Michigamme Mine Analyses

Collection — sc_box: MS 2, Folder: 16

Identifier: MS-590

Staff Only

Collection Scope and Content Summary

Mine analysis, 1878-1888, of the Michigamme iron mine in Michigamme, Michigan. Includes written analyses of mine samples taken at the Michigamme Mine. The samples were taken by some of the noted engineers and geologists of the time, including State Geologist Charles E. Wright and Major T. B. Brooks, author of the Michigan Geological Survey of 1873.

Dates

1878-1888

Access

Available for use in the Michigan Technological University Archives and Copper Country Historical Collections.

Biography

The Michigamme Mine was discovered in 1872 by Jacob Houghton. The Michigamme Company was organized in the fall of 1870 with corporate offices in Chicago, IL. The officers of the company were William Barnum, president; James Rood, secretary and treasurer; and Jacob Houghton, as superintendent. Mine operations were started in seven open pits numbered 1 through 7 following the strike of the ore body and in 1874 the mine started underground mining. The Michigamme Mine operated from 1872 to 1901 when it was permanently closed, although iron ore was shipped from the mine site from existing stockpiles and from processed iron ore from waste piles through 1905. In 1889 Mather and Co. purchased the Michigamme Mine; Mather later merged into the Cleveland Cliffs Iron Company.