Copper with Silver

specimen number:
1791317

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

description:

A thin elongated crystallized grouping of native copper, this with small crystals of native silver throughout. In great condition.

The White Pine Mine, located in Ontonagon County, Michigan, operated across distinct historical periods: initial small-scale exploration and sporadic production occurred from 1879 until 1920, followed by major industrial-scale underground mining by the Copper Range Company from 1953 until its final closure in 1995. Geologically, unlike the native copper deposits found in the older lava flows of the Keweenaw Peninsula, the White Pine deposit is hosted within the Late Precambrian (Keweenawan) Nonesuch Shale and the upper section of the Copper Harbor Conglomerate. The ore primarily consists of fine-grained copper sulfides (predominantly chalcocite) and native copper impregnating gray siltstones, shales, and sandstones associated with a late-stage basin reduction and fluid migration event.

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