Copper, Calcite (Specimen #100265)

Mineral(s): Copper, Calcite 

Location: White Pine Mine, White Pine, Ontonagon County, Michigan 

Size:  8.4 x 6.3 x 2.1 cm  

Description: This specimen is an attractive and intricate display of crudely formed Copper crystals with calcite matrix attached. The copper is brilliant and shiny on all faces.

The White Pine mine is renowned for its native copper, which means that the copper occurs in its pure metallic form rather than as a compound with other elements. Native copper specimens from the White Pine mine are typically found as irregularly shaped masses, sheets, or dendritic formations. They can range in color from bright metallic copper to various shades of red and brown due to oxidation. The White Pine Mine can trace its history back to 1880 when Capt. Thomas Hooper discovered copper mineralization in an outcrop of Copper Harbor Conglomerate along the Mineral River. Mining began in 1880 and continued through and after the Korean War with the mine reaching its peak production in 1974 when the mine employed 3,000 people and was processing as much as 15,000 tons of ore per day. The mine is closed and the shafts are flooded.