Join us and win door prizes!
5:30 PM Mineral Identification and Swap Shop
“Rock Doctor” Clinic: Starts at 5:30, ends at 6:15 PM. Members are free to bring in a reasonable number of samples or specimens to be identified by the expert mineralogists in the club. This has been a very popular activity for the membership (at times exceeding our capacity to deal with everyone present!).
“Swap Shop”: Calling all collectors! The OVMC Swap Shop is open for all members (adults and children). Mike and Tara will have several treasures to trade including small crystals, fossils, polished rocks and the occasional plastic dino! Donations towards the Swap collection is appreciated! Local and international samples accepted. No large samples please.
6:10 PM Door Prizes
6:20 PM Pinch Award Presentation
In recognition of his many contributions to the science of mineralogy, Quintin Wight has been awarded the Pinch Medal by the Mineralogical Association of Canada (The MAC) and this prestigious award will be presented to Quintin in a brief ceremony at the May meeting of the OVMC. The last winner of this medal was our own Michael Bainbridge so that’s two in a row for members of the OVMC!
6:30 PM Meeting
Speaker: Col (Ret) Quintin Wight, CD, MA and World-Renowned Micromounter
Topic: The Scientific Value of Micromounting
For a long time micromounters have felt rather scorned by the collectors of large, showy pieces who spend thousands of dollars on their collections. Museum curators also tend to dislike micromounts because they are difficult to display. This talk demonstrates that micromounters have every reason to be proud of their accomplishments, and introduces some of the people and institutions that are keeping the science of mineralogy alive and up to date through micromounting. In the last few years, micromounters have discovered more than 270 new mineral species. How many have the cabinet collectors found?
Rhodochrosite from Mt. St. Hilaire
Rhodochrosite 70x Magnification
Our speaker is the illustrious Mr. Quintin Wight, one of the world’s premier experts in the field of micro-minerals, those mineral specimens which are only readily visible under a microscope and are often more spectacular in their form than the minerals large enough to be seen without magnification. Quintin has been a mineral collector, micromounter and photomicrographer for more than 50 years. During that time, he has published more than 200 articles, on mineral subjects. He has also given more than 205 presentations to mineral groups across North America, and in England, Belgium, Italy, Switzerland, Tanzania, and New Zealand. Inducted to the Micromounters’ Hall of Fame in 1990, he now coordinates that organization on behalf of the Baltimore Mineral Society. His book, The Complete Book of Micromounting, was published in 1993, and the mineral quintinite was named in his honor in 1997.
