Silver with Copper

Unknown Owner

Crudely crystallized native silver very rich in a cluster with native copper. This is an example of what many referred to as a half breed, a mixture of silver and copper. In great condition. There is much more silver present than there is copper.Copper mining on the Keweenaw Peninsula in Michigan began with Native American peoples who mined native copper from surface deposits thousands of years ago. Large scale industrial mining started in the 1840s after the discovery of rich native copper deposits in basalt and conglomerate rock. Numerous underground mines such as the Quincy, Calumet and Hecla, and Copper Range operations produced large quantities of copper during the 19th and early 20th centuries. The district became one of the most important copper producing regions in the United States before most mines closed during the mid 20th century.