Copper

specimen number:
8911093

location:
Centennial #6 Mine, Houghton Co., Michigan, USA

description:
A fine example of a copper skull from this classic area. In super condition. The specimen comes with a previous label from the Alton collection.

The Centennial Number 6 Mine, located near Calumet in Houghton County, Michigan, sits along the mineral-rich Copper Country region of the Keweenaw Peninsula, where native copper was deposited in Precambrian basalt lava flows and conglomerate rock beds. Originally prospected in the mid-19th century under early ventures like the Schoolcraft Mining Company, the property was reorganized into the Centennial Copper Company before eventually operating under the Calumet and Hecla Mining Company, with the Number 6 shaft raised in the 1960s to mine deep copper-bearing lodes until operations ceased. Collectors and mineralogists prize specimens from this site, particularly those highlighting the unusual formation known as a copper skull. A copper skull is a hollow, cup-like shell of native copper that formed when hydrothermal fluids deposited molten metal around an rounded cobble or pebble within the conglomerate lode; over time, the interior matrix rock weathered away or dissolved, leaving behind a curved, bowl-shaped crust of solid copper that retains the distinct cast of the original stone.

Questions about this specimen?
Send an email or call us: 314-341-1811.