Mysterious Find in the Adventure Mine Piques the Interest of the Nation
“Its like a giant time capsule to that part of history down there. We were carefully walking around, kinda seeing what’s down there. And we came across this mineral…”
A mysterious mine find in Greenland Township has piqued the interest of many around the country. Matt Portfleet, Owner and Operator of the Adventure Mine, was clearing the third level, and draining water. When he and the other employee looked up to find something special.
“I think this one, the bright blue is very unusual. But it definitely has copper in it. It almost looks like the mineral is precipitating from, almost like a mini stalactite, from the rock, which is more unusual. Most of the other secondary minerals you actually see them growing on the the pieces of copper in the mine. So we’ve found like a piece hanging the sidewall or the ceiling in the mine. and you’ll find some secondary growth on that. This one is actually precipitating out from a crack in the rock from somewhere else. So it kinda unique in that way”
Portfleet noted that each level of the mine is like it’s very own time capsule. Having found boot impressions, discarded refuse from miners, and even some graffiti on the walls. The Adventure Mine is one of the older mines in the region, and closed operations in 1917.
“You can see these hardened boot prints, with the heel prints and everything else, in the mud. And are still very much intact from, you know, 105 years ago. It seems, the recurring date is 1917, it’s like everybody that worked down their name with a date next to it. And some other comments, and so forth. But i think that’s probably because that’s the year the mine was closing. You kinda envision the workers, one of the last days, or the last week, probably with a little bit of free time and kinda bored. Just wanting to kind of make their mark there, before they go away. much like people do today.”
The secondary mineral that was found on the third level will be sent out for identification. And Portfleet hopes they can have results back sometime in the next couple weeks. The brilliant blue color that caught his eye could be any number of reactions between different minerals and substances left in the mine one hundred years ago. Making this a very unique find in the Copper Country. The Adventure Mine is closed for the season, and typically open back up for tours around Memorial Day each year.
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