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Atlantic Amygdaloid

Past Producer in Houghton county in Michigan, United States with commodity Copper
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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. Host and associated rocks
  10. Nearby scientific data
  11. Geologic structures
  12. Controls for ore emplacement
  13. Economic information about the deposit and operations
  14. Mining district
  15. Ownership information
  16. Production statistics
  17. Bibliographic references
  18. General comments
  19. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10111323
MRDS ID W060042
Record type Site
Current site name Atlantic Amygdaloid
Alternate or previous names Ashbed Lode, Ashbed Amygdaloid, Atlantic Amygdaloid Lode

Comments on the site names

  • THIS AMYGDALOIDAL BASALT LODE IS KNOWN AS THE ATLANTIC LODE IN THE SOUTH AND THE ASHBED LODE IN THE NORTHERN PART OF THE DISTRICT. MINES THAT WORKED THE ATLANTIC (ASHBED) LODE ARE: ATLANTIC (SIX SHAFTS) AND HANCOCK MINE. MINES THAT WORKED THE ASHBED (ATLANTIC) LODE ARE THE COPPER FALLS, ARNOLD, AND PHOENIX MINES.

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -88.62727, 47.09889 (WGS84)

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Houghton(county)

Michigan(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

South Range(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Hancock(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Hancock C(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Keweenaw Peninsula(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 Houghton

Public Land Survey System information

Meridian Township Range Section Fraction State
054N 034W 4 SE 4 OF SE 4 Michigan

Comments on the location information

  • LOCATION CHOSEN AS THE NO. C SHAFT OF THE ATLANTIC MINE (ON SOUTH RANGE QUAD) BUT MINE GOES INTO CHASSELL QUAD ALSO. THE ATLANTIC/ASHBED LODE EXTENDS FROM THE ATLANTIC MINE TO NEARLY THE END OF THE KEWEENAW PENINSULA.

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Copper Primary

Comments on the commodity information

  • COPPER MINERALIZATION IN THE ASHBED DOES NOT DIFFER MATERIALLY FROM THAT OF OTHER SIMILAR LODES. DATOLITE IS MORE ABUNDANT WHERE FISSURES CUT THE LODE, AND IN KEWEENAW COUNTY, DATOLITE IS MORE ABUNDANT ON THE ASHBED THAN OTHER LODES.

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Copper Ore
Calcite Gangue
Quartz Gangue
Epidote Gangue
Pumpellyite-(Mg) Gangue
Datolite Gangue

Alteration

  • (Local) Bleaching of ferric iron to ferrous

Host and associated rocks

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

Nearby scientific data

(1) Copper Harbor Conglomerate
ListMap

Economic information

Geologic structures

Type of structure Local
Structure description Numerous cross-cutting fissures.

Controls for ore emplacement

  • Amygdaloidal flow top

Comments on the geologic information

  • THE ATLANTIC OR ASHBED AMYGDALOIDAL LODE IS A SCORIACEOUS BASALT (ALMOST A SANDY CONGLOMERATE COMPOSED OF BASALT FRAGMENTS). HIGHLY OXIDIZED AND LARGELY FRAGMENTAL, IT IS COMMONLY CHOCOLATE-BROWN TO RED IN COLOR AND SOFT COMPARED TO OTHER BASALT LODES IN THE DISTRICT. THERE ARE NOTABLE VARIATIONS IN THE AMOUNT OF CLASTIC MATERIAL ALONG THE LENGTH OF THE LODE. THE LODE IS CUT BY A NUMBER OF FISSURES, INCLUDING THE OWL CREEK, PETHERICK, PHOENIX, ARMSTRONG. COPPER MINERALIZATION OFTEN WAS STRONGER IN THE VICINITY OF THE FISSURES, BUT THE RELATIONSHIP IS OBSCURE.

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 1855
Year of last production 1917
Production years ATLANTIC (1873-1910); S. PEWABIC (1866-70); GARDEN CITY (1859-66); ARNOLD (1989-1900); COPPER FALLS (1858-93); PETHERICK (1862-77); ASHBED (1881-84); PHOENIX (1855-62; 1865; 1916-17)

Mining district

District name Keweenaw Copper

Ownership information

  • Type Operator
    Owner Arnold Mining Company
  • Type Operator
    Owner Keweenaw Copper Company
  • Type Operator
    Owner Various

Production statistics

  • Year 1917
    Period 1855-1917
    Accuracy Accurate
    Importance Item Commodity Group Amount recovered Grade Recovery percentage
    Major recovered Cu Copper Copper 64795.4mt

Comments on the production information

  • Ore graded 0.66 % Cu. PRODUCTION MOSTLY FROM THE ATLANTIC MINE. PRODUCTION FROM OTHER MINES MINGLED WITH OTHER LODES.

