Stibnite (old classic material) (ex Chet Lemanski Collection)

Item Description

The famous old Ichinokawa antimony mine (市之川鉱山) was a prominent source of antimony for many years in Japan, and produced some of the finest and most recognized specimens of Stibnite from any world locality. The deposit was first discovered at Ichinokawa in 1679 by Chikanobu Uemonnojo of the Sogabe family, and the mine operated for nearly 300 years until 1957. There was a time when the most desirable Stibnites in the world were only associated with this mine. You can still find these prized, high-quality Stibnite crystals in museums and private collections around the world. This piece is a good reference specimen of this material featuring an intergrown "jackstraw"-esque group of sharp, lustrous, silvery-grey colored prismatic crystals measuring up to 3.3 cm, free of matrix. Minor Quartz crystals can be seen sprinkled throughout for a nice touch. Despite the fact that there is notable damage to many of the crystals, you can still find attractive, striated prisms and even a few well-formed terminations here and there. From the collection of Chester ("Chet") S. Lemanski Jr. of Browns Mills, New Jersey (https://www.mindat.org/user-461.html). Collection #18184CL. 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.