Is White Pine Mine reopening?
ONTONAGON –According to multiple sources, the White Pine mine is reopening. Highland Copper Inc. anticipates finalizing the purchase of the White Pine mine by the end of February, a company official said.
When did the White Pine mine close?
The mine found some reprieve by 1985, but it closed permanently in 1995. It had reached a depth of 2,700 feet and produced 4.2 billion pounds of coppery and 47 million ounces of silver. After closing, different fates befell the former White Pine buildings.
Where is White Pine mine Michigan?
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.
Does Michigan still mine copper?
Within the state of Michigan, copper is found almost exclusively in the western portion of the Upper Peninsula, in an area known as the Copper Country.
What animals eat white pine?
IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE : Eastern white pine provides food and habitat for numerous wildlife species. Songbirds and small mammals eat eastern white pine seeds. Snowshoe hares, white-tailed deer, and cottontails browse the foliage; the bark is eaten by various mammals [68].
What is Ontonagon MI known for?
Ontonagon Township Park is a popular local camping area on the Lake Superior. The village has several fascinating art and craft galleries where local artists can show and sell their products. The best known are The Nonesuch Gallery and Living the UP Dream.
When did they start mining in white pine mi?
White Pine Mine White Pine, MI. By 1950, however, the technological barriers were gone, and the Copper Range Company began clearing land for a mine, mill, smelter, and even a townsite. After years of construction and testing, workers began extracting ore in 1953, though full scale mining would wait until 1955.
What happened at White Pine?
Unlike every other mine I have explored to date, at White Pine, rubber-wheeled machinery was used extensively and accessed the mine through a long sloping tunnel. At its height, White Pine employed 3,000, though mechanization, atomization, and sinking metal prices brought that to 1,000 by the 1980s.
How much coppery was produced from the White Pine mine?
It had reached a depth of 2,700 feet and produced 4.2 billion pounds of coppery and 47 million ounces of silver. Workers, White Pine Mine, Michigan Technological University Archives
Why was copper not smelted in Michigan?
While it had been known for decadesthat a huge deposit of copper lay beneath Ontonagon County, Michigan, because of its metallurgical and chemical properties it could not be smelted. By 1950, however, the technological barriers were gone, and the Copper Range Company began clearing land for a mine, mill, smelter, and even a townsite.
