Copper Range Company
Encyclopedia
The Copper Range Company was a major copper
-mining company in the Copper Country
of Michigan
, United States
. It began as the Copper Range Company in the late 19th century as a holding company specializing in shares in the copper mines south of Houghton, Michigan
. The company was bought by Louisiana Land and Exploration in 1977.
and the Baltic Mining Company. The Copper Range Railroad
served much of the southern part of the Copper Country
, and the Baltic Mining Company owned the copper mine at Baltic, Michigan.
In 1901, the Copper Range Company, prevented by Michigan law from issuing more shares of stock, incorporated a new entity in New Jersey, the Copper Range Consolidated Company. Copper Range Consolidated used its new shares to get control of more copper mining companies by stock swaps. It gained half the stock in the Champion mine. The company swapped shares to acquire nearly all the shares of the Trimountain mine, which had been misrun by its principals, Thomas W. Lawson
and Albert C. Burrage. In this way, Copper Range came to own nearly all the copper mines south of Portage Lake, just as the Calumet and Hecla Mining Company
owned nearly all the mines north of Portage Lake.
The Copper Range properties mined copper in the form of native copper
in stratiform orebodies in the flow tops of Precambrian
basalt
lava flows. The ore horizons are known locally as amygdaloids, after the amygdaloidal-shaped gas bubbles in the lavas that filled with minerals.
Copper Range shut down the Champion mine, its last operating native copper
property, in 1967.
, Ontonagon County
. The White Pine mine contained a large strataform body of chalcocite
-impregnated siltstones and shales of the Precambrian
Nonesuch Shale
Formation. The ore also contained native copper, usually as individual grains but often as sheets several feet long. The White Pine mine produced copper until 1995.
In its early days it was known for its use of advanced mining and transport systems (not all of which worked very well) including the Dashaveyor
, a high speed transportation system, and what was at the time the world's largest hard rock tunnelling machine to be sold to a mining company. It was also one of the earlier mines to use rubber tyred mining equipment on a large scale. An interesting sidelight was that about 70% of the workforce was of Finnish descent, which in some ways was not surprising given the similarity between the countryside around the mine and rural Finland.
Louisiana Land and Exploration bought Copper Range in 1977, then sold the operation to Echo Bay Mines Limited
in 1983. Echo Bay sold the operation to the employees in 1985 but kept part of the milling circuit. In this transaction 70% of the shares went into an ESOP (Employees Stock Option Plan) and the remaining 30% were held by Mine Management Resources. It was at this time that an attempt was made to obtain a stock exchange listing but it failed due to a variety of factors, including the move of mining into areas in which royalties had to be paid e.g. to AMAX in the south west area, the general decrepitude of the mining machinery and not least the start of a general crushing of the pillars and collapse in the central worked out areas which was at least partially stopped by wrapping pillars with conveyor belt and old haulage rope to stabilise them. The employees subsequently sold Copper Range to Metall Mining Corporation (shortly to rename itself Inmet Mining
) in 1989. After a fruitless attempt to put the mine back into profit again, Inmet closed it in 1995. Proposals to carry on mining by sulphuric acid leaching were considered but these were shelved in 1997, the mine was allowed to flood and reclamation work started.
The refinery continues to operate, however, and is now owned by HudBay Minerals.
Copper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is soft and malleable; an exposed surface has a reddish-orange tarnish...
-mining company in the Copper Country
Copper Country
The Copper Country is an area in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan in the United States, including all of Keweenaw County, Michigan and most of Houghton, Baraga and Ontonagon counties. The area is so named as copper mining was prevalent there from 1845 until the late 1960s, with one mine ...
of Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It began as the Copper Range Company in the late 19th century as a holding company specializing in shares in the copper mines south of Houghton, Michigan
Houghton, Michigan
Houghton is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan's Upper Peninsula and largest city in the Copper Country on the Keweenaw Peninsula. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 7,708. It is the county seat of Houghton County...
. The company was bought by Louisiana Land and Exploration in 1977.
Amygdaloid native copper mining
Copper Range controlled through share ownership the Copper Range RailroadCopper Range Railroad
The Copper Range Railroad was a small railroad company that operated from 1899 to 1972 in the western Upper Peninsula of the state of Michigan, United States....
and the Baltic Mining Company. The Copper Range Railroad
Copper Range Railroad
The Copper Range Railroad was a small railroad company that operated from 1899 to 1972 in the western Upper Peninsula of the state of Michigan, United States....
served much of the southern part of the Copper Country
Copper Country
The Copper Country is an area in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan in the United States, including all of Keweenaw County, Michigan and most of Houghton, Baraga and Ontonagon counties. The area is so named as copper mining was prevalent there from 1845 until the late 1960s, with one mine ...
, and the Baltic Mining Company owned the copper mine at Baltic, Michigan.
In 1901, the Copper Range Company, prevented by Michigan law from issuing more shares of stock, incorporated a new entity in New Jersey, the Copper Range Consolidated Company. Copper Range Consolidated used its new shares to get control of more copper mining companies by stock swaps. It gained half the stock in the Champion mine. The company swapped shares to acquire nearly all the shares of the Trimountain mine, which had been misrun by its principals, Thomas W. Lawson
Thomas W. Lawson (businessman)
Thomas William Lawson was an American businessman and author. A highly controversial Boston stock promoter, he is known for both his efforts to promote reforms in the stock markets and the fortune he amassed for himself through highly dubious stock manipulations.The Scituate, Massachusetts...
and Albert C. Burrage. In this way, Copper Range came to own nearly all the copper mines south of Portage Lake, just as the Calumet and Hecla Mining Company
Calumet and Hecla Mining Company
The Calumet and Hecla Mining Company was a major copper-mining company based in the Michigan Copper Country. In the 19th century, the company paid out more than $72 million in shareholder dividends, more than any other mining company in the United States during that period.-History:In 1864, Edwin J...
owned nearly all the mines north of Portage Lake.
