We will try again this month on Saturday, February 17, 2001 to go to the Norris Diamond Pipe.  We will collect magnetite crystals.  Spinel can also be found at the site on rare occasions.  David Hackett will be leading the field trip.  Meet at the Claiborne County Park at 12:00 noon on Saturday.  From Knoxville take Hwy. 441 to Halls Crossroads, take Hwy.  33 North about 10 miles to Claiborne County Park.  The park is on the right , about 0.6 miles from the Claiborne County Bridge.  If you arrive a few minutes early at the park you can collect fossils along the shoreline.

Tools:  Bring a geology hammer, zip lock bag to hold the magnetite crystals, a small bucket, water and dress warmly.  This can be a very muddy site.

Just a note to add to the fieldtrip preview  (hope it is still in time):
Last Thursday I went to the Diamond Pipe on Norris for a prefieldtrip reconnaissance.  I picked up several rocks from one section.  When I scanned them under ultraviolet light with the microscope, I found several bright fluorescent crystals that look curiously like diamonds.  An ultraviolet scan of the butterboard scrapings produced several more intriguing bright yellow fluorescent crystals.  Now these are not big,  maybe a tenth of a point at very best.  I have also identified  (or not identified as the case maybe) several other minerals not usually mentioned on the list of known Worksite constituents.  Hope for warmer & dry weather and we should have a chance to follow up on the micro minerals of the Norri site.
 
I also found several dozen nice magnetite octahedra, and a few pea-sized garnets (Travis would call them spinels, but we leave that argument for the field trip).  I also found some nice ilmenite xenoliths, and a very pleasant afternoon.  No, I did not find the other big orange spinel that I am looking for. Yes, Dewey I got some chunks of the green sandstone for you.

Editors note.  Yes, David you were in time.
(I am very late getting the newsletter out.  (Brenda and I have agreed to each do a newsletter a month.  Brenda is much more organized than I am.  She has the odd number months and I have the even number months.  You all can probably expect the even month's newsletter to be in your mailboxes later in the month.)