Keweenaw Michigan Natural Copper Small Nuggets (40+) Arts Crafts Jewelry

Description

Here we have more than 40 small Keweenaw natural (native) copper nuggets. All nuggets
are variable in size and weight. They range from flat to round. The size is typically half-inch
or less. These nuggets are thus big enough to easily handle and study with the naked eye.
The occurrence of small natural inclusions of parent rock or minerals is common in tumbled
nuggets. Every nugget is inspected for quality before shipping. Our nuggets are not acid treated.
The weight of a lot is typically ¾  - 1 oz. We have learned that some artists like to combine our
mini-nuggets (separate listing) with these small nuggets in their work.
Millions of years ago, the region known as the Keweenaw, located
in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan,was subjected to a violent
geological event. The earth opened up and spewed forth an immeasurable
quantity of lava, rocks and minerals from its bowels. Among the minerals
was a vast amount of copper in exceedingly pure form, known as “native
copper”. About ten-thousand years ago, an unknown human race harvested
immense quantities of native copper. They left behind countless pits
and tunnels. Nobody knows where it all ended up. Then, in the 1840s,
prospectors successfully started working those pits for more copper.
Later, sophisticated mining yielded even more copper. Fortunes were made.
To make an exciting story short: By the early 1970s, no commercial
quantities of native copper remained and mining ended. At that point,
11 billion pounds (5 million metric tons) of native copper had been taken
from the land. Since then, tens of thousands of tourists and rock-hounds,
armed with metal-detectors, have sifted through the barren ground for
small pieces of native copper. Needless to say, finding native copper
nowadays has become a great challenge (mixed with luck).