Flintsteel River 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. Host and associated rocks
  10. Nearby scientific data
  11. Ore body information
  12. Controls for ore emplacement
  13. Economic information about the deposit and operations
  14. Mining district
  15. Land status
  16. Production statistics
  17. Bibliographic references
  18. General comments
  19. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10080392
MRDS ID W031519
Record type Site
Current site name Flintsteel River Mine

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -89.13118, 46.73889 (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)

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 Ontonagon

Public Land Survey System information

Meridian Township Range Section Fraction State
Michigan 050N 039W 12 SE OF SW Michigan

Comments on the location information

  • CENTERED BETWEEN THREE SHAFTS IN SW OF SECTION 12.

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

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) -89.13118, 46.73889

Economic information

Ore body information

  • Name EVERGREEN LODE

Controls for ore emplacement

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

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Operation type Underground
Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Metallic
Deposit size Small
Significant No
Year of first production 1853
Year of last production 1881

Mining district

District name Keweenaw Copper

Land status

Ownership category Private

Production statistics

  • Year 1881
    Period 185?-1881
    Accuracy Accurate
    Importance Item Commodity Group Amount recovered Grade Recovery percentage
    Major recovered Cu Copper Copper 394.2mt

Comments on the production information

  • NO GRADE ANALYSIS AVAILABLE. PRODUCTION WAS FROM THE EVERGREEN AND SUCCEEDING LODES (ASSUMED). SILVER SOLD IN 1865 (FROM CALEDONIA SIGHT) AMOUNTED TO $117.21

Comments on the reserve resource information

  • NO RESERVES COMMERCIALLY PRODUCIBLE.

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

    WILBAND, 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. 75-78, MICHIGAN DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES.

  • Production

    BUTLER AND BURBANK (1929)

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit ORGANIZED IN 1853, AFTER THE PROPERTY HAD BEEN WORKED A LITTLE IN 1850. FIRST PRODUCTION WAS IN 1855. WORK WAS SUSPENDED FROM 1858-1863 EXCEPT SOME SMALL EXPLORATIONS. WORKED CALEDONIA MINE ALSO AND FINALLY CONSOLIDATED IN 1871 AS FLINT STEEL COPPER CO. IN 1873, THE MINES WERE SHUT DOWN AND PROPERTY WAS LEASED FOR 8 YEARS. THERE WAS NO PRODUCTION AFTER THE END OF THIS PERIOD FOR THIS MINE.

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.