Anhydrite (RARE locality specimen) (ex Chet Lemanski Collection)

Item Description

Djebel Melah translates into Salt Mountain, and sits in far northeastern Algeria (north of Biskra) in the Saharan Atlas Mountains. This piece is the first specimen of Anhydrite that we've ever had to offer from this locality. It is a dark grey, blocky prismatic crystal with good surface luster and sharp, well-formed faces. The piece is actually terminated on one end, though it does have some interrupted growth. Overall, it's in very good shape, but it's hard to compare it to anything else, since I've literally never seen another one. If you collect oddball pieces from remote or obscure localities, do not miss out on this one, as you never know if you'll see another like it again anytime soon. From the collection of Chester ("Chet") S. Lemanski Jr. of Browns Mills, New Jersey (https://www.mindat.org/user-461.html). Collection #21754CL. Chet was born 1947 in started collecting minerals circa 1957. He worked briefly as a drill runner at the famous Sterling Mine, in Ogdensburg, New Jersey and from 1987 to 1990 he helped convert the mine into a public access mining museum. He has held the role of treasurer, vice president and president of the Franklin-Ogdensburg Mineralogical Society (FOMS), and has been a board member and vice president of the Franklin Mineral Museum. The rare copper arsenate, Lemanskiite was named in his honor in 1999.