“Michigan Copper -- The Keweenaw: Its Mines and Minerals, Then and Now” with James Hird

Keweenaw is a name of the county and peninsula on Lake Superior, at the northern edge of the Upper Peninsula (“UP”) of Michigan. Copper deposits there were known to, and used by, Native Americans for thousands of years. Modern commercial mining started in the late 18th century (with a full-blown copper boom starting in 1840s) and continued through the 1960s. For that reason, the story of Michigan copper mining is the story of American industrial development.

James Hird got to know Michigan Copper Country while working on his engineering degree at Michigan Technological University (“Michigan Tech”) in Houghton. He spent most of his professional career in West Virginia and is active in the Kanawha Rock and Gem Club out of Charleston, WV. Jim often returns to Northern Michigan to visit his son’s family, collect minerals during Keweenaw Week, and ride snowmobiles. Jim’s interesting life story, in his own words, is in the June 2021 Mineral Minutes on the website of the Mineralogical Society of the District of Columbia, beginning on page 4.

Jim presented this program at the June 2, 2021 meeting of the Mineralogical Society of the District of Columbia.