Copper

specimen number:
2062345

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

description:

Well crystallized twinned native copper in a cluster without matrix. In great condition.

The White Pine mine, located in Ontonagon County, Michigan, was a major underground copper mine operated primarily by the White Pine Copper Company, a subsidiary of Copper Range. Geologically, the deposit is unique as a sediment-hosted stratiform copper deposit, where fine-grained chalcocite and native copper mineralization occur within the Proterozoic Nonesuch Shale, specifically at the contact with the underlying Copper Harbor Conglomerate. While small-scale mining at the site began as early as 1880, modern large-scale underground development commenced in 1952, with commercial production beginning in 1954 using room-and-pillar mining methods. The operation expanded to include a massive milling, smelting, and refining complex on-site, producing billions of pounds of copper until environmental regulations and declining copper prices led to the permanent cessation of mining operations in 1995.

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