Old Mass Mine

Past Producer in Ontonagon county in Michigan, United States with commodity Copper
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. Bibliographic references
  18. General comments
  19. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10080398
MRDS ID W031527
Record type Site
Current site name Old Mass Mine

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -89.11285, 46.75583 (WGS84)

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Ontonagon(county)

Michigan(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Greenland(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 038W 6 NW OF SW Michigan

Comments on the location information

  • CENTERED BETWEEN SIX SHAFTS WHICH STRETCH BETWEEN SECTION 1 T50N, R39W AND SECTION 6 T50N, R38W.

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Copper Primary

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Copper Ore
Quartz Gangue
Calcite Gangue
Epidote Gangue
Pumpellyite-(Mg) Gangue
Chlorite Gangue
Feldspar Gangue
Datolite Gangue
Silver 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) -89.11285, 46.75583

Economic information

Ore body information

  • Name MASS LODE
    General form IRREGULAR

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
Discovery year 1849
Discoverer Noel Johnson
Year of first production 1849
Year of last production 1884

Mining district

District name Keweenaw Copper

Land status

Ownership category Private

Comments on the production information

  • NO PRODUCTION FIGURES AVAILABLE, ASSUMING SMALL SIZE. SEE GENERAL COMMENTS.

Comments on the reserve resource information

  • NO RESERVES COMMERCIALLY PRODUCIBLE.

Comments on the workings information

  • EARLY MASS MINE (OLD) BECAME PART OF MASS CONSOLIDATED, THESE OLD WORKINGS ARE PASSED THROUGH BY THE CALEDONIA ADIT.

Comments on development

  • FOUR RECORDED ACTIVE MINING PERIODS: 1849-51,1856-60,1864-68,1874-84. CYRUS MENDENHALL BOUGHT NOEL JOHNSON (DISCOVER- SLAVE) FREEDOM FOR 250$ THEN PAID NOEL 18,000$ FOR RIGHTS TO MINE HIS CLAIM

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    COPPER RANGE CO., UNPUBLISHCOPPER RANGE CO., UNPUBLISHED, 1968, BEDROCK GEOLOGY MAP OF THE GREENLAND (SE 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

    STATE OF MICHIGAN TAX COMMISSION, 1930, APPRAISAL OF IRON AND COPPER MINES OF MINES OF MICHIGAN; COMPILED ANNUALLY BY THE STATE TAX COMMISSION AND THE DEPARTMENT OF CONSERVATION, LOCATED AT THE GEOLOGICAL SURVEY DIVISION OF THE DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES, LANSING, MICHIGAN.

  • Deposit

    JOHNSON, A.M., AND GROTH, E.H.,1998, INVENTORY OF UNDERGROUND MINES, ONTONAGON COUNTY, P. 144-148, MICHIGAN DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES.

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit NO DESCRIPTION LITERATURE AVAILABLE. THE EVERGREEN SERIES PRODUCED (FROM ALL MINES) 66,508,152 LBS COPPER FROM 1845-1925 WHEN THIS WAS LIKELY IN OPERATION, AND LIKELY PRODUCING FROM THE EVERGREEN SERIES. HOWEVER, THE ONLY SPECIFIC INFORMATION ON THNO DESCRIPTION LITERATURE AVAILABLE. THE EVERGREEN SERIES PRODUCED (FROM ALL MINES) 66,508,152 LBS COPPER FROM 1845-1925 WHEN THIS WAS LIKELY IN OPERATION, AND LIKELY PRODUCING FROM THE EVERGREEN SERIES. HOWEVER, THE ONLY SPECIFIC INFORMATION ON THIS LOCATION IS THAT THE MOWAWK MINING CO. DID SOME EXPLORATION WORK IN 1929, PRESUMABLY AFTER THIS MINE SHUT DOWN.

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-JUL-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.