Copper

specimen number:
1462003

location:
Osceola mine, Houghton Co., Michigan, USA

description:

An enormous large sharp mega crystal of native copper. Outstanding large crystal for the species. In super condition.

The Osceola Mine, located in Houghton County, Michigan, was organized in 1873 and became one of the region's major underground copper producers. Geologically, the mine targeted the native copper deposits of the Keweenaw Peninsula, exploiting both the Calumet Conglomerate and the Osceola Amygdaloid, which is an altered, gas-bubble-rich volcanic basalt flow top. Mineralogically, low-temperature hydrothermal fluids precipitated native copper along with associated minerals like calcite, epidote, chlorite, and quartz inside open pore spaces, vesicles, and fractures. Historically, the enterprise expanded through numerous deep shafts and later merged into the Calumet and Hecla Mining Company before closing permanently in 1968 due to economic pressures and labor strikes.

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