Canadian Rockhound: From the Editor

Welcome to a new issue of the Canadian Rockhound. This issue, which was intended to be published last fall, was delayed several times. If you were one of the many who waited patiently for half a year, you will be rewarded with an outstanding issue. Canadian gemstones and jewellery are featured in this issue, with articles by Brad Wilson, a professional gem cutter from Kingston, Ontario, Bob Yorke-Hardy, the owner of Okanagen Opal, Greg Fraser, a carver from Ontario, Tom Leedham, a lapidary from British Columbia, and Douglas D. Frey, a goldsmith and gem cutter from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

Also in this issue, John and Paul Ratcliffe report on a salmon fossil find near Kamloops, B.C. The Horne Lake Caves on Vancouver Island are examined by Ron Zeilstra, who toured the caves recently. Rick Hudson reports on the threat of closure of some of B.C's rockhounding sites and the new movement that has arisen.

You will have noticed the new look to the magazine issue. Navigation has been improved, and where possible, the contents of each article have been provided with links to subsections. The new format makes better use of space, and is more magazine-like. I welcome any comments and suggestions on the new design.

The section on Canada's minerals has been replaced by a new section, Mineral Collecting. This will allow the magazine to expand the section on minerals in future. In this issue Jack Nelson reports on the finding of cubic garnets from Maryland, and how these specimens make great micromounts. Doug Miller presents an article on Saskatchewan's type locality minerals, and Richard Gunter talks about Cobaltite, a mineral found in Manitoba and northwestern Ontario.

The wait has been long, but you won't leave disappointed! On behalf of all the editors and authors, we thank you for visiting and we hope you enjoy this issue.

Dirk Schmid, Editor

Acknowledgements:

Sincere thanks to all the authors: Brad Wilson, Bob Yorke-Hardy, Greg Fraser, Tom Leedham, Doug Frey, John and Paul Ratcliffe, Ron Zeilstra, Rick Hudson, Jack Nelson, Doug Miller and Richard Gunter. Special thanks is also given to the Department of Geological Sciences, University of Saskatchewan for providing webspace for the magazine at the time of this publication.