+ can replace both octahedral Al3+ and tetrahedral Be2+. The other alkalis are too large, instead residing in the 3D open cavities of the stacked silica ring structures (Nesse, 2004). The interior of the stacked cyclosilicate rings is able to host many other neutral and ionic passengers, including: H2O, CO2, OH-, F-, Li+, Rb+, Cs+ and Na+ (Klein and Philpotts, 2013). The fireworks, however, derive from trace concentrations of transition metal cations (Cr3+, V4+, Mn2+, Mn3+, Fe2+, Fe3+). It is these sparse contaminants that account for the color palette of the beryl family. Pure beryl, Be3Al2Si6O18, is transition element poor and is colorless (Wenk and Bulakh, 2004).
Beryl is especially abundant in Be-bearing pegmatite dikes and veins (Klein and Philpotts, 2013). Pegmatites are magmatic igneous rocks that are defined by an unusually large range of crystal sizes and a proclivity to host rare, exotic and often highly-prized minerals (Simmonds et. al., 2024). Pegmatites span a broad spectrum of compositions reflecting complicated magmatic evolution. The Be-bearing pegmatites are but one type. In general. pegmatites are the “last gasp” of crystallization of an igneous pluton, when fractional crystallization (and other processes) have removed higher-temperature silicate minerals containing Fe, Mg and Ca. The remaining melt is enriched in Si, Al, Na and K and the non-compatible elements. Non-compatible elements, because of ionic size, ionic charge or ionic coordination, do not readily fit into the structure of common igneous minerals. Non-compatible elements include: Li, Cs, Be, B, Mn, P, F, Ag, Au, U and many of the light and heavy rare-earth elements (LREEs and HREEs). Also, concentrated in the residue at the end of magmatic crystallization are volatiles and fluxes (H2O, CO2, S, Cl, F, B and P) which decrease viscosity and facilitate high-pressure fracturing and explosive injection of this last gasp into overlying rock (Klein, 2002). Minerals in pegmatites display large crystals not because of slow cooling – to the contrary. Large pegmatite crystals are thought to “crystallize exceptionally rapidly” as the result of the very high diffusivity of elements in volatile-rich phases (Simmonds, et. al., 2024). Non-pegmatite beryls are known from metamorphic schists
Beryl var. emeralds surrounded by calcite matrix from the Coscuez Mine, Vasquez-Yacopi District, Boyaca Department, Colombia. The large crystal is 16.5 mm long. Photo used with permission from John Betts Fine Minerals
and gneisses, contact metamorphosed rocks, hydrothermal veins and greisens (Jones, 2011).
Mineral associations with beryl include many of the other pegmatite minerals, including quartz, potassium feldspar, albite, muscovite, biotite, spodumene, topaz, tourmaline, apatite. Incidentally, beryl is a different mineral than chrysoberyl, which is a beryllium aluminum oxide, although they commonly are found together.
Beryl is most well-known for its gem varieties. Even though common beryl is not well known to the average citizen, almost everyone has heard of emerald. Beryls make good gem minerals because they are durable, reflecting high hardness and weak to absent cleavage. Thus, they are able to take and hold a polish. Gemstones are graded by the 4 “C”s: color, clarity, cut and carats, moderated by beauty and rarity (Bonewitz, 2013). Beryl successfully checks most of the value boxes for gemstones. An interesting thing to note is that the color of gem beryl is not “written in stone.” (Sorry)! Rather, the actual color and/or color intensity can be artificially (and permanently) modified by temperature treatment or by exposure to
Beryl var. heliodor crystal from Volodarsk-Volynskii mine, Zhytomyr Oblast, Ukraine. The lemonyellow color at the base (right) transitions upward (left) to a yellow-orange. The crystal faces and striations are heavily etched. Photographed on display at the 2021 Denver Gem and Mineral Show by Ronald L. Parker.
Beryl var. aquamarine in massive quartz from a pegmatite, Minas Gerais, Brazil. The beautiful bluegreen crystal is broken in the middle and shows cross-cutting fractures that are lined with thin zones of weathered material. A striated texture is evident along the length. The crystal is ~5 cm in length. Photo by Ronald L. Parker
radioactivity. Thus, greenish or weakly colored blue beryls can be puffed-up to the full aquamarine standard, by heat treating at 500°C. This process changes interfering Fe3+ to full blue Fe2+, turning non-gem into gem beryl. Needless to say, this means of amplifying value is quite popular and has been utilized since at least 1910 (Jones, 2011).
