Stichtite (large rare specimen) (ex Chet Lemanski Collection)

Item Description

Stichtite is a rare hydrated magnesium chromium carbonate that is not often found in terribly rich samples like this piece. The species was named after Robert Carl Sticht, the famed American metallurgist and copper mine manager, active in Colorado, Montana, and Tasmania. This piece is solid Stichtite with that classic pinkish purple hue and the unusual greasy/waxy luster. It is not common to find such a large rich sample of this species, mostly because it's commonly found either mixed in with host rock or green serpentine from various localities around the world. From the collection of Chester ("Chet") S. Lemanski Jr. of Browns Mills, New Jersey (https://www.mindat.org/user-461.html). Collection #1000CL, and the catalogue says this piece was formerly in the Curt G. Segeler collection. 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.