How to Make 1 Million Copper Bars | The Quincy Smelter

Once you pull up copper from a mine, how do you turn it into something you can actually work with? For Michigan's Quincy Mine, the magic happened at the Quincy Smelter. And involved a surprising number of burning logs.
Thanks to the Keweenaw National Historical Park Advisory Commission for supporting this video! You can learn more about the park here: www.nps.gov/kewe
If you'd like to donate to the preservation of the Quincy Smelter, you can do so here: CopperCountryPreservation.org. If you'd like to schedule a tour, you can learn more here: quincymine.com/about; alternatively, you can call 906-482-3101.
✨ Want to support my work? Well, hey, thank you so much. You can learn more about how to keep this thing going at www.patreon.com/alexisdahl.
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Key research sources:
Dr. Sean Gohman
www.nps.gov/kewe/learn/histor...
studylib.net/doc/8367228/kewe...
www.quincymine.com/photo/quin...
www.uni-heidelberg.de/presse/...
www.nature.com/articles/133131d0
"The Legacy of American Copper Smelting" by Bode J. Morin
npshistory.com/publications/ke...
"Old Reliable: An Illustrated History of the Quincy Mining Company" by Larry D. Lankton
www.industrialarchaeology.net/...
semspub.epa.gov/work/HQ/19676...

[@AlexisDahl]

Surprised that this is a video about a smelter instead of an underground tour? Sit tight! There have been unexpected delays with the underground video, so we're keeping the ball rolling with this (very self-contained) video in the meantime.

[@customknife1]

Just shared this video in my FB page and suggested my friends subscribe to you. You do good work and I appreciate your efforts. Hard work! Thank you!!

[@AlexisDahl]

@@customknife1 Thank you!! I very much appreciate that!

[@davewarren5263]

Did you ever post the next 2 videos?

[@BillySugger1965]

Industrial heritage is important. Thank you for covering this Alexis.

[@scottbattaglia8595]

I was trying to figure out what a historical copper smelter had to do with Qanon but don't worry I got it about half way it's the name of the town, get job like you can tell when someone cares about something they are talking about, and either your really good at faking it or enjoy history, but my point is you do a great job, maybe one day you will be giving a special tour of the Louvre's restoration department, or some other big historical places or large national museum......👍

[@marcslis5980]

I just wanted to say that as a geologist who got his degree here at MTU and is still living in the Copper Country, I am super impressed with your work, your enthusiasm and the way you present these topics in such an entertaining and captivating manner. I've passed these to many non-geologists and they always thank me for it. I let one of my customers watch one today and his comment was that these should be on the National Geographic Channel. He's not wrong :) I think what your doing is amazing and valuable and I hope you are able to continue. Thank you!!

[@AlexisDahl]

Hi, Marc! Oh, man, this is such a kind and heart-warming note - thank you! And thank you for passing on some of the videos, too! What a high honor. 🙂 I'm hoping to be able to continue with this kind of work, too, so hopefully there are plenty more stories to come!

[@FransBlaas1]

Too much screaming, hurts my ears😢😢

[@slugface322]

Alexis is a joy to listen to and is fun too look at. Sounds like a win-win to me.

[@stonyfieldmotorsports]

@@FransBlaas1 turn down the volume?

[@RoxnDox]

@@FransBlaas1 screaming?!? All I heard was an enthusiastic young lady. Your hearing needs recalibration!

[@knhpadvisorycommission3602]

This is great! We here at the Advisory Commission are so pleased with how this turned out. Keep up the excellent work!!

[@AlexisDahl]

Thanks, all! I'm grateful we connected and got to work on this!

[@briancowburn7407]

I love the phrase “A very human place full of very human stories” So good!

[@AlexisDahl]

Thanks, Brian! I appreciate it!

[@jonlangford7622]

If you don't like this then you probably don't like to know how things work. Or science. Or good story telling. Because that's what's going on here. Thank you, yet again.

[@amberyooper]

The first time I saw this place was in the late 1990s, probably about 1998 or so. There were 2 big steam locomotives sitting next to the main building at the time, just being stored there. The place was in kind of rough condition at the time, it was before any conservation efforts had been started. I'm glad that the historical society has decided to preserve this place.

[@browngreen933]

I remember those locomotives.

[@lowermichigan4437]

As. Michigan Tech grad these videos are so interesting to me

[@damonpalovaara4211]

As a yooper it's really cool that you're making videos on all of these sites. I grew up 10 miles north of that smelter in Calumet

[@trep53]

Very interesting. The copper mining industry was Michigans economic engine for many years. The jobs were very dangerous and while you could make a living your life was always in danger. Of course all mining is very dangerous work even today. I really enjoy your videos about the UP. Can you tell us a story about thimbleberry jam?

[@AlexisDahl]

Thank you! 🙂 Also, I've never thought to make a story about thimbleberry jam, but I'll add it to my list of ideas to look into!

