Azurite with Malachite (ex Chet Lemanski Collection)

Item Description

It seems that nothing has come out of this mine for several years now, but it's important to look back on the "boom" of these specimens from the mid 2000s as one of the great periods in modern mineral collecting. Without a doubt, you have to put these specimens (along with those from the Liufengshan Mine) among the best examples of Azurite and Malachite from any locality in the world. Here we have a wonderful small cabinet display specimen of Azurite from this famous contemporary mine featuring excellent quality, lustrous / sparkling , rich midnight blue color "balls" measuring up to 1.5 cm across associated with velvety green Malachite on minor dark oxidized matrix. There are some individual crystals of Azurite on the piece as well, not just composite spheres. I love the quality, composition and arrangement on this one, and the piece actually sits quite well on its own without the aid of a base or clay. If you missed out on these, don't pass up a chance to get a fine quality specimen of this fast-disappearing material for a great price. Valued at $1,600 for the sheer quality and fine displayability. From the collection of Chester ("Chet") S. Lemanski Jr. of Browns Mills, New Jersey (https://www.mindat.org/user-461.html). Collection #20576CL. 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.