Category: News

Satellite Images for Land Cover Change

PhD student Riccardo Tortini (GMES) has won free satellite imagery to aid in research. The firm DMCii provided the prize and conducted the contest, which drew entries from all over the world.

Over the summer, Tortini has been working with Associate Professor Audrey Mayer (SS) to monitor land cover change from timber to non-timber use in Michigan and calculate the rate and intensity of forest harvesting in the area.

Tortini’s advisor is Associate Professor Simon Carn (GMES).

From Tech Today.

Summer Digging

Cliff Mine Map
Cliff Mine Map

We toured the latest dig of the social sciences department’s industrial archeology program at the Cliff Mine recently.

They continued to work on the town of Clifton, across the road from the main industrial site.

We started out at what they think was an old slaughterhouse, complete with animal bones, as MS student Rob Anthony filled in the details for us.

Read more at TechAlum Newsletter, by Dennis Walikainen.

Last Chance for Free Tours of Archaeological Digs at the Cliff Mine, Clifton

Tim Scarlett with Mine Visitors 2013
Tim Scarlett with Mine Visitors 2013

This weekend offers the last chance this summer for free guided walking tours of the archaeological dig at the historic Cliff Mine and Clifton town site.

The tours are led by faculty and students in Michigan Tech’s industrial archaeology program. The Saturday and Sunday tours leave from the east end of Cliff Drive, about one mile from the small town of Phoenix, near the junction with US-41. Tours start at 10 a.m. and begin about every 30 minutes. The last one begins Sunday at 3:30 p.m.

Read more at Tech Today, by Marcia Goodrich.

Nancy Langston on Mining in Northern Climes

Northern MiningMining in Northern Climes: Whose Decision is it?

A Michigan Technological University researcher is looking at the Sápmi region of Scandinavia and the possible impacts of new iron mines on the human and reindeer populations, in addition to ecological concerns. – See more at: http://www.mtu.edu/news/stories/2013/june/story92219.html#sthash.c2TWvP6l.dpuf

“Local communities feel that they need more input into the decisions about the mining and the reindeer,” says Nancy Langston, a social sciences professor just ending her nine-month stint in northern Sweden. “Whether it is the Sámi (the indigenous people of northern Scandinavia who often make their living as reindeer herders), commercial fishermen or people living along the local rivers, they feel that they should have a voice in land use decisions.”

Read more at Michigan Tech News, by Dennis Walikainen.

Cliff Mine Summer 2013

Cliff Mine Blog 2013

Excellent Keweenaw Summer

Final Open House Weekend for 2013

Prepared for your visit to the Cliff?

Rainy Friday

Remaining public tours scheduled for 2013

FIeld School, Week 3: Getting Started in Clifton

In the Trenches, Part II

Working in the Trenches!

Field School Week 3: Where to Dig? And Why?

June 17, 2013: Sunday’s Open House

June 16th: Father’s Day Open House

June 15, 2013: Rainy Open House Morning

Field School Week 2: Mapping and Context

Tours Announced: MTU story

Field School Week 1: Geology and Snow in the Woods!

Fieldwork is underway!

Visit the Cliff Mine Archeology Project Blog

Larry Lankton at Italian Hall Ceremony

Larry Lankton Italian HallCeremony conducted at Italian Hall site

Giving the historical perspective for the tragedy was Larry Lankton, professor emeritus of 19th century industrial history at Michigan Technological University.

Lankton said at the time of the 1913-14 copper strike, Finns were the largest foreign-born ethnic group in Houghton County and the fourth largest ethnic group working the copper mines in Calumet. Many mine bosses didn’t like the Finns, which often made life difficult for them.

“I think you would have found things less inviting,” he said.

At the time of the strike, Lankton said the copper coming out of the Calumet & Hecla mines in and around Calumet was the lowest grade in the United States and it brought the lowest price per pound in the U.S.

Read more at the Mining Gazette, by Kurt Hauglie.

Videos, photos: Italian Hall Ceremony in Calumet

A large crowd gathered at the site of the 1913 Italian Hall disaster in Calumet on June 20, 2013, for a ceremony honoring the 73 victims, mostly children, who who were crushed to death in the stairwell of the Italian Hall when someone yelled “Fire” — a false alarm — during a Dec. 24, 1913, Christmas Party for the children of striking miners.

Read more and watch video at Keweenaw Now, by Michele Bordieu.