[@commandermudpie]

Forget thimbleberry jam... just eat the berries!!! Best tasting berry ever. I fell in love with these beauties hiking across Isle Royale. I ate more fruit on that backbacking trip that I normally do at home. I had a bit of gin on the trip. Thimbleberry gin cocktail on Isle Royale... best day ever!

[@trep53]

@@commandermudpie I’ve not been to Isle Royal yet and enjoying thimble berries there would be a treat. My family in the UP get to pick some thimble berries when they go on a side-by-side trail ride I haven’t been with them on that. The berry patches are very protected by the locals so not everyone can go and pick them.

[@jimcurtis569]

Thank you for another informative video! I used to lead tours there and your video helped even me better understand the Smelter. I tip my safety helmet to you.

[@AlexisDahl]

Thanks, Jim! That's such a high compliment.

[@lildabz]

Another great video! Funny, as a kid I never thought about what these buildings were and or did. It was just one very big and very dangerous playground. There was also a part of this property that fell victim to arson in the late 80's. The fire was huge, it took multiple agencies to knock it down and contain it.

[@AlexisDahl]

Oh, man! That's so unfortunate. I know some preservation work was done in recent years; I can only imagine what it was like before then.

[@TearyEyesAnderson]

Thanks for another great video. Nice to see a explanation of how it differed from other types of smelting.

[@AlexisDahl]

Thank you! Glad to hear you enjoyed it!

[@kevinthorrington2131]

As a born yooper and a little kid I remember old timers talking about the iron mine west of Marquette that hit an under ground lake, killing everyone but one worker. The survivor started up the latter when he felt a huge blast of air. He looked back after thirty steps on the latter and water was quickly catching up to him.

[@jppagetoo]

I have been coming to the Keweenaw since the late 1960's. I was just a kid. The trains still ran across the bridge, a lot of the mining structures hadn't been torn down. Some mining related activity still was going on though the mines themselves were no longer producing copper. I went to school at MTU in the early 80's. It was a wild place with a lot of history and a blast to explore. I am so glad the government decided to save this place for future generations. The National Park has saved a lot of what was left and restored a lot that was close to being lost. Sure, access is now restricted to many places we used to wander around in, but I know it will still be here long after I am gone. That makes me happy. I also took classes at MTU about the history of this area. I also researched the geology and learned how this wonder of nature came to be. It's such a cool place, and it's in our back yard. It's worth the trip to go see and explore.

[@jamesdoyle6839]

I grew up on the west coast between South Haven and Sawyer.... My buddy and I once found railroad tracks exiting the lake side of the sand dunes south of South Haven , south of the Pilgram Park area...we were told it was remnant of a Lumber company's tracks...that was in the 50's... Love your Video's .. Keep up the good work !!!

[@upnorthoffcuts929]

Another great one Alexis. When we were kids we used to tour those buildings, never really knew what each one was for but we walked through a lot of them. They were un-gated back then and when we used to go fishing along the portage canal we would stop and explore them. That was back in the mid 70's. I'm glad the KNHP is trying to take care of them these days. Keep up the great work, John.

[@AlexisDahl]

Thanks, John! I'm also glad the KNHP is taking care of the buildings. Being able to freely explore them seems neat in some ways, but I imagine the site will stay better maintained with the park stewarding it!

[@LightoftheMoon]

@@AlexisDahl Yesterday, one of your videos came up in my yt feed and I immediately clicked on it. I've watched quite a few of them since yesterday and wanted you to know how great you are in presenting the Upper Pennisula Michigan history through your channel vlogs! I love it and am now a new subscriber! I also wanted to add that my parents, mostly my dad, took me exploring in the late 1960's every summer and fall, through the end of the 1970's all around Yooperland. He just drove and trekked in to most of these places with me and my brothers. There wasn't nary a soul around, and the remote chance that we ran into anyone he just told them he was teaching me the history. Which he was doing exactly that. My Dad was a Detroit plumber and he knew almost all of the history that you have presented. His Dad was born in a log cabin, Schoolcraft County, north of Gulliver and Seul Choix Point. A corner of that log cabin is still on the 160 acre plot. It's covered up with trees and such and survived. I hand dug out a tiny corner of it in 1994, then covered it back up. My Gr. Granpa was a logger. The virgin timber up there were some of the largest trees in the country. In fact there was a overgrown, hidden and abandoned fishing processing operation just north of Paridise that was built with some of the logs. They were so huge I had to use a rappel hook to climb up on one of the beams, lol. My Gr. Granpa went up there from Detroit in 1850 for 160 acre plot of land from the Homestead Act. Anyways, sorry for digressing. I love your channel and am so glad to have run across it yesterday! Thank you!

