Michigan Underground Abandoned Mine Inventory

Collection — Multiple Containers

Identifier: MS-648

Staff Only

Collection Scope and Content Summary

Inventory, 1998, of the underground metallic mines in Baraga, Dickinson, Gogebic, Houghton, Iron, Keweenaw, Marquette, and Ontonagon Counties. Under the direction of the Mineral Technology Research Group of the Michigan Technological University Mining Engineering Department, researchers and students worked on a project to produce an inventory of the abandoned underground metallic mines in Michigan. Over 800 mines were identified and over 2,000 shafts cataloged. Field inspections prioritized over 130 shafts, openings or cave-ins that needed attention.

Dates

1998

Conditions Governing Access

Some restrictions exist, see University Archivist.

Patrons or the University Archivist must contact the donor: Allan M. Johnson, (amj@mtu.edu, 906-482-9097) for permission to use this collection. In some instances, Allan Johnson may contact the Archives to directly grant permission to specified users.

A call or e-mail from the donor or the University Archivist is required in order to provide access to the collection.

Once permission has been granted from the donor, the donor or the University Archivist will call or e-mail the patron requesting access. In addition, the University Archivist will e-mail the department list archives-l@mtu.edu and the main e-mail copper@mtu.edu in order to inform all archives staff that a patron has been granted permission to view the material. Access notes for specific requests/patrons should be included in permission granting correspondence/conversations.

Conditions Governing Use

Biography

A project to document abandoned underground mines in Michigan began when a $200,000 contract was awarded to Michigan Technological University (MTU) by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (MDNR) in September of 1995. The objectives of the project were to conduct an inventory, document, and map abandoned underground mines in the State of Michigan and, based on field assessments, identify and rank mines having unsafe conditions. Information from field inspections was used to determine which shafts should be filled, capped, fenced or otherwise fixed to protect the public (excerpted from "Abandoned Mines," http://www.mg.mtu.edu/mining/abmine/mtrg.htm, accessed March 2011).