Barite

specimen number:
8311379

location:
Lucy Mine, Marquette Co., Michigan, USA

description:
Colorless to slightly pinkish bladed crystals of barite covering the top of matrix. Some damage present along one edge of the piece, this still an impressive large cabinet display piece for the species from this famous and long closed locality. Minor hematite is attached on the bottom.

The Lucy Mine, located in Negaunee within the Marquette Iron Range of Michigan, was a significant producer of high-grade hematite and manganese-rich iron ore. Geologically, the deposit was hosted within the Negaunee Iron Formation, a massive Paleoproterozoic sequence where primary iron-bearing sediments were enriched by hydrothermal fluids and oxidation along structural folds and faults. The mine was particularly notable for producing aesthetic mineral specimens, including lustrous, "grape" botryoidal hematite and crystalline pyrolusite. Historically, the site began as the McComber Mine in 1870 before being renamed the Lucy Mine in 1887 when it was acquired by the Lucy Mining Company. It operated as both an open pit and an underground mine through several phases of ownership, including management by the Cleveland-Cliffs Iron Company. Production was intermittent during its later years, with major operations concluding around 1912, though the district remained a hub for iron mining for decades. Today, the Lucy Mine is remembered for its contribution to the early industrial growth of the Upper Peninsula and as a classic locality for Michigan iron minerals.

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