Hi Mark:
I doubt this thread will be acceptable to Orchid list beyond the
present stage of discussion but out of courtesy I will reply to the
moderator for his/her decision.
Christy Cattermole responded to my series of recent emails to
Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources by saying our ColloidalMinerals
claim cannot have its name changed on THEIR books to MicroMinerals,
but I know of no reason in law why we cannot change it on OUR books
and for purposes of general public eg online. Thus I
await their reply on the exact section of any legislation which
prohibits such a name change.
As I study the chemistry more I understand better the distinctions
of various kinds of minerals on the micro level where we read
terminology like “nano-”, suspended and dissolved particles, charged
particles, ionic etc as well as “colloidal”. MicroMinerals is a better
MineralTitle descriptor.
http://www.empr.gov.bc.ca/Titles/MineralTitles/faq/Pags/claim.aspx
Colorado School of Mines where you got your degree is one of the
most esteemed in the business. I once had its calendar when I worked
in NWT on Discovery, Giant and Camlaren gold deposits and I almost
sent an application there to continue my geology studies beyond the
start I had at Carleton U in Ottawa. Prospecting, sampling and map
making were what I liked most and as we hiked between outcroppings and
muskeg in that formidable terrain we did not even imagine that we
might have been walking over diamonds. Are you a chemist?
***** I also need a legal definition of chemist from EMPR before I
proceed because I would like to submit chemist fees and costs
subsequent to the Orchid and related postings as Claim Maintenance
this year. In other words I need the exact citation in legislation
from EMPR. *****
Gemology is chemistry is it not?
I guestimate that the smallest gem which I can see in the field with
the naked eye is the size of a pin prick at 1/100 mm or less and
1/100 gm (10 mg) or less. All I see then is a flash of light. I do
not see the morphology of the crystal. Sometimes those tiny flashes
are crystal clear and sometimes they are coloured reds, greens etc.
As an amateur chemist I examine these microminerals under a
microscope at a few hundred x and try to see more features. Again,
with excellent lighting I can get some colours. I wonder what a
physical chemist might determine about RI of the tiniest mineral
crystals, eg 1 mg weight or smaller. An opinion?
Colorado as I understand it has many “geothermal” mineral deposits
as we have many geothermal deposits here in BC.
Our MicroMineral claim is located in an area where the geological
maps say sedimentary - metamorphic rocks and volcanic rocks are
intermingled in the geological formations. I often do porosity
testing of rocks and find that some are amazing when it comes to
their ability to soak up water and release it like sponges. These
physical chemistry tests suggest to me that waters in rocks can move
about carrying microminerals through “solid” rocks which are not so
solid as they appear. They do not need more obvious channels in the
rocks (fissures, faults, flaws, pipes etc) to move about and deposit
microminerals. Rocks are like sponges. Do you know of any rocks with
zero absorbency?
We could go back to over 200 mya when BC was a collection of islands
and our shoreline was perhaps where Calgary is today. As these
terranes moved to form present BC, the elements of Be, Al, C etc.
moved with them and enormous chemical transforming pressures and
temperatures arranged and rearranged the mineral crystals at all
levels from micro to macro mineral levels. In particular, (1)
earthquakes; (2) movement of terranes, subduction etc; (3) volcanic
upthrusting whether eruptive or not would yield temperatures and
pressures sufficient to transform the elements into precious stones.
Elements carried in the waters absorbed INTO rocks and DEPOSITED on
surfaces of larger cracks and holes in rocks were chemically
transformed into mineral gems.
***** I believe our MicroMinerals claim is a valuable deposit of
precious stones. *****
While “salting” of samples is a great taboo in free mining and I
have never done it, I was thinking I might send out salted samples
for chemical analysis this time to determine the value in our
MicroMinerals claim. I could go to a local jeweller and get some tiny
pieces of junked diamond and/or sapphire-ruby and/or emerald. Then I
could prepare 1 gram samples of MicroMinerals, each containing 100 or
pieces of grit and dust. Each chemical analyst would get 2 matched
samples. They would be the same. Both would carry the dust and grit
from our mineral property with the only difference known to me as
whether it has been salted or not.
The job of the chemist would be to determine the identity of the
precious stones in the MicroMineral samples.
You say below that microminerals are unimportant UNLESS they serve as
a vector pointing to the “motherlode”. We used to have two grams of
gold nuggest here from a river near Hope BC. The microgold points to
gold mines upstream worked in the 1800s. Likewise we have found gold
in the Slesse-Chilliwack R. system and it points toward two
successful Mount Baker gold mines from the 1800s. Microgems may point
laterally or down toward the motherlode.
I do not think it an exaggeration to say that when we do come up
with chemical proof of valuable microminerals at our MicroMinerals
sites, as discussed above, those chemical tests alone will also
establish considerable economic value of the sites and nearby
locations.