Wavellite on Quartz (ex Chet Lemanski Collection)

Item Description

Some of the largest and most displayable specimens of Wavellite have come from the Siglo XX mine in Bolivia as described by Mark Bandy. This piece does not disappoint with several, good quality yellow/cream color, sphere-shaped radiating aggregates measuring up to 1.3 cm with Quartz crystals on matrix. This is one of the better quality, highly displayable specimens of this material that I've offered in the auctions recently. This specimen would make a great addition to a phosphate suite or a suite of specimens from the Siglo XX Mine. My favorite aspect of the piece is that the vast majority of the spheres are complete an unbroken, which is rarely the case for Wavellite worldwide, as you'll often see pieces from localities in Arkansas where most of the spheres are totally broken. I would value this one between $750-$950 retail. From the collection of Chester ("Chet") S. Lemanski Jr. of Browns Mills, New Jersey (https://www.mindat.org/user-461.html). Collection #21553CL. 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.