The next section looks at characteristics of the different gem beryls (goshenite, heliodor, morganite, aquamarine, emeralds and red beryl).
Colorless beryl is known as goshenite, named for Goshen, Massachusetts. Goshenites have trace element compositions that are so low, they do not contribute to coloration (Wenk and Bulakh, 2004). In some instances, goshenite can have color imparted by applied irradiation that activates even very small transition metal concentrations, turning it yellow, green, pink or blue. Because transition metal additions to beryls are more the rule than the exception, goshenites are the least common of the gem beryls (Bonewitz, 2013). Jones (2011) posits that if all beryls were colorless, humans wouldn’t have paid much attention to them. Still, goshenites make pretty gemstones and are used in jewelry. Major sources of goshenites include Brazil, Russia, Pakistan and Madagascar (Bonewitz, 2008; 2013).
Heliodor is pale yellow to brilliant gold colored beryl. Heliodor, means “gift from the sun.” The coloration in heliodor is a consequence of Fe3+ substitution in tetrahedral silicon sites (Wenk and Bulakh, 2004; London, 2015). The Fe3+ substitution in heliodor causes the crystal to absorb visible light in the green part of the spectrum. Thus, the mineral displays the complimentary color – yellow (jones, 2011). Heliodor is remarkable because it is unlike most beryls—especially emeralds. Heliodor often occurs as exceptionally clean and clear crystals with
few flaws or inclusions. The best heliodor crystals are known from the Ural Mountains of Russia, with other amazing sources in Namibia, Nigeria, Brazil and Ukraine. In the U.S., heliodor is found in Connecticut, Maine, North Carolina and Pennsylvania (Bonewitz, 2008, 2013). The picture I have included of a heliodor displays a high degree of etching. This is a characteristic feature of the Ukrainian deposit at Volodarsk-Volynskii. Etching is accomplished by invasion of a crystal pocket by hot hydrothermal fluids—an indication that the miarolitic cavities were open systems (Jones, 2011).
Morganite was named by the New York Academy of Sciences after the businessman, financier, philanthropist and gem collector J. Pierpont Morgan (Bonewitz, 2008). Morganite is also known as pink beryl, rose beryl, pink emerald or cesian beryl. Morganite displays a range of colors from pink, pinkish-yellow, peach, rose-lilac or orange (Bonewitz, 2013). Color in morganite is the result of manganese (Mn2+)
substitution for octahedral Al3+ (Wenk and Bulakh, 2004). The divalent manganese makes the morganite crystal absorb color near the blue portion of the visible spectrum, leaving some (but not all) of the complimentary red. Thus, a pinkish hue. Often morganite displays changing colors, or color-banding, within a single crystal, transitioning from rose to peach, for instance. This hints at complex chromophore chemistry (Jones, 2011). Additionally, morganite is dichroic, exhibiting a different color intensity when viewed along, versus perpendicular to, the c-axis. One peculiarity concerning morganite is that it is not religious about displaying the beryl standard form –the elongate, flat-topped, hexagonal prism. Morganite is much more likely to appear as squat, tabular, disc-shaped crystals where the “flat-top” pinacoid is the dominant face and the prism faces are short. They are tabular, not elongate, hexagonal prisms! Morganite is noted form lithium-rich pegmatites that often include lepidolite and tourmaline (Bonewitz, 2008). Localities noted for gem morganites include Italy, Madagascar, Mozambique, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Brazil and the United States (San Diego) (Jones, 2011; Bonewitz, 2013).
