4.5 oz (+) of Keweenaw, Michigan Natural Copper Nuggets

Description

Here we have 4.5 oz (+) of bigger tumbled Keweenaw natural copper nuggets. Please note
that the picture we provide is only representative of the nuggets you will receive.
Nuggets are not an exact science. Every nugget is marvelously unique. Hence, the actual
number of nuggets you win may be 9 to 11. Moreover, the weight of every lot slightly
exceeds 4.5 oz. The occurrence of natural inclusions of parent rock or minerals
is common in tumbled natural nuggets. The sizes range from approx. 1" to 1.5".
Every nugget is inspected before shipment. Our nuggets are not acid-treated. We will
ship these nuggets directly from here, Michigan's so called Upper Peninsula, which
includes the Keweenaw Peninsula.
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).