Aragonite (cave specimen) (ex Chet Lemanski Collection)

Item Description

A hard to find specimen of the cave-originated Aragonites from Beremend, Hungary. I've seen these specimens labeled as "Pisolites" in some cases, which according to mindat.org are, "a sedimentary rock made of pisoids (=pisoliths), which are approximately spherical, concretionary grains, typically of calcium carbonate". In this case, the calcium carbonate is Aragonite, and this piece features attractive semi-stalactitic formations of creamy white aggregates with a slight reddish-brown coloring from iron oxide inclusions. You might see these specimens labeled as "Popcorn Aragonite" as well in some cases. From what I understand, the Beremend locality is no longer accessible, so if you're a fan of this kind of material, be sure to pick this one up, as very few were ever available on the market. From the collection of Chester ("Chet") S. Lemanski Jr. of Browns Mills, New Jersey (https://www.mindat.org/user-461.html). Collection #15096CL. 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.