Domeykite

specimen number:
2262202

location:
Mohawk Mine, Keweenaw Co., Michigan, USA

description:
Rich masses of domeykite with what is said to be minor atacamite. Good example for the species. The specimen comes with an antique label as shown at the end of the video. This label gives an original acquisition date in August, 1967.

The Mohawk Mine, situated in Keweenaw County, Michigan, is the premier historical locality for the rare copper arsenide mineral domeykite. Geologically, the mine is located within the Kearsarge Lode of the Portage Lake Volcanics, where hydrothermal fluids rich in arsenic and copper precipitated massive mineral clusters within basaltic flow tops and fissure veins. Unlike the more common native copper found throughout the district, the Mohawkite ore body featured a complex assemblage of domeykite, algodonite, and arsenian copper, often occurring as metallic, tin-white to steel-gray masses that tarnish to a dull yellowish or iridescent bronze. Historically, the Mohawk Mining Company was organized in 1898 after the accidental discovery of the copper arsenide vein during the development of a wood road, with full-scale underground mining and quarrying operations commencing shortly thereafter. The mine was a major producer of copper through its primary shafts until it reached the end of its economic life and ceased operations in 1932.

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