Large chunk of beryl var. morganite with a color gradient to a blue core (aquamarine?) sitting on a pile of muscovite pucks. In this view down the c-axis, note how the pinacoid “flat-top” is the largest crystal face. From the Denver Gem and Mineral Show, September 2021. Estimated to be 30 cm across. From the Dara-e-Pech Pegmatite Field, Kunar Province, Afghanistan. Photo by Ronald L. Parker
Light blue to blue-green beryl is called aquamarine and it is the most plentiful, and the most popular, of the gem beryls. The blue coloration is the result of Fe2+ substitution in the tetrahedral Be2+ sites (Wenk and Bulakh, 2004). The Fe2+ replacement of some Be2+ atoms cause the crystal to absorb visible light in the red part of the spectrum. Thus, the complimentary color – blue – is dominant, producing a beautiful aquamarine (Jones, 2011). Aquamarines display a color range from deep, intense blue and blue-green to almost colorless, with just a tinge of blue. Value is proportional to the depth of color. Aquamarine, meaning ‘sea water’, is typically found as larger crystals with greater clarity and in greater quantity than emeralds. One giant transparent aquamarine from Brazil registered 110 kg (242.5 lb.), making it one of the largest gem minerals known
(Bonewitz, 2013). Aquamarines are highly sought after for jewelry. In the 19th century, sea-green aquamarines were the fashion. Today, sky-blue colors are preferred (Bonewitz, 2008). Aquamarine is the birthstone for March.
Among the most famous localities for gem aquamarine is the top Mount Antero, in the Collegiate Range of the Colorado Rocky Mountains south of Buena Vista (Jacobson, 1984). Aquamarine mineralization at this locality occurs in miarolitic cavities within a 500’-thick zone of pegmatite intrusion right at the top of the 14,276’ peak. This elevation makes pegmatite collection on Mt. Antero extremely challenging. Some of the most exquisite aquamarines in the world have come from Mount Antero, and the lure of fortune
and fame collecting there has been well-documented on video, including those on YouTube by Mount Antero Treasures Productions (see link). Mount Antero aquamarine was adopted as the State Gemstone of Colorado in 1971.
Green beryl is called ‘green beryl’ when the color is pale green and emerald when the color is dark green. Green beryl is a formed without the chromium or vanadium chromophores that make emeralds “pop.” Instead, green beryl is colored by a combination of reduced iron (Fe2+) and oxidized iron (Fe3+), mixing the yellow of heliodor with the blue of aquamarine to yield…green! Green beryls, despite a lesser color intensity than emeralds, are still prized gemstones (Bonewitz, 2013).
Emeralds have captured the attention of humanity for millennia. Evidence of emerald mining goes back to 1,300 BCE, when mines in Upper Egypt at Jabal Sukayt and Jabal Zabgrah were operating (Bonewitz, 2008). A prolific emerald mine, in the Wadi Sikait in Egypt’s eastern desert, was supplying Egyptians, and later Romans, from the 1st century BCE (Harrell, 2004). Emerald so resonates with humanity that it is the birthstone for May!
The dark green color of emerald is a result of ~0.5% to 2% Cr3+, sometimes with V4+ (London, 2015). The Cr3+ substitutes for octahedral Al3+, which causes crystal field splitting in the visual range, absorbing wavelengths in the orange and indigo-violet portion of the spectrum. The result is a pronounced green color (Wenk and Bulakh, 2004). Emeralds form in different circumstances than most of the other beryls. While still the result of fractional crystallization and protracted magmatic evolution leading to incompatible element enrichment, emeralds result from pegmatites that intrude ultramafic rocks, where the chromium and vanadium are available (Wenk and Bulakh, 2004). Other emerald deposits are known from
The best sources of gem emeralds, accounting for almost 90% of world production, are the mines of Muzo and Chivor in Columbia. Instead of a pegmatitic origin, these emeralds formed in a greisen-type environment involving hydrothermal fluids and, especially, exsolved gases that chemically altered the carbonaceous limestone and shale. Fracture flow
Large green beryl crystal from the Medina mine, Minas Gerais, Brazil. The color intensity is not dark enough for this to be classified as an emerald. It is expected that this color stems from a combination of Fe2+ and Fe3+, instead of Cr3+ or V4+. The prism faces are decorated with etched pock marks from leaching dissolution after crystallization. The etch pits appear to reflect crystal structure. This specimen was on display at the 2021 Denver Gem and Mineral Show, when it was owned by Collector’s Edge Minerals. Photo by Ronald L. Parker.
by invading fluids picked up chromium, beryllium and lesser vanadium from the host rock and recrystallized as emerald bearing calcite veins that stand out from the dark, punky host. The emeralds that formed in the calcite veins at Muzo are remarkable because they lack the impurities and inclusions that cloud emeralds from most other localities (Jones, 2011). Because of the high-price they command and the reality that few are flawless, emeralds are often cut to minimize imperfections, or treated to disguise them. Synthetic emerald manufacture, perfected in 1937, also contributes to the gem market. Synthetics may rival natural emeralds in color and beauty (Bonewitz, 2008).
