Fluorite with Quartz (ex Chet Lemanski Collection)

Item Description

When it comes to Namibian Fluorites a lot of people might think of the contemporary specimens from Erongo, but the #1 locality for Fluorite in the entire country is the famed Okorusu Mine, which dates back to the 1920s. This locality has produced a large number of high quality, colorful display specimens. This piece is from a find in the 1990s and features several sharp, gemmy, lustrous, beautiful blue colored cubes measuring up to 1.3 cm on edge associated with white Quartz. With backlighting, you can see a bit of "phantom" color zoning in the Fluorites, highlighted by small areas of purple color. While the piece is not pristine (it has contacted areas where it was separated from the pocket wall), the main "ridge" of Fluorites on the front of the specimen are largely in excellent shape. An attractive representation of these classic specimens. From the collection of Chester ("Chet") S. Lemanski Jr. of Browns Mills, New Jersey (https://www.mindat.org/user-461.html). Collection #13725CL. 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.