Rhodochrosite

specimen number:
2062302

location:
Taylor Mine, Baraga Co., Michigan, USA

description:
An open pocket just over 1.0 cm across lined with rhombohedral pink crystals of rhodochrosite.

The Taylor mine, located near Alberta in L'Anse Township within Baraga County, Michigan, was an early underground iron mining operation positioned at the westernmost extent of the Marquette Iron Range. Geologically, the deposit is hosted within the Paleoproterozoic Michigamme Formation of the Baraga Group, where localized regional folding and faulting concentrated dark, fine-grained layers of hematite and limonite ore. Exploration at the site began in the late 1870s, and formal commercial mining operations commenced around 1880 under the direction of the Taylor Iron Company. The mine featured a main shaft and a series of drifts developed to extract soft iron ore, but the operation faced persistent challenges due to water infiltration and highly irregular ore distribution. Because of these geological complexities and changing market demands, active commercial mining ceased in 1881, though the site saw minor secondary exploration and sporadic maintenance work until it was permanently abandoned in the early twentieth century.

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