Rockland Mine

Past Producer in Ontonagon county in Michigan, United States with commodities Copper, Silver
Sections on this page
  1. Identification information
  2. Geographic coordinates
  3. Site location context
  4. Geographic areas
  5. Public Land Survey System information
  6. Commodities
  7. Materials information
  8. Alteration
  9. Mineral occurrence model information
  10. Host and associated rocks
  11. Nearby scientific data
  12. Ore body information
  13. Controls for ore emplacement
  14. Economic information about the deposit and operations
  15. Mining district
  16. Land status
  17. Production statistics
  18. Bibliographic references
  19. General comments
  20. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10106198
MRDS ID W031510
Record type Site
Current site name Rockland Mine

Comments on the site names

  • CONSOLIDATED INTO NATIONAL MINE THEN INTO MICHIGAN MINE

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -89.16424, 46.73389 (WGS84)

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Ontonagon(county)

Michigan(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Rockland(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Ontonagon(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Iron River(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Ontonagon(hydrologic unit)

Southcentral Lake Superior(hydrologic accounting unit)

Southern Lake Superior(hydrologic subregion)

Great Lakes(hydrologic region)

Geographic areas

Country State County
United States Michigan Ontonagon

Public Land Survey System information

Meridian Township Range Section Fraction State
Michigan 050N 039W 15 NE OF NE Michigan
NW OF NE Michigan
SE OF NE Michigan
SW OF NE Michigan

Comments on the location information

  • CENTERED ON THE GROUP OF TWELVE SHAFTS, ALL WITHIN SECTION 15.

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Copper Primary
Silver Secondary

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Copper Ore
Silver Ore
Quartz Gangue
Calcite Gangue
Epidote Gangue
Pumpellyite-(Mg) Gangue
Chlorite Gangue
Feldspar Gangue

Alteration

  • (Local) Removal of hematite, copper replacement, quartz-pumpellyite bleaching

Mineral occurrence model information

Model code 96
USGS model code Unassigned
Deposit model name Native Cu
Mark3 model number 99

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Volcanic Rock (Aphanitic) > Mafic Volcanic Rock > Basalt
    Rock unit name Portage Lake Volcanics
    Rock description Portage Lake Volcanics
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Stenian
    Chronological age 1095

Nearby scientific data

(1) -89.16424, 46.73389

Economic information

Ore body information

  • General form TABULAR FISSURE
    Strike 44 NW
    Thickness 2M

Comments on the ore body information

  • Thickness 2-8 ft.

Controls for ore emplacement

  • Concentrated in shoots (stratigraphic in amygdaloid or fissure related)

Comments on the geologic information

  • CONTACT VEIN PARALLEL WITH FORMATION

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Operation type Underground
Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Metallic
Deposit size Large
Significant Yes
Year of first production 1853
Year of last production 1880

Mining district

District name Keweenaw Copper

Land status

Ownership category Private

Production statistics

  • Year 1880
    Period 1854-1880
    Accuracy Accurate
    Importance Item Commodity Group Amount recovered Grade Recovery percentage
    Major recovered Cu Copper Copper 264.04mt

Comments on the production information

  • NO GRADE ANALYSIS AVAILABLE. PRODUCED FROM BOTH FISSURES AND CONGLOMERATE. SILVER SOLD IN FOUR SEPARATE YEARS AMOUNTED TO $422.72

Comments on the reserve resource information

  • NO RESERVES COMMERCIALLY PRODUCIBLE.

Comments on the workings information

  • 4 SHAFTS AND 2 ADITS

Comments on development

  • ROCKLAND MINING CO. TO NATIONAL MINE THEN LATER THE PROPERTY WAS MINED BY MICHIGAN MINE

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    COPPER RANGE CO., UNPUBLISHED, 1968, BEDROCK GEOLOGY MAP OF THE ROCKLAND (NW 1/4) QUADRANGLE, ONTONAGON COUNTY, MICHIGAN. GEOLOGY MAPPED AND COMPILED BY COPPER RANGE EXPLORATION CO., INC., AND BY H. HUBBARD (U.S.G.S.)

  • Deposit

    BUTLER, B.S., AND BURBANK, W.S., 1929, THE COPPER DEPOSITS OF MICHIGAN: U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROF. PAPER 144, 238P.

  • Deposit

    WIILBAND, J.T., 1978, THE COPPER RESOURCES OF NORTHERN MICHIGAN; PREPARED FOR THE U.S. BUREAU OF MINES, CONTRACT NO. J0366067, 66P.

  • Deposit

    JOHNSON, A.M., AND GROTH, E.H., 1998, INVENTORY OF UNDERGROUND MINES, ONTONAGON COUNTY, P. 216-219, MICHIGAN DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES.

  • Production

    BUTLER AND BURBANK (1929)

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit ORGANIZED IN 1853, FIRST PRODUCTION WAS IN 1854. STAMP MILL WAS ERECTED IN 1856. THE CO. CEASED OPERATIONS IN 1870 AND WAS ABSORBED BY NATIONAL MINE INTERESTS. WORKED OCCASIONALLY BY TRIBUTORS UNTIL 1880. SHIPPED EVERY YEAR FROM 1854-1880. PRODUCED FROM BOTH FISSURES AND CONGLOMERATES.

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-OCT-1980 Yeager, Keith (Cannon, W.) Michigan Geological Survey Division
Updater 01-MAR-1997 Sutphin, D.M. U.S. Geological Survey
Editor 01-MAY-1997 Mason Jr., G.T. U.S. Geological Survey
Updater 08-AUG-2001 Anderson, Arlene (M. Gere) Michigan Department of Natural Resources

Beyond USGS

Supplemental information added by qvyshift.com. Not part of the original USGS MRDS record.