Titanite on Diopside and Epidote

Item Description

A wonderful "Alpine-type" association specimen from Alchuri, Paksitan featuring distinctive, rather compressed, "disc"-like crystals of peachy-tan colored Titanite measuring to about 7 mm across, which are sitting on group of prismatic, gemmy, rich blue-green colored Diopside, and associated with olive-oil colored Epidote crystals. There is a tiny bit of "Byssolite" (most likely acicular Actinolite) on the piece as well. The piece is in good shape, but not without damage, as there are some contacted areas in a few spots. Upon close inpsection, it appears that the Epidote crystals have grown, at least in part, in "Faden" formations, though it might just be a parallel growth of crystals creating a pseudo-"Faden" effect. These came out in the late 1990s-early 2000s, but nothing noteworthy has been found at Alchuri in some time. From the collection of Chester ("Chet") S. Lemanski Jr. of Browns Mills, New Jersey (https://www.mindat.org/user-461.html). Collection #18962CL. 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.