Catching up...
A ball mill at the old White Pine mine. This was one of many attempts to make mining the Nonesuch Shale pay -- a bed of sandstone with extremely fine copper embedded in it. The Nonesuch mine (in the Porcupine Mountains) was the first attempt, with the old White Pine coming again later. It took quite a long time -- until the 1950's! -- for the Copper Range Company to solve the problem (at which point the White Pine became a real bonanza).
The ball mills were an early attempt at the White Pine, but they benefitted from the many many many attempts made at the Nonesuch -- but as it turned out, these rotating containers didn't work all that well either. The ruins are spectacular, but never made any money.
This photo was taken after my overnight solo backpacking trip into the Porkies -- my last real adventure while living in the UP.
3 comments:
wow! dave is posting again! :D
cool shot man, i was just there this past autumn!
Where exactly is the ball mill located by White Pine? I'm always interested in these old ruins.
Kevin
Hi Kevin -- it's been a while since I was there, but I believe it was just down a 2-track on the west side of M-64, a little north of White Pine. Lots more to be found in that area, if you enjoy old ruins and piles of rock. :)
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