Ramsdellite (classic material)

Item Description

Ramsdellite is a fairly uncommon manganese oxide, and is a dimorph of Pyrolusite. According to mindat.org the species, "forms by inversion of Pyrolusite or oxidative dehydrogenation of Groutite". The species is really only found in a few places in the world in superb crystallized examples, with the finest pieces coming from Lake Valley, New Mexico. This is a classic specimen of Ramsdellite from the type locality, and was almost certainly collected by Dick Jones, according to his son Roy, who said that Dick found the original material, and collected the best examples of the species at the type locality. What really stands out about this particular piece is that it's not a muddled mass, but rather a fine display specimen featuring sharp, softly lustrous orthorhombic prismatic crystals sitting atop a massive manganese oxide matrix. This piece has very little damage, save the periphery where it was removed from the pocket. The luster is what I would call "directional" as it seems to change when rotated in the light, and appears brighter at certain angles than others. The largest individual crystal measures about 1.2 cm. Valued at $2,400. If you collect New Mexico minerals, or good examples of U.S. minerals, do not miss out on this one. This piece comes from the personal collection of Colorado mining legend, Dave Bergman, the maternal grandfather of Brian Kosnar. Dave is now retired from mining, but he worked for decades in various mines underground in Colorado, as a miner, mechanic, engineer, shift boss and foreman. His biggest claim to fame is that he was the foreman and the primary person in charge of mining and specimen recovery at the Sweet Home Mine in Colorado in the 1970s alongside his son-in-law, Rich Kosnar. This project what was the FIRST ever operation for specimen recovery at this historic locality. A full-page photograph of Dave can be seen mining underground at the Sweet Home in on page 58 of Peter Bancroft's book "Gem and Crystal Treasures".