Libethenite with Pseudomalachite (classic locality)

Item Description

The La Farola Mine in the Atacama Desert is a well-known locality for the fact that it has produced some exceptional crystals of Atacamite. For a time this mine was actually credited as the type locality for Atacamite, but this has since been changed to simply the Atacama Province in general. With that said, there are a few other signature minerals from this mine, including some beautiful examples of the phosphate Libethenite. For a time, these olive-green colored crystals were labeled as Olivenite (as was the case in Chet's collection catalogue), but it has been proven that all of the "Olivenites" from this mine are in fact Libethenite. This full cabinet sized piece is filled with excellent, shimmering, olive-green colored "sprays" of Libethenite measuring to about 6 mm across, associated with a few spots of vivid blue-green Pseudomalachite (another copper phosphate species that is closely associated with this mine). The crystals looks beautiful under magnification, and we've photographed them with a Canon MP-E 65 mm macro lens to better illustrate the quality.
From the collection of Chester ("Chet") S. Lemanski Jr. of Browns Mills, New Jersey (https://www.mindat.org/user-461.html). Collection #23097CL. 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.