Proustite

Item Description

There are few "Ruby Silver" sulfosalt species, and Proustite is the most well-known, valuable and sought after. The best crystals of Proustite display a beautiful rich gemmy red metallic color, which is almost singular in the mineral world. It's not common to find sulfides/sulfosalts that pass light, and the color in Proustite is about as good as it gets. This piece is from the famed Imiter Mine in Morocco, one of the great silver-producing localities in the modern era of mineral collecting. It's filled with dozens upon dozens of small, sharp, lustrous, gemmy rich crimson-red colored crystals of Proustite, sitting on a matrix of silvery-grey Galena with a bit of associated Native Silver. The Proustites are best seen under magnification, and we've photographed them with a Canon MP-E 65 mm macro lens to better illustrate their quality. This is a beautiful example of Proustite, both from Imiter and for the species in general, despite the smaller size. If you collect sulfosalts, silver-bearing minerals, "Ruby Silver" species or you just like Proustite, don't miss out on this attractive small cabinet specimen. From the collection of Chester ("Chet") S. Lemanski Jr. of Browns Mills, New Jersey (https://www.mindat.org/user-461.html). Collection #20858CL. The piece was originally from the collection of Dan Serebrakian. 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.