Colemanite (excellent blocky crystals) (ex Chet Lemanski Collection)

Item Description

The Thompson Mine (Boraxo Mine) sits in Death Valley National Park and was discovered in 1915. The mine closed in 1977, but produced some of the finest quality Colemanite crystals from any locality in California. The best examples from this locality are the unusually blocky / thick crystals with well-defined, smooth crystal faces. This piece is a wonderful example of this material featuring a group of very sharp, well-formed, white / colorless crystals measuring up to 1.8 cm across with smooth, lustrous faces and decent internal translucency when backlit. The piece fluoresces a bright blue-white hue under SW UV light. It's crystallized on all sides, and only has minor roughness in areas. I wouldn't call it a complete "floater", but it's close. A very good quality specimens for the species. From the collection of Chester ("Chet") S. Lemanski Jr. of Browns Mills, New Jersey (https://www.mindat.org/user-461.html). Collection #17121CL. 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.