| I love seeing my old stomping grounds show up on HN. The Yoop is a lovely area with loads of history and extremely kind people. It is also sadly filled with crushing poverty and brutal winters. I grew up in a small town very close to Houghton, visiting copper harbor frequently, I didn't realize this site even existed. Another interesting location is the abandoned Calumet Air Force radar station [1][2]. The copper mine is absolutely worth checking out and the tour is pretty great if you are into mining or anything historic. I've taken the tour a few times, you only get to go down a few levels due to the rest of the mine being flooded but it is still very interesting. This mine was a big one but the entire area was dedicated to copper and was extremely rich with the stuff. The mine, and others, actually closed down in 1933 due to low copper prices but reopened a couple shafts in 1937. I forget when they closed back down but I want to say it was in the mid 50s. Michigan Tech claims that from Quincy alone, up to 756 million pounds of copper were produced from 1856 to 1925 [3]. The mine, with 90 levels, went to a final depth of 6,225 feet with a finial shaft length of 9,260 feet [4]. I'm not sure how reliable it is, I've only ever had my eyes on the Quincy Mining Company financials, but the national park services claim that over 10 billion pounds of copper were produced from the area [5]. Just this summer I was talking to an old timer who worked with the local mines pulling core samples and doing general geologic work. According to him there is still a massive amount of copper in the ground but with regulations and the completely dilapidated infrastructure, there hasn't been development for decades. With the rise in copper prices I have heard rumors of a few people buying up mineral rights in the last year or so but nothing too interesting beyond that. Personally I would love some deep pockets to come into the area to reopen the mines and revitalize the area, not sure I'll ever see that in my lifetime though. [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbYbO-my46I [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calumet_Air_Force_Station [3] http://www.mg.mtu.edu/MINE_SHAFTS/shaft5zd.htm [4] https://www.uh.edu/engines/mineno2shaftcrosssection.jpg [5] https://www.nps.gov/kewe/learn/historyculture/copper-mining-... |
