Copeland (James) Mine, entrance from open cut

Abstract

An entrance to the underground workings of the Copeland (James) Mine from its open cut (surface workings open to the sky) is shown. Mine buildings stand in front of the entrance to the right. The Copeland Mine (James Mine?) was an underground lead-zinc mine with surface workings in the Shullsburg area in the Upper Mississippi River Valley mining region of Wisconsin. The Upper Mississippi River Valley mining region was being prospected for lead in the 1820s and by the 1850s it had become an important lead producer. Zinc ores, originally discarded, were later identified as valuable. By the 1870s zinc production exceeded that of lead. The last zinc mine in the region closed in the 1970s.