The largest and greatest deposits of native copper ever discovered occur in Michigan’s Keweenaw Peninsula. These copper deposits have been exploited since prehistoric Native Americans used hand tools made of rocks to chisel out the almost pure copper from exposed surface areas.
Native copper is very rare throughout the world. Copper deposits are not ordinarily comprised of large masses of almost pure copper. The copper from the Keweenaw is most often “polluted” with silver, making it even more conducive to electrical uses.
The habits of copper growth are too numerous to list, but one of the most coveted by Keweenaw-area collectors are silver and copper combinations known as “half-breeds”. Beautiful crystal copper formations are also sought, as are copper-included minerals such as Datolite, Prehnite, and Greenstone.
The history of the Copper Country is interesting to study and many wonderful books have been written on the subject.
We sell native copper, both cleaned and raw, as well as special pieces like the aforementioned half-breeds. We also have raw chunks of copper that have been through the hammer mills and most likely carried off by miners in their lunch pails. Another interesting throwback to the copper days is Firebrick, almost impossible to find now. Bricks lined the smelter walls and over time became permeated with molten copper. After the mines closed, some of this material was rescued when the smelters were closed, back in the 1960’s.
Currently no producing mines are left open in the Keweenaw, the tunnels are flooded, and the discard piles are gradually being crushed for road gravel. I have seen collecting opportunities in the Keweenaw declining rapidly over the past 20 years as old mine discard piles disappear, and collecting areas revert to private property. Much of the gemstone material I used to collect is now impossible to obtain in the field. Now is the best time to invest in jewelry and specimens from the Copper Country while the prices are still affordable.
A few mines are still open for tours: the Delaware Mine between Calumet and Copper Harbor, the Adventure Mine near Ontonagon, and the Caledonia Mine, also near Ontonagon. The Caledonia Mine offers collecting opportunities both underground and on the surface by appointment. Specimen collecting is still underway by the owner of the Caledonia, Rich Whiteman and his crew.
We offer the very best jewelry manufactured from rare copper country gemstones. Many of the materials we use are purchased from collectors in the area or found by us in our rockhounding forays to the area each year. Our beaded bracelets combine many U.P. stones including agates, epidote, and kona dolomite as well as the copper-related stones. Our Datolites sometimes have great bits of copper in them–Copper Datolite with Epidote, and Datolite, Copper Lightning. We use only the finest quality rough materials to create our finished products, and truly believe our U.P. jewelry line is the finest anywhere.