2024 Symposium Registration is open

Precious Metals and Golden Memories

October 18-20, 2024
Online registration is now ready to go!
https://pnwfm.square.site/

Notes on this year’s symposium

  1. Most important: This year’s symposium will be held in ELLENSBURG, Washington! We are no longer in Kelso! Details below.
  2. Full-time students may attend the talks free of charge. Please be prepared to show student ID. Students may become members of PNWFM and/or attend the banquet for the same costs as regular members: $20 and $25, respectively.
  3. The Banquet menu is To Be Determined. The banquet and live auction will be held at the Ellensburg Red Lion hotel.
  4. Speakers and Talks will be announced soon!

2024 Dates

October 18:
Afternoon setup and on-site registration
Room dealers open well into the evening (at Ellensburg Red Lion)

October 19:
Lectures at Discovery Hall
Evening banquet and live auction
Room dealers open well into the evening (at Ellensburg Red Lion)

October 20:
Morning Lectures at Discovery Hall
Breakdown cleanup

Locations

Sympsium talks
Discovery Hall
Central Washington University in Ellensburg, Washington

Room Dealers, Saturday evening Banquet and Live Auction
Ellensburg Red Lion

Costs

There is a $10 discount on paid symposium if you register before October 1.

  • Symposium + Dinner + PNWFM membership $130
  • Symposium (NO Meal) + PNWFM membership $105
  • Full-Time STUDENT (NO membership or dinner) Free with student ID
  • Extra or Student dinner $25
  • Extra or Student membership $20 (included in paid symposium)
  • Add-on Room Dealer (requires paid Symposium) $25

Now Available! Golden Memories: 50 Years of PNWFM

This magazine-format publication was prepared by PNWFM to help commemorate and celebrate the history of Friends of Mineralogy mineral symposia in the Pacific Northwest. Golden Memories contains approximately 100 pages of archive documents, memories and photographs for all 50 years of PNWFM symposia and club events, 1975-2024.

We will have a limited number of these magazines for sale at our October symposium, October 18-20, 2025–but if you can’t wait or can’t attend, you can order online now. Click here to preview the contents and order today:  https://www.blurb.com/bookstore/invited/10366240/2a45f09b616c1277c7857198c69b4d2150744f36

Symposium LIVE Links

Our symposium will be live from 9 AM Saturday morning (Pacific Time) on Zoom:

https://events.zoom.us/e/conference/preview/-UcOhR1fSqqAxffw1KXTxw

You will need to register on the site, but there is no charge. We recommend registering early and joining each of the Webinars as they start.

The schedule for Saturday:

9:00 am
Welcome and introductory remarks
Jessica Robertson and Julian Gray

9:05 am
Rare Earth Elements – An Overview of REE Occurrence, Importance, and Mineralogical Interest
Mandi Hutchinson

10:15 am
Cascade Crystals: An Introduction to Crystal Localities of the Cascades
Randy Becker

11:15 am
Rare-earth and rare element mineralogy of the Golden Horn Batholith – new research into a globally unique alkaline system
Markus Raschke

12:15 pm
MORNING SESSION ENDS

2:00 pm
REE as activators of striking luminescence in minerals: Examples in apatite, fluorite and calcite
Glenn Waychunas
Virtual presentation

3:00 pm
Rare Earth Element Minerals
Brent Thorne

Sunday Morning

8:00 am
FM BUSINESS MEETING

9:00 am
Pikes Peak or bust – from golden past to rare earth future?
Markus Raschke

10:00 am
Closing Remarks
Jessica Robertson

10:05 am
SYMPOSIUM ENDS, MAIN FLOOR CLOSES

Rare Earth Minerals begins 10/20/2023!

Our 2023 symposium, Rare Earth Element Minerals will start Friday afternoon. Setup begins at noon. Exhibits and main floor dealers open at 5:00 pm. Satellite dealers in the north hall of the hotel open when they wish.

We will again be live-streaming our talks on Zoom, and if the tech all comes together, on Facebook and YouTube.

We recommend using Zoom because it will allow for questions. There is NO charge for watching the talks online, but we are happy to accept donations if you find it of value.

Of course, the entire, in-person experience is much more fun with dealers, auctions, displays, and “giant crystal that got away” stories. You can register here: https://pnwfm.square.site/
or at the event.

We will post a link to register for the virtual Zoom event on Friday evening, so stay tuned!