Emeralds from the Ural Mountains in Russia occur in mica and chlorite schists. Gem emeralds are also well known from Austria, Norway, Australia, Brazil, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Pakistan, Zambia and, Hiddenite, North Carolina.
Red beryl, which is the rarest of all types, is simply called red beryl. The dark red ‘raspberry’ color of this rare gem, like morganite, is also due to manganese in the crystal structure. This manganese, however, is Mn3+ that has been activated by natural radiation (Bonewitz, 2013). Trivalent manganese is more effective at absorbing the blue part of the spectrum than the Mn2+ of morganite. The end result is a much more intense red color in red beryl (Jones, 2011). Red beryl is known from just three localities: the Thomas Range and the Wah Wah Mountains in Utah, and the Black Range in New Mexico. Only the Wah Wah Mountains produce gem quality red beryl. Because gem red beryl is only found in 1 place, it is said to be worth 1000 times more than gold, carat per carat. (Note: a carat is 0.2 g). The Utah Geological Survey estimates that a solitary red beryl is found for every 150,000 diamonds (UGS, 2024). Faceted red beryls are even more rare – so much so that they can exceed the per carat price of diamonds (Bonewitz, 2013). The occurrence of red beryl is from topaz-bearing rhyolites that have been altered by Be-bearing hydrothermal fluids. Red beryl occurs in thin hydrothermal veins with clay and calcite (Jones, 2011).
Beryl has significant economic value outside of the commercial gem and mineral trade. Beryl is the
primary source of beryllium (Be) which “…has outstanding thermal, mechanical, electrical and nuclear properties.” (Chang, 2002). Beryllium (atomic number 4, atomic weight of 9.0122), metal has an extremely low density of 1.85 g/cc,—1/3rd the weight of aluminum. It has a high melting point (1285 °C) and a high heat-absorption capacity. Be metal is used in high-speed aircraft and space vehicle frames and brakes, in satellite mirrors, space telescopes, inertial guidance systems and gyroscopes, as a neutron moderator and reflector in nuclear reactors and in x-ray transparent windows that hold high-vacuums but permit unimpeded transmission of x-radiation. Beryllium contributes useful properties to alloys, including hardness, strength, resistance to corrosion, wear and fatigue and high electrical and thermal conductivity. Be alloy applications include: springs, switches, relays and connectors in automobiles, computers, radar and telecommunications; highstrength, non-sparking tools; metallurgical and glass molds and casts; golf clubs and bicycle frames and dental materials. Be oxides are employed in ceramic manufacture for the electronics industries. Be is also
Giant beryl var. aquamarine crystal, with muscovite, from Nagar, Pakistan. Long dimension of the crystal is guesstimated at 30 cm. Photo taken by Ronald L. Parker in 2007 at the Smithsonian Institution.
an environmental workplace hazard and its toxicity can lead to chronic beryllium disease (CBD), an irreversible and sometimes fatal scarring of lung tissue (USDOE, 2024).
Beryl is known from worldwide occurrence. The most Important localities for beryl include: Brazil, Russia, Madagascar, Namibia, Pakistan and the United States. In the US, beryls are from California, Colorado, Maine, New Hampshire, Connecticut, South Dakota, Idaho and North Carolina.
Because beryl – in all of its disguises – is a plentiful denizen of gem and mineral shows (except red beryl), almost every collector has some. If you don’t, plan on attending a local Gem and Mineral Show. In my neck of the woods, that would be the Denver Mineral, Fossil, Gem and Jewelry Show held every early- to mid-September.
WEBLINKS
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beryl
• https://www.mindat.org/min-819.html
• https://www.handbookofmineralogy.org/pdfs/ beryl.pdf
• https://www.webmineral.com/data/Beryl.shtml
• https://www.youtube.com/@ mountanterotreasuresproduc1895
• https://geology.utah.gov/mappub/survey-notes/glad-you-asked/ what-utah-gemstone-is-rarer-than-diamond/
• https://denver.show/
REFERENCES
Bonewitz, Ronald Louis, 2008, Rock and Gem: The Definitive Guide to Rocks, Minerals, Gems and Fossils, New York, New York: Dorling-Kindersley Limited, 360 pp.
