Nonesuch Mine, White Pine, Ontonagon County, Michigan, USAi

Regional Level Types
Nonesuch Mine	Mine
White Pine	- not defined -
Ontonagon County	County
Michigan	State
USA	Country

Commodities (Major) - Copper
Deposit Type: Secondary Enrichment
Development Status: Past Producer
Deposit Model: 96: Native Cu
Host Rock Unit: Nonesuch Formation
Host Rock: Siltstone, Shale

The Nonesuch Mining Company was organized in 1867 to work an area of the Little Iron River where a seven foot wide bed containing copper was discovered in 1865. Two inclined shafts were sank by 1867 with two additional shafts sunk by 1869; the deepest being 460 feet. The mine worked the Nonesuch Shale, a tight,black sandstone similar to what was worked at the White Pine Mine nearby. The copper from this deposit was not in large masses, but small flakes scattered throughout the rock. Early assays gave higher grades than even the Calumet and Hecla Conglomerate; however, because of the nature of the deposit, recovering the copper was nearly impossible. Much of the copper washed away with the stamp sands from the mill as mining technology had not yet developed methods to recover copper in this form. Because of this, the mine worked in intervals for most of its life. In 1878, the mine produced some barrel copper but the majority was still in small flake form. The mine eventually closed in 1885 after producing a total of 390,000 pounds of copper. Today a very informative tour can be taken that details the mining activities at the site.

Other Regions, Features and Areas containing this locality

References