Miscellaneous Mining Items/White Pine Copper Ingot

Miscellaneous Mining Items

White Pine Copper Ingot.JPG - WHITE PINE COPPER INGOT - Copper ingot marked with WP in raised letters on top center for the White Pine Mine located near White Pine, MI; 3 in. long x 3/8 in. high x 3/8 in. wide (Copper Range Company's White Pine mine is located near White Pine (approximate population 1,200) inOntonagon County, Michigan, on the Upper Michigan Peninsula. The company's mill and smelter are sixmiles south of Lake Superior. The surface area owned by the Copper Range Company covers approximately 64,000 acres; surface facilities cover approximately 360 acres. The underground mine covers an area of about 25 square miles and extends from the surface to a maximum depth of 2,700 feet. Mining at the Copper Range Company White Pine facility was conducted underground using standard room-and-pillar extraction techniques. Mine ore was extracted from rooms about 20 to 28 feet wide and 8 to 17 feet high. In room-and-pillar mining, the rooms were mined on a regular pattern, separated from each other by pillars of un-mined ore. All mining in a section of the White Pine mine was conducted on one level. Connecting roads between rooms and sections of the mine were generally 25 feet wide and 11 feet high. The Nonesuch formation, which contains the White Pine ore body, was discovered in 1865 and first mined from 1879 to 1881. More development by the owner, Calumet & Hecla, led to additional mining (operating from 1913 to 1920) and establishment of the White Pine townsite. A drop in copper prices closed the mine in 1920 and led to Copper Range Company's purchase of the property in 1929 at a sheriff's sale. Several years of testing proved that the previously "worthless" chalcocite, by-passed earlier in favor of native copper, could be mined and milled at a profit. The primary minerals within the White Pine ore body are native copper (Cu), native silver (Ag), and chalcocite (CuS), with minor amounts of bornite (CuFeS), chalcopyrite (CuFeS), and pyrite (FeS). Approximately 80 percent of the copper processed at White Pine was chalcocite. With a $63 million loan from the Reconstruction Finance Corporation, construction of the new "White Pine" project began in March 1952, with the first ore mined a year later. The first copper product was generated in January 1955. In 1977, Copper Range Company was purchased by the Louisiana Land and Exploration Company. The new facility owners built a state-of-the-art refinery. Construction of the new refinery was completed in 1981.Adverse economic conditions in the copper industry led to the gradual shutdown of the White Pine operation; the mine, mill, and most of the smelter closed in 1982. However, the company continued smelter operations to produce copper from scrap material until 1984, when the facility completely shut down. In 1983, three officers of Copper Range Company began negotiating with Louisiana Land on the possible purchase of the White Pine mine. Echo Bay Mines, Ltd. purchased the White Pine operation in January 1985 and negotiations continued with Echo Bay. The three officers were successful and went on to form the new "Copper Range Company." Operations at the new White Pine began in November 1985.In May 1989, Copper Range Company was purchased by Metall Mining Corporation, a Canadian-basedinternational mining company with interests in copper, zinc, lead, gold, and silver. During its life, more than 1.8 million metric tons of copper were produced by the White Pine property. The White Pine mine, the last major copper mine in Michigan, shut down in 1995. See "Site Visit Report - Copper Range White Pine Mine," US Environmental Protection Agency, May 1992)

White Pine Copper Ingot | WHITE PINE COPPER INGOT - Copper ingot marked with WP in raised letters on top center for the White Pine Mine located near White Pine, MI; 3 in. long x 3/8 in. high x 3/8 in. wide (Copper Range Company's White Pine mine is located near White Pine (approximate population 1,200) in Ontonagon County, Michigan, on the Upper Michigan Peninsula. The company's mill and smelter are six miles south of Lake Superior. The surface area owned by the Copper Range Company covers approximately 64,000 acres; surface facilities cover approximately 360 acres. The underground mine covers an area of about 25 square miles and extends from the surface to a maximum depth of 2,700 feet. Mining at the Copper Range Company White Pine facility was conducted underground using standard room-and-pillar extraction techniques. Mine ore was extracted from rooms about 20 to 28 feet wide and 8 to 17 feet high. In room-and-pillar mining, the rooms were mined on a regular pattern, separated from each other by pillars of un-mined ore. All mining in a section of the White Pine mine was conducted on one level. Connecting roads between rooms and sections of the mine were generally 25 feet wide and 11 feet high. The Nonesuch formation, which contains the White Pine ore body, was discovered in 1865 and first mined from 1879 to 1881. More development by the owner, Calumet & Hecla, led to additional mining (operating from 1913 to 1920) and establishment of the White Pine townsite. A drop in copper prices closed the mine in 1920 and led to Copper Range Company's purchase of the property in 1929 at a sheriff's sale. Several years of testing proved that the previously "worthless" chalcocite, by-passed earlier in favor of native copper, could be mined and milled at a profit. The primary minerals within the White Pine ore body are native copper (Cu), native silver (Ag), and chalcocite (CuS), with minor amounts of bornite (CuFeS), chalcopyrite (CuFeS), and pyrite (FeS). Approximately 80 percent of the copper processed at White Pine was chalcocite. With a $63 million loan from the Reconstruction Finance Corporation, construction of the new "White Pine" project began in March 1952, with the first ore mined a year later. The first copper product was generated in January 1955. In 1977, Copper Range Company was purchased by the Louisiana Land and Exploration Company. The new facility owners built a state-of-the-art refinery. Construction of the new refinery was completed in 1981. Adverse economic conditions in the copper industry led to the gradual shutdown of the White Pine operation; the mine, mill, and most of the smelter closed in 1982. However, the company continued smelter operations to produce copper from scrap material until 1984, when the facility completely shut down. In 1983, three officers of Copper Range Company began negotiating with Louisiana Land on the possible purchase of the White Pine mine. Echo Bay Mines, Ltd. purchased the White Pine operation in January 1985 and negotiations continued with Echo Bay. The three officers were successful and went on to form the new "Copper Range Company." Operations at the new White Pine began in November 1985. In May 1989, Copper Range Company was purchased by Metall Mining Corporation, a Canadian-based international mining company with interests in copper, zinc, lead, gold, and silver. During its life, more than 1.8 million metric tons of copper were produced by the White Pine property. The White Pine mine, the last major copper mine in Michigan, shut down in 1995. See "Site Visit Report - Copper Range White Pine Mine," US Environmental Protection Agency, May 1992)

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