SilverSouth Hecla Mine, Calumet, Calumet Township, Houghton Co., Michigan, USA
Photo: Rob Lavinsky Latitude: 47°15'0"N
Longitude: 88°27'15"W
An underground copper mine located just south of the Calumet, MI city limits near Swedetown. The Hecla Mining Co. was organized in 1866 to explore several prehistoric mining pits that followed along a bed of conglomerate. After a shaky start, the mine payed its first dividend in 1869. In 1871, the company merged with the Calumet Mining Co., forming the Calumet and Hecla Mining Co. The original South Hecla Mine had 6 shafts, the deepest of which was only a few hundred feet. After the merger and by 1929, South Hecla #7 reached a depth of over 9,000 ft. on the incline, or approx. 5,500 vertical. Several minerals can be found here, including copper, silver, datolite crystals, and prehnite.
References
Rocks & Minerals 58:109.
Butler, B.S., and Burbank, W.S., 1929, The Copper Deposits of Michigan. U.S. Geological Survey. Professional Paper 144. 238 pp.
Benedict, C.H., 1952, Red Metal; The Calumet and Hecla Story, University of Michigan Press, Ann Arbor, 257 pp.
Palache, C., Berman, H., & Frondel, C. (1951), The System of Mineralogy of James Dwight Dana and Edward Salisbury Dana, Yale University 1837-1892, Volume II: 1081.
Mineral List
6 entries listed. 6 valid minerals.
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