The Copper Range properties mined copper in the form of native copper
Native copper
Copper, as native copper, is one of the few metallic elements to occur in uncombined form as a natural mineral, although most commonly occurs in oxidized states and mixed with other elements...
in stratiform orebodies in the flow tops of Precambrian
Precambrian
The Precambrian is the name which describes the large span of time in Earth's history before the current Phanerozoic Eon, and is a Supereon divided into several eons of the geologic time scale...
basalt
Basalt
Basalt is a common extrusive volcanic rock. It is usually grey to black and fine-grained due to rapid cooling of lava at the surface of a planet. It may be porphyritic containing larger crystals in a fine matrix, or vesicular, or frothy scoria. Unweathered basalt is black or grey...
lava flows. The ore horizons are known locally as amygdaloids, after the amygdaloidal-shaped gas bubbles in the lavas that filled with minerals.
Copper Range shut down the Champion mine, its last operating native copper
Native copper
Copper, as native copper, is one of the few metallic elements to occur in uncombined form as a natural mineral, although most commonly occurs in oxidized states and mixed with other elements...
property, in 1967.
White Pine mine
Copper Range spun off its wholly owned subsidiary White Pine Copper Co., which in 1955 opened the White Pine mine at the south end of the copper belt, at White Pine, MichiganWhite Pine, Michigan
White Pine is an unincorporated census-designated place in Ontonagon County the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2010 census, its population was 474....
, Ontonagon County
Ontonagon County, Michigan
-National protected areas:* Keweenaw National Historical Park * Ottawa National Forest -Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 7,818 people, 3,456 households, and 2,225 families residing in the county. The population density was 6 people per square mile . There were 5,404 housing units...
. The White Pine mine contained a large strataform body of chalcocite
Chalcocite
Chalcocite, copper sulfide , is an important copper ore mineral. It is opaque, being colored dark-gray to black with a metallic luster. It has a hardness of 2½ - 3. It is a sulfide with an orthorhombic crystal system....
-impregnated siltstones and shales of the Precambrian
Precambrian
The Precambrian is the name which describes the large span of time in Earth's history before the current Phanerozoic Eon, and is a Supereon divided into several eons of the geologic time scale...
Nonesuch Shale
Nonesuch Shale
The Nonesuch Shale is a Proterozoic geologic formation that outcrops in Michigan and Wisconsin, United States, but has been found by drill holes to extend in the subsurface as far southwest as Iowa....
Formation. The ore also contained native copper, usually as individual grains but often as sheets several feet long. The White Pine mine produced copper until 1995.
In its early days it was known for its use of advanced mining and transport systems (not all of which worked very well) including the Dashaveyor
Dashaveyor
The Dashaveyor was an automated guideway transit system developed during the 1960s and '70s.Originally developed by the Dashaveyor Company for moving cargo, the system used motorized palettes that could be routed on the fly to any destination in an extended network...
, a high speed transportation system, and what was at the time the world's largest hard rock tunnelling machine to be sold to a mining company. It was also one of the earlier mines to use rubber tyred mining equipment on a large scale. An interesting sidelight was that about 70% of the workforce was of Finnish descent, which in some ways was not surprising given the similarity between the countryside around the mine and rural Finland.
Louisiana Land and Exploration bought Copper Range in 1977, then sold the operation to Echo Bay Mines Limited
Echo Bay Mines Limited
The Echo Bay Mines Limited company was organized in 1964 to develop a silver deposit at Great Bear Lake, Northwest Territories, which became known as the Echo Bay Mine. The company leased the old Port Radium settlement from Eldorado Mining and Refining Limited and used the old camp and mill to...
in 1983. Echo Bay sold the operation to the employees in 1985 but kept part of the milling circuit. In this transaction 70% of the shares went into an ESOP (Employees Stock Option Plan) and the remaining 30% were held by Mine Management Resources. It was at this time that an attempt was made to obtain a stock exchange listing but it failed due to a variety of factors, including the move of mining into areas in which royalties had to be paid e.g. to AMAX in the south west area, the general decrepitude of the mining machinery and not least the start of a general crushing of the pillars and collapse in the central worked out areas which was at least partially stopped by wrapping pillars with conveyor belt and old haulage rope to stabilise them. The employees subsequently sold Copper Range to Metall Mining Corporation (shortly to rename itself Inmet Mining
Inmet Mining
The Inmet Mining Corporation is a Canadian mining corporation that produces copper, zinc and gold. Focus on finding quality base metal reserves, with interest in four mining operations. The company currently holds an 18% stake in Ok Tedi Mining Limited. It also owns the Pyhäsalmi Mine in Finland....
) in 1989. After a fruitless attempt to put the mine back into profit again, Inmet closed it in 1995. Proposals to carry on mining by sulphuric acid leaching were considered but these were shelved in 1997, the mine was allowed to flood and reclamation work started.
The refinery continues to operate, however, and is now owned by HudBay Minerals.