Keweenaw Report Your Source for Local News and Sports
The Minong Mine is receiving national attention thanks to a years-long proposal process spearheaded by a Michigan Tech researcher. Dr. Daniel Trepal began the application over five years ago. The site is an active archaeological dig and continues to yield some surprising discoveries. Mining has been confirmed on Isle Royale no less than 4,500 years ago using radiocarbon dating.
Some new research conducted by the team of David Pompeani, Byron Steinman, Mark Abbott and Daniel Bain suggests it could go back much further than that. The thesis is that mining would have some run off. Sediment wouldn’t normally find its way into bays and inlets like McCargoe Cove because it was buried underground on the island. Erosion would deposit some. Once activity starts, though, it should be identifiable in greater numbers. Pompeani says these patterns show up as far back as 6,500 years ago.
Cultural Resource Manager at Isle Royale National Park, Seth DePasqual, explains the significance.
The mining was conducted by peoples who would eventually coalesce under the Ojibwa tribe.
