Centennial Mine, miner running puffer

Abstract

A miner operates a puffer underground at the Centennial Mine. A puffer is a small engine used to hoist loaded mine cars through haulage ways. The Centennial copper mine in Houghton County, Michigan was operated by the Calumet & Hecla Consolidated Copper Company, one of the largest copper producers in the US. A miners strike in the Keweenaw Peninsula led to the shutdown of the region's remaining mines in 1969 and an end to the Company's operations in the Peninsula. The Centennial Mine was eventually transferred to the Homestake Copper Company which resumed operations for a brief period in the 1970s.