From The Khyber Mineral Company (the owner is an ESCONI member): In the few months since my last update dedicated to Inner Mongolia, there have been some new finds–notably better lollingite, and more colorless fluorite.  I also managed to obtain a group of yellow sphalerites (most of the original pocket, I believe) from the early 2012 find mentioned in the Mineralogical Record. There are also some recently found pink fluorites (some are floaters with exceptional color!) as well as the elusive purple fluorites.  Those with the deeper color are older– from a find made early in 2012.  The lighter colored …

Via Geology.com: Archaeologists working near Mossel Bay, South Africa have found small stone tools with an estimated age of 71,000 years. Prior to this, the earliest tools found have an age of about 65,000 years.

Short video on the fluoresent minerals at the Frankling and Sterling Hills Museum as well as other information about the local mineral museum, the JMU Mineral Museum in Memorial Hall, The Shenandoah Valley Gem and Mineral Society is the local society.

From Science Daily via Geology.com: ScienceDaily (Nov. 5, 2012) — Not very long ago a professional geologist’s field kit consisted of a Brunton compass, rock hammer, magnifying glass, and field notebook. No longer. In the field and in the labs and classrooms, studying Earth has undergone an explosive change in recent years, fueled by technological leaps in handheld digital devices, especially tablet computers and cameras.

From Smithsonian.org: By the last day, my brain ached with details of flying Microraptor, bounding crocodiles, marsupial bone microstructure and dozens of other topics. When my friends at the conference asked “What did you like best?” after the technical sessions finally concluded, I was only capable of grunts and indelicate gestures. I’ve had a day to settle down and process what I saw. And I know this–at SVP, dinosaurs rule. This isn’t to say that the conference is all about the Mesozoic celebrities. I saw many excellent talks on prehistoric fish, mammals, amphibians and other forms of ancient life. But,…

Via Discovery.com hat tip to Dave Carlson over at the ESCONI Yahoo Discussion Group The buttes last erupted between 940 and 0 B.C., not 30,000 years ago, as previously thought, a new study detailed online Oct. 15 in the journal Geology reports. The new age — which makes these some of California’s youngest volcanoes — pushes the volcanic quintuplets into active status. The California Volcano Observatory, launched in February by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), already lists the area as a high threat for future blasts.

From PhysOrg: Paleontologist Denver Fowler has told a group of attendees at the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology’s annual meeting that he, along with colleagues from the Museum of the Rockies, has uncovered evidence that suggests Tyrannosaurus Rex pulled the head off Triceratops victims to allow access to nutritious neck meat. Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2012-10-life-death-triceratops-fossilized-tooth.html#jCp

Via National Geographic: One of the world’s oldest types of fish, coelacanths (pronounced SEE-la-kanths) are primitive, slow-moving fish that had been thought extinct until an individual was found off Africa in 1938. There are now over 40 known coelacanth species. The two that live today are called living fossils because they have remained virtually unchanged for 320 million years. The newfound coelacanth has been dubbed Reidus hilli in honor of its discoverer Robert Reid, an artist who found the fish’s fossilized skull near his home in Forth Worth, Texas, in the late 1980s….  

From the Bullion Vault: MILLIONS of years ago tectonic events created significant gold and silver mineralization in the Guerrero Gold Belt in Mexico. Today, two gold companies have reported 16 Moz of gold there, and other discoveries are sure to follow. In this interview with The Gold Report, Merrill McHenry, an independent analyst and geologist, explains the region’s geology and prospect potential. The Gold Report: Merrill, speaking as a geologist, what makes the Guerrero Gold Belt in Mexico so highly prospective for gold and silver mineralization? Merrill McHenry: Two words: plate tectonics. Two tectonic events in that area of sufficient…

From the Bankok Post: Archaeologists in eastern Bulgaria say they have unearthed the oldest prehistoric town ever found in Europe, along with an ancient salt production site that gives a strong clue about why massive riches were discovered in the region….

From Wiley via geology.com: The Chinga meteorite fell near the border of what is now Siberia and Mongolia at least 10,000 years ago. Researchers have recently linked a 10.6 kilogram sculpture to the meteorite through geochemical testing and to a culture of the eleventh century located in the fall area through ethnological analysis. Interesting even if you think it is somewhat speculative.