[@AlexisDahl]

@@LightoftheMoon Thank you so much for sharing some of your story! I really enjoyed reading it, and I'm glad you have fond memories of the area. 🙂 Also, thank you for the kind words! Glad you're enjoying the videos!

[@toriholliday6887]

just went for a Mine tour with my geologist classmates, you brought the whole memory back to life. thank you!

[@dannyball2503]

Wow. Being born in 1970 and this place shutting down in 1971. “They just left”. So in the late seventies early eighties I was 10-12 years old. We climbed all around in this place going on adventures, they really did a nice job preserving it. It had no roof in a lot of places then and was really going downhill, the lab and the round wheel room! I had no idea what any of this was but the video explained a lot. Much of what I saw then has been preserved. Nice job to that historic society for saving the place, it’s a huge part of Michigan history and US history being one of the greatest mining places for copper on earth ever. And it’s right here . Minutes away, I will have to try an “ official” tour this summer. Nice video very informative.

[@chefvaleriewilson8738]

Love this place. Ever since I first saw it about 20 years ago, I have wanted to get up close to it. I toured it in 2018, which I believe is the first year they opened it up for tours. It is one of the best tours in the U.P. (I think). Thanks for your great video touring the place and explaining all of it.

[@homesteadaquarius]

You do so great with these videos! How do you not have your own show on Discovery Channel or History Channel? Well done! You have a passion for what you are doing and it really shows! I can not imagine knocking out a brick to let liquid copper flow out between my legs. 😆 I am sure they jumped away carefully but quickly! Glad to hear the site will hopefully be preserved. Keep up the good work!

[@Oddzilla51]

Saw this place on our last trip to the UP. It was closed when we stopped by so no tours at the time. Someday we'll get back. Thanks!

[@tylerpaavo9798]

Love watching your videos on the history of my home🥰

[@richardlassin7130]

Nicely done, Alexis!

[@LadyYoop]

You ARE the best!

[@MattRogersdesigns]

You are great. Thanks for being so excited about information.

[@cardiffchris]

I love your Michigan enthusiasm. Custer Michigan is my hideway.

[@ynotw57]

I just happened upon your channel and I’m happy to be an instant fan. Your content is well produced and interesting. As a Michigan native, this is amazing stuff I’ve never known. Thank you!

[@jdruedger]

I love these videos. Your enthusiasm is great and the content informative. Thank you.

[@markcain460]

Thanks for providing all the great content on Michigan's unique history! I am a Michigander and the UP is a great place to explore Pure Michigan.

[@guyman1570]

Alexis, I absolutely love your enthusiasm for this subject. Thank you for making this video!

[@sheilafranklin186]

Thank you, Alexis! Your videos are always so interesting and informative.

[@thomasdecker7631]

Enjoyed this video very much. The explanation was excellent and presented with a good measure of enthusiasm. Much appreciated.

[@billfunk1219]

Well done! Great history research and top notch video.. Stay well!! keep researching and posting your great videos!

[@AntonWongVideo]

2:24...awe, but I really wanted to eat that sand...put it in a sandwich and for click-y titles, I would've gone with "How This One Building Helped Electrify America" but yours is good too! thanks for this, especially that crazy game of croquet! One leg cramp and that man is toast!

[@daveruona991]

Hey! New subscriber here. Just ran upon your episode on "Black Rock". I am a retired motorsports engineer living in Madison WI. I was born and raised in the UP, Ishpeming, and attended NMU for mechanical engineering. I recently took a road trip with a friend " The last open road trip Circle the UP tour" and visited many of my favorite places while growing up. Black Rock was always one of my favorite places.I decided to look into your channel. I love your enthusiasm and really great oratory skills to be understood by all. Great stuff. I look forward to every episode. I'm 75yrs old and would love to share some adventures about my past experience in the UP. 👍😎❤

[@StuckOnAFireHydrant]

Wow this channel is awesome! I'm glad I found it through that dredge video! It's like a mix of mark rober and tom scott and I love it! Keep up the great work!

[@philbritton7296]

Cool stuff, thanks Alexis!

[@machcrs]

Growing up in Northern Wisconsin, I adore the U.P. and simply love the videos that you do. I wish that there was someone as charismatic as you are to do the same thing for Wisconsin. The rest of the country doesn't know how interesting and important the Northern states were. Thank you for doing everything that you do.

[@AlexisDahl]

Thanks, Joseph! I really appreciate that.

[@Lakeman3211]

Your just to good at presenting these little known facts and places, better yet it’s now recorded for all to enjoy, keep up the good work, your smile and enthusiasm is infectious…

[@Jim-ic2of]

You are Wonderful and Charming Alexis Dahl !

[@RamblerMan68]

Excellent presentation!! Love the enthusiasm, you're so well spoken and not verbose. 10/10👍😁

[@Engineer1980]

Great job Alexis! Super video. Incredibly interesting and informative!