Bonewitz, Ronald Louis, 2013, Gems, New York, New York: Dorling-Kindersley Limited, 224 pp.
Chang, Luke L.Y., 2002, Industrial Mineralogy: Materials, Processes and Uses, Prentice Hall: Upper Saddle River, New Jersey, 472 pp.
Garcia-Ruiz, Juan Manuel, Roberto Villasuso, Carlos Ayora, Angels Canals and Fermin Otalora, 2007, Formation of Natural Gypsum Megacrystals in Naica, Mexico, Geology, 35(4):
327-330.
Harrell, James A., 2004, Archaeological Geology of the World’s First Emerald Mine, Geoscience Canada, 31(2): 69-76.
Jacobson, Mark Ivan, 1984, Mt. Antero Mineral Locality, Chafee County, Colorado: Past & Present, Rocks & Minerals, 59(1): 13-17.
Johnsen, Ole, 2002, Minerals of the World: Princeton University Press, Princeton, N.J. 439 pp.
Jones, Bob, 2011, Chapter 4: Beryl, in The Frugal Collector, Volume 1, Ventura, California: JMiller Media, pp. 56-71.
Klein, Cornelis, 2002, The 22 nd Edition of the Manual of Mineral Science: New York, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 641 pp.
Klein, Cornelis, and Anthony Philpotts, 2013, Earth Materials: Introduction to Mineralogy and Petrology, Cambridge University Press, 536 pp.
London, David, 2015, Reading Pegmatites: Part 1 – What Beryl Says, Rocks & Minerals, 90 (2): 138-149.
Nesse, William D., 2004, Introduction to Optical Mineralogy, 3 rd Edition: New York: Oxford University Press, 348 pp.
Rickwood, Peter C., 1981, The Largest Crystals, American Mineralogist, 66(9-10): 885-907.
Shigley, James E., Timothy J. Thompson and Jeffrey D. Keith, 2003, Red Beryl from Utah, Gems and Gemology, 39(4): 302-313.
Simmons, William B., Karen L. Webber and Alexander U. Falster, 2024, Pegmatites, Rocks & Minerals 99(1):18-32. doi=10.1080/00357529.2 023.2253098
United States Department of Energy, 2024, About Beryllium, website https://www.energy. gov/ehss/about-beryllium Accessed 8-13-2024. Utah Geological Survey, 2024, What Gemstone is Found in Utah that is Rarer than Diamond and More Valuable than Gold? https://geology.utah. gov/map-pub/survey-notes/glad-you-asked/ what-utah-gemstone-is-rarer-than-diamond/ Accessed 8/25/2024.
Wenk, Hans-Rudolf and Bulakh, Andrei, 2004, Minerals – Their Constitution and Origin: New York: Cambridge University Press, 646 pp.
Expanded geologic focus:
• Entire greater Rocky Mountain area of North America
• West Texas and New Mexico to northern British Columbia
• Great Plains and Mid-Continent region
Why contribute?
• Reach a broad industry and academic audience
• Quarterly peer-reviewed journal
• Permanent archiving includes AAPG Datapages
• Quick turn-around time
• Every subdiscipline in the geosciences
Email: mgeditor@rmag.org
https://www.rmag.org/publications/the-mountain-geologist/
2023 Donors
It is with sincere gratitude that we thank the following donors whose gifts have helped contribute to the Foundation’s ability to fund approximately $81,000 for scholarships, student and faculty memberships, and support for RMAG and other geoscience organizations and programs.
