Fluorite (RICH COLOR) (ex Chet Lemanski Collection)

Item Description

The prolific Okorusu Mine is one the most impressive Fluorite localities in the world. The breadth of specimens from this locality covers nearly every color of the rainbow, and often in good-sized showy display pieces. This piece actually dates back to the 1980s, and is a wonderful example of what was coming out of this locality at the time. You can see even in reflected light, the color is rich and saturated, but with backlighting, the wonderful combination of strong blues and greens really comes through. There are even some distinct cubic "phantom" lines that show up well with backlighting also. The largest Fluorite cube measures 3.6 cm on edge. It should be noted that the piece is not pristine, as it's contacted around the periphery where it was removed from the pocket wall, and some of the larger crystals have some rough spots, but that color is undeniable. This particular style / color is not seen from Okorusu these days, and if you're a fan of specimens from this locality, this is a cool "time capsule" specimen that would make a nice addition to your collection. From the collection of Chester ("Chet") S. Lemanski Jr. of Browns Mills, New Jersey (https://www.mindat.org/user-461.html). Collection #0659CL. 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.