Keweenaw week is a week of field trips to the
various waste rock dumps of mines on the Keweenaw peninsula (two field trips
each morning and afternoon for six days) and underground collecting in the
Caledonia mine; a reception at the Seaman Museum; lectures on various topics of the mines, their minerals and
history; trips to view the historical remains in the area; a rock swap (local
collectors selling specimens) and a weekend rock show; and a keynote address and
auction. The club is able to secure permission to enter rock piles which are
normally off limits to collecting.
The Wednesday evening rock swap/sale at the Quincy is one of three opportunities
to buy specimens.
The mine dumps are bulldozed to provide fresh rock to search for minerals such
as copper, datolite, mining artifacts (such as copper chips from the chiseling
of mass copper) and micro mineral specimens (This is at the Rockland mine
site).
The Rockland site being searched with a metal detector.
People would search the piles visually (here one of the minerals sought was
datolite nodules) and about two thirds of the collectors were using metal
detectors to search for the copper specimens. Iroquois mine.
Most of the surface plants of the various mines has decayed, but some like this
headframe/rockhouse south of Calumet still are standing. Note the inclined shaft
to the right of the photograph. Most of the mines in this district had inclined
shafts that followed the dip of the ore beds.
Some of the local guardians for Esrey Park on Lake Superior.
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