• Rachel Aisner Aisner
• Donna Anderson
• Charles and Gretchen Bartberger/Platt
• Jean Bolyard
• Lou Bortz
• Kathleen and Richard Brinkhaus
• Hariett Brittenham
• Elmo and Kathy Brown
• Arthur Butler III
• Mary Carr
• Suzanne Cluff
• Jane Crouch
• Robin Diedrich EOG matching gift
• Jane Estes-Jackson
• Frank Ethridge
• Robert and Susan Gardner
• Virginia Gent
• Shawna Gilbertson
• Ernest and Debra Gomez
• Vivian Grauch
• Robbie Gries
• Thomas Groves
• Maria Henry
• Debra Higley-Feldman
• Holly Huyck
• Tanya Inks
• Patricia Irwin
• Robert Lamarre
• Leslie Landefeld
• Patricia Lech
• Holly Lindsey
• Jeff and Karen May/ Crossen
• Elizabeth McKenna
• Donald McKenna
• Phil Moffitt
• James and Leah Mullarkey
• David Nelson
• Glenda Norton
• Terrilyn Olson
• Ira Pasternack
• Ron Pritchett
• Kurt and Susan Reisser
• Carol and Russell Robinson
• Nathan Rogers
• Joseph (Rick) Sarg
• Matthew Silverman SM Energy matching gift
• William Stephens
• Steve Strachan
• David Taylor
• Robert and Barbara Tucker
• Lesli Wood
• Laura Wray
Earth Science Teachers Of The Year
Sponsored by the RMAG Foundation and RMAG
For the second year in a row, the RMAG Foundation honored not one but two outstanding teachers from Colorado. As shown in the photos above, they were honored at an RMAG luncheon in which they received plaques that accompanied a $2000 gift for their personal use. There was no doubt that both Kent Hups and Hannah Winters were going to apply the money to their classrooms, further illustrating
their commitment to teaching. In addition, $2000 was given to the science department at each of their schools. A more thorough article about these two was published in the August Outcrop.
Congratulations to these two fine teachers! RMAG and the RMAG Foundation encourage you to nominate outstanding lower, middle, and high school teachers in the state.
Chair Ginny Gent presents the plaques to Kent Hups (left) and Hannah Winters (right) at the August 7th RMAG luncheon to honor them as the 2023 Earth Science Teachers of the Year.
SEPTEMBER 7, 2024
RMAG On the Rocks Field Trip.
IN THE PIPELINE
Trip Leaders: Marshall Deacon, John Webb, Steve Fryberger and Ginny Gent. “Pennsylvanian-Permian Eolian/Fluvial System Along the Northern Colorado Front Range: Lyons, CO to Lory State Park.”
SEPTEMBER 11, 2024
RMAG Luncheon.
Speaker: Benjamin Burke, Talk Title: “Geothermal at Blackburn Field, Nevada.” In Person or Online. Denver Earth Resources Library, 730 17th Street, B1, Denver.
SEPTEMBER 14, 2024
RMS-SEPM Field Trip.
“Commanche Peak Wilderness Field Trip.” 7:00 AM- 5:00 PM.
SEPTEMBER 21, 2024
RMAG On the Rocks Field Trip. Trip Leaders: John McLeod and Dennis
Gertenbach. “Evaporites, Turbidites and Stromatolites: A Whirlwind Tour of Eagle Basin Permo-Carboniferous Geology.” Eagle Basin, CO.
SEPTEMBER 28, 2024
RMAG On the Rocks Field Trip. Trip Leader: Harvey DuChene. “A Journey Through Lake City’s Calderas and Geological Marvels.” Lake City, CO.
SEPTEMBER 30, 2024
COGA. Golf Tournament. Arrowhead Golf Course.
OCTOBER 2, 2024
RMAG Luncheon. Speaker Stephen Drylie. Talk Title: “Core Analysis for Emerging Energy.” In Person or Online. Denver Earth Resources Library, 730 17th Street, B1, Denver.
COGA. Energy Summit Conference. Denver Center for the Performing Arts.
WELCOME NEW RMAG MEMBERS!
Kent Hups
with Northglenn High School, Northglenn, Colorado
Hannah Winters with Preforming Arts School on Broadway
Wendall Larson with Larson Enviormental, LLC, from Denver, Colorado
Zach Morrow a student at Montana State University
William Blankenship from Denver, Colorado
RMAG Luncheon.
RMAG Luncheon. COGA. Energy Summit Conference.
On the Rocks Field Trip: Lyons, CO to Lory State Park
RMS-SEPM Field Trip. On the Rocks Field Trip: Eagle Basin, CO
On the Rocks Field Trip: Lake City, CO