Old Rock Day – January 7

This day is set aside (though no one knows how long it has been observed or when it was first celebrated), to consider how old the Earth is and how it has shaped our lives. It’s also a shout-out to some of the earliest geologists like the Theophrathes, Pliny the Elder, Ulisse Aldovandi, James Hutton and William Smith.

National Jewel Day – March 13

This special day is set aside to appreciate precious stones and jewelry. From the earliest examples of stone, bone, and shell jewelry, to the most lavish and intricate designs of today, National Jewel Day is meant to recognize them all. Those who choose to participate are encouraged to wear their most spectacular bejeweled pieces and take the occasion to gift jewelry to those important people in their life.

Geologists Day – April 7

This day is dedicated to those folks who make it their life’s work to explore, research and disseminate their knowledge of rocks and Earth’s history. It is also the time to appreciate all of those things in our lives that we have or know because of geologists. This includes such daily used items as toothpaste and even cell phones. Younger folks contemplating a career in geology can take this opportunity to discuss with practitioners in the field, what the job is actually like.

Earth Day – April 22

You can’t get any “Earthier” than rocks, gems and minerals. This is a day for rockhounds to explore and to appreciate Earth’s treasures.

Nickel Day – May 16

Devoted to the mined element, nickel, this day was created to acknowledge this important metal. Nickel has been used by humans for at least 2,000 years. By the middle of the 19th century, it was ubiquitous in American coinage as well as that of other European nations.

Dinosaur Days – May 15 & June 1

Dinosaurs lived millions of years ago, but they’re top of mind today. So much is still unknown about these fascinating creatures. Celebrate what we know and anticipate what we don’t on this fun day for young and old alike.

National Caves & Karst Day – June 6

This day is dedicated to the majesty and importance of these amazing rock formations. Most people know what caves are, but few are familiar with “karst” landscapes. A karst landscape is characterized by rocky hills, aquifers, springs, sinkholes and caves. Hundreds of different minerals and gems are found in caves, and 40 percent of drinking water in the U.S. comes from karst aquifers.

World Oceans Day – June 8

Beach finds from shells to rocks, minerals and sea glass are a favorite. Celebrate the oceans that bring us this bounty.

International Drop a Rock Day – July 3

This a day for having a bit of fun while inspiring kindness toward others. Across the world, individuals, families, and groups of all types get creative and paint rocks with pictures, themed messages, or even advertising and hide them. Anyone can try to find them. When they are found, the lucky holder of that rock can keep it, hide it again, or if it is part of a local promotion, contact the sponsoring group. This highly popular activity is not restricted to International Drop a Rock Day; many groups do this throughout the year and hold rock-painting parties before going out and hiding them.

International Rock Day – July 13

Sometimes referred to as World Rock Day, this day is intended to celebrate and to contemplate the importance of rocks to humankind. It is to honor the rock as one of the most fundamental aspects of human survival. If there is one day per year to give rocks their due, this is it!

National Pet Rock Day – September 1

This tongue-in-cheek holiday is dedicated to the 1975 marketing scheme that led to the sale of over one million pet rocks. On this day, many people “adopt” a pet rock at functions planned to celebrate this phenomenon.

Collect Rocks Day – September 16

Held since 2015, Collect Rocks Day celebrates all of the diverse types of rocks and all of the different places they can be collected, no matter where in the world you live. It is a celebration of Earth and geology for everyone.

National Fossil Day – October 16

As the name implies, this day is reserved for appreciating and exploring fossils. Of the approximately 250,000 different fossilized species that have been identified, it is estimated there are millions more to be found. Many groups organize fossil hunts and expeditions on this day in early fall. Be sure to find one near you.

This story about rockhound holidays appeared in Rock & Gem magazine. Click here to subscribe. Original story by Chris Bond. Updated yearly to reflect current dates and holidays. 

The post 2024 Rockhound Holidays first appeared on Rock & Gem Magazine.

The word “nickel” is a homonym with two distinct meanings. It refers to both our five-cent coin and an element. Everyone is familiar with the coin, but not necessarily with the element.

Pure nickel is a lustrous metal with a silvery-white color and a slight golden tinge. As a siderophilic element, it associates readily with iron and even shares some of iron’s properties. Its melting temperature, density, magnetic properties, and hardness are generally similar to those of iron. But iron oxidizes (rusts) readily, while nickel strongly resists oxidation.

Nickel is the Earth’s fifth most abundant element; most, however, is thought to be combined with iron in the Earth’s core. In crustal abundance, nickel ranks 28th among the elements and is about as common as copper. Native (elemental) nickel is rare in the crust but common in meteorites, mainly as the iron-nickel alloy taenite.

Tools and weapons of exceptional quality were fashioned from meteoritic taenite as early as 3500 BCE. By 1700 BCE, Chinese metallurgists were unknowingly using nickel in copper alloys.

Nickel’s modern story began when medieval miners in Germany’s Erzgebirge region found a reddish mineral that they erroneously believed contained copper. They blamed their inability to extract copper on nickel, an evil spirit of German mythology, who they thought had bedeviled the ore. The miners named the ore Kupfernickel, literally “copper devil,” from the German Kupfer, meaning “copper.”

In 1751, Swedish mineralogist Alex Fredrik Cronstedt smelted Kupfernickel to obtain a previously unknown metal that he named “nickel” after the mythical evil spirit. Today, Kupfernickel is the mineral nickeline (nickel-arsenide, NiAs) which has a coppery color and occurs in massive form.

Coinage was one of nickel’s first modern uses. Copper-nickel alloys appeared in U.S. coinage in 1858. In 1865, the U.S. Mint introduced a five-cent coin composed of a 75-25 copper-nickel alloy. That coin became known as the “nickel”—a name still used today.

By the 1880s, metallurgists learned to add small amounts of nickel to steel to improve corrosion-resistance, hardness, malleability, and high-temperature performance. Today, the production of stainless-steel, nickel-steel, and specialty alloys accounts for 86 percent of nickel demand.

Nickel is mined both from surface laterite and underground sulfide deposits. Laterite is a mix of iro nickeloxides and hydroxides and hydrous nickel silicates. The most abundant nickel-bearing mineral is pentlandite [iron-nickel sulfide, (Fe,Ni)9S8]; bronze-yellow with a metallic luster, pentlandite occurs in massive form. Another important nickel-ore mineral is millerite [nickel sulfide, NiS], which has a brassy-yellow color, an acicular habit, and usually occurs in radiating masses.

About 2.7 million tonnes of nickel are now mined worldwide each year, with Australia, Indonesia, Russia, South Africa, and Canada accounting for half of the global production. The United States has only one primary nickel mine. Although the nation also obtains nickel through recycling and as a by-product of base-metal and platinum mining, it imports most of its nickel requirements.

Refined nickel now sells for about $6.50 per pound.

About 4.2 million tonnes of nickel are used worldwide each year. Apart from alloys, nickel is also needed for electroplating solutions and the manufacture of magnets, rechargeable batteries, and industrial chemicals and catalysts.

Nickel mining and usage are at an all-time high. According to the Nickel Institute, a global association of nickel producers, 80 percent of all the nickel mined throughout history has been mined in just the last 30 years. Yet, there is no foreseeable nickel shortage. Current global ore reserves contain 300 million tonnes of nickel, which will last more than a century at the current rate of mining.

Although coinage is now only a minor use of nickel, the metal nevertheless makes up 25 percent of our nickels and 8.3 percent of our dimes, quarters, and half-dollars. And that’s the story of the nickel behind the nickel.

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The post The Nickel Behind the Nickel first appeared on Rock & Gem Magazine.