Copper

specimen number:
1791289

location:
White Pine Mine, Ontonagon Co., Michigan, USA

description:
Choice matrix less grouping of sharp cubic native copper crystals. In great condition. Complete all around. A very nice thumbnail for this classic locality.

The White Pine Mine, located in Ontonagon County, Michigan, began small-scale operations in the late 19th century (around 1880), experienced multiple periods of closure and reopening, and underwent a massive industrial revival in 1953 before permanently closing in 1995. Geologically, unlike the native copper lodes found in basaltic flows elsewhere in the Keweenaw Peninsula, the White Pine deposit is hosted within the late Precambrian Mesoproterozoic Nonesuch Shale and the underlying Copper Harbor Conglomerate. Mineralogically, the ore body is unique because its copper occurs predominantly as fine-grained sedimentary sulfide minerals such as chalcocite and native copper disseminated through the shale and sandstone, rather than large mass copper nuggets, accompanied by significant silver values.

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