Copper

specimen number:
8311555

location:
Franklin Mine, Houghton Co., Michigan, USA

description:

A wonderful elongated sharply formed crystal of native copper in a cluster with much smaller crystals of copper. This is in outstanding condition all around. The prominent crystal measures 2.5 cm in height. A small label is glued to the back of the specimen with the initials LLH. This most certainly belong to Lucius Lee Hubbard (1849-1933), a highly prominent figure in the history of Michigan's Copper Country.

The Franklin mine, situated in Hancock, Houghton County, Michigan, United States, was a highly productive and long-lived underground native copper operation located on the scenic hillside overlooking the Portage Lake shipping canal. Geologically, this major deposit was hosted within the Mesoproterozoic-age Portage Lake Volcanics of the Midcontinent Rift System, where mineralizing hydrothermal fluids filled the porous, vesicular amygdaloidal tops of basalt lava flows and interbedded sedimentary layers, most notably the prolific Pewabic Lode, precipitating exceptional pure native copper, native silver, and well-crystallized secondary minerals like prehnite, epidote, and datolite. Historically, the Franklin Mining Company was formally organized in 1857, and underground shaft sinking began immediately to exploit the rich northern extension of the Pewabic lode, operating with great success through the late nineteenth century before expanding operations to a second site nearby known as the Franklin Junior mine. The company worked steadily under various reorganizations and corporate expansions until escalating deep-mining expenses, declining metal grades, and post-World War I economic stagnation forced the permanent cessation of all commercial underground extraction in 1920.

Lucius Lee Hubbard (1849 to 1933) was a brilliant American geologist, mineral collector, and educator who played a monumental role in documenting and preserving the mineralogical heritage of the Lake Superior copper district. Born in Ohio and educated at Harvard and the University of Bonn in Germany, Hubbard brought rigorous scientific standards to the region when he served as the State Geologist of Michigan from 1893 to 1899, and later as a key executive for the prominent Champion and Trimountain mining companies. Throughout his career, he utilized his professional access to the underground workings to assemble an extraordinary, world-class personal collection of thousands of highly stylized native copper, native silver, calcite, and copper-arsenide specimens, keeping detailed scientific logs of exactly where and when each piece was found. His deep passion for education led him to eventually donate and sell major portions of his pristine mineral collection to prominent institutional repositories, including the Michigan Technological University and the University of Michigan, ensuring that his carefully preserved specimens remain critical scientific benchmarks for researchers studying the unique geochemistry of the Keweenaw Peninsula.

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