Comments on development

  • COPPER FALLS MINE OPENED IN 1891 BY ARNOLD MINING COMPANY, BUT CLOSED SHORTLY THEREAFTER. PHOENIX MINE OPEN BY THE KEWEENAW COPPER CO.

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    BUTLER, B.S., AND BURBANK, W.S., 1929, THE COPPER DEPOSITS OF MICHIGAN: USGS PROF. PAPER, NO. 144, 238 PP.

  • Deposit

    WEEGE, R.J., AND POLLACK, J.P., 1971, RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN THE NATIVE-COPPER DISTRICT OF MICHIGAN: IN W.S. WHITE, (EDITOR) GUIDEBOOK FOR FIELD CONFERENCE, MICHIGAN COPPER DISTRICT, SEPT. 30-0CT. 21,971, SOC. ECON. GEOL., P. 19-43

  • Deposit

    WHITE, W.S., 1968, THE NATIVE COPPER DEPOSITS OF NORTHERN MICHIGAN: IN J.D. RIDGE, (EDITOR) ORE DEPOSITS OF THE UNITED STATES 1933-1967 (GRATON-SALES VOLUME), AM. INSTIT. MIN. METALL. PETROL. ENG., V. 1, P. 303-325.

  • Deposit

    WHITE, W.S, 1956, GEOLOGIC MAP OF THE CHASSELL QUADRANGLE, MICHIGAN: USGS MAP MF-43, SCALE 1:24000

  • Deposit

    WHITE, W.S., AND WRIGHT, J.C., 1956, GEOLOGIC MAP OF THE SOUTH RANGE QUADRANGLE, MICHIGAN: USGS MAP MF-48, SCALE 1:24000.

  • Deposit

    CORNWALL, H.R., AND WRIGHT, J.C., 1954, BEDROCK GEOLOGY OF THE EAGLE HARBOR QUADRANGLE, MICHIGAN: USGS MAP GQ-36, SCALE 1:24000.

  • Deposit

    BODWELL, W.A., 1972, GEOLOGIC COMPILATION AND NONFERROUS METAL POTENTIAL, PRECAMBRIAN SECTION, NORTHERN MICHIGAN: HOUGHTON, MICHIGAN TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY, M.S. THESIS, 98 P.

  • Deposit

    BORNHORST, THEODORE J., 1992, KEWEENAWAN COPPER DEPOSITS OF WESTERN UPPER MICHIGAN; AN OVERVIEW OF THE KEWEENAW PENINSULA NATIVE COPPER DISTRICT, MICHIGAN: GUIDEBOOK SERIES, VOL. 13, P. 33-62.

  • Deposit

    CORNWALL, H.R., 1954, BEDROCK GEOLOGY OF THE PHOENIX QUADRANGLE, MICHIGAN: USGS MAP GQ-34, SCALE 1:24000

  • Production

    WHITE, 1968 WEEGE AND POLLACK, 1971

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit AT ATLANTIC MINE, ASHBED LODE HAS BEEN OPENED ALONG STRIKE FOR ABOUT 5800 FEET; AMYGDALOIDAL LODE AVERAGES ABOUT 12 FEET THICK. THE ASHBED OR ATLANTIC LODE HAD FIVE MAJOR DEVELOPMENTS. THE COPPER FALLS MINE OPENED IN 1891 BY ARNOLD MINING TO A DEPTH OF 1500 FEET, AND 1000 FEET EAST AND 1400 FEET WEST OF THE CROSS-CUTTING OWL CREEK FISSURE. MINERALIZATION WAS STRONGEST NEAR THE FISSURE.
Deposit ASHBED PROSPECTED FROM THE ATLANTIC MINE (SOUTH OF TOWN OF HOUGHTON) TO NEARLY THE TIP OF KEWEENAW PENINSULA. PORPHYRITIC AMYGDALOIDAL ANDESITIC FLOW TOP.

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-JUL-1995 Nicholson, Suzanne U.S. Geological Survey
Updater 01-MAR-1997 Sutphin, D.M. U.S. Geological Survey
Editor 01-MAY-1997 Mason Jr., G.T. U.S. Geological Survey
Updater 26-MAR-2004 Woodruff, Laurel G. U.S. Geological Survey EXPANDED RECORD FOR SIGNIFICANT DEPOSITS

Beyond USGS

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

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