[@warhawkjah]

You might want to consider doing a video on the Edmund Fitzgerald due to where the ship sunk.

[@AlexisDahl]

It is in the works as we speak! 🙂

[@TEXAS-SMITH]

I wish I could feel half as happy as you seem. Thanks for the video.

[@deepskyal]

I did some maintainence work at Hussey Copper just outside the Pittsburgh area. You'd be surprised how close we got to molten copper. They were still using trees during the smelting process. Watched in fascination as a machine jambed them into the furnace, sometimes slamming them against the walls, shaking the entire unit. Pouring the molten copper, it ran down a sluice where they dumped bags and bags of charcoal to remove any remaining oxygen. We actually worked under the sluice when they were pouring copper. Saw everyone run like heck one day when a waterline burst at the moulds. We joined the run, not knowing what was going to happen. Most of the big presses in there were probably close to 100 years old, if not older, and still worked like a champ. Built to last.

[@danielreeves6557]

The "chemists and engineers" you refer to are called extractive metallurgists, there are still some colleges that teach this craft. Tragic that it was forced out of existence. Copper is a key material in rocket engines but we can not make it here anymore, it has to be mined and refined elsewhere. Brilliant!

[@theVtuberCh]

In part that is because those mines have been mined out. That being said US mines have produced 1.1 million metric tons of copper last year

[@timvb2]

Very interesting have wondered as a local what went on with this for years..Thank you !

[@RoxnDox]

Another great video! Mining history is a fascinating subject, wherever it was…

[@timmyvawwter8898]

enjoyed your videos, Alexis. very good!

[@markkover8040]

Amazing. Very interesting. Thank you for sharing this with us.

[@djeffarndt]

Another very well-done video story. Thank you so much. Again, I think so many of these copper country buildings and what's left of the Quincy Mine buildings was their use of Jacobsville Sandstone. Not to mention those buildings have so much character with that reddish streaky stone (reminds me of bacon). I tried to get to Jacobsville by car once but had to give up as it is such a long journey. Another video?

[@browngreen933]

I first visited Quincy Smelter in 1980 when it was still totally intact. We climbed in through an open window where the steam engines were. The lab was still full of glass jars and bottles. We camped that evening with our motorcycles by the old Quincy dredge and reclamation plant and dropped acid (LSD). Had a couple close calls in the ruins. That night we were the laughing ghosts under a full Moon. Good times.

[@SuperSalmon01]

Another super informative video, loved it!!

[@jeffsiegwart]

Excellent job!

[@johnjunge6989]

Alexis , your videos are inspiring me to check out Illinois the way you did michigan!

[@kdyooper28]

I feel like I’m behind your travels by a couple months. Was here Oct 1. Really lucky to get back to my UP 3 times this year.

[@fartraveler3345]

Very well done

[@arocker23]

Great video! I need to tour it.

[@larrylankton8114]

Nice video and good graphics to help explain processes!

[@AlexisDahl]

Thanks, Larry! I appreciate it!

[@goddom]

Thanks for making these videos.

[@DisheveledSuccess]

Sharing your channel! Prepare to start trending 🎉

[@3v3r42o]

These videos are so good thank you

[@AlexisDahl]

Thank YOU! I really appreciate that. 🙂

[@victoriaburkhardt9974]

Very interesting. Thank you.

[@samcginnis2311]

I recently subscribed and ... You can clearly make anything entertaining.

[@mslindqu]

Enjoyed this one. Lived across from it for four years but never went on a tour. As far as industrial environmental disasters go, this one was always really nice to look at lol.

[@sluggou812beotch]

I watch a couple geology channels and I think your up there with some of the best.

[@jimburnsjr.]

excellent video thank you

[@youregonnaattackthem]

These videos are so awesome

[@MCBxlx61]

Great videos, you obviously love this history, and it really makes this more enjoyable. More mining vids please!

[@TalRohan]

thanks for sharing ...Reverbaratory smelting is not a process I had heard of before...fascinating stuff.

[@onenewworldmonkey]

I subscribed for your energy. I guess you got "it". I really like the history of where I live. I've been waiting for someone to do it but no one does. I live 7 hours west of New York City off I80 in western PA. Just north is Titusville where they first drilled oil. Next to me is the Allegheny river, where logs were floated down to build Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, etc. There were forts in Franklin, Waterford, etc. South we have Meadow Croft cave with12,000 year old artifacts. We are at the lowest the glaciers came so we have McConnell mill and just tons of stuff. Washington crossed the river a little north of here. Once an Indian floated down the river around 1843 and killed a family. The historical society still have his chains displayed. If I live beside a great lake I would look to where there were caves (now underwater) to find old artifacts. There is a huge funnel of land that surely people crossed but is now under water. I'd somehow go it with fish finders or .... to find those caves. (over hanging rocks).

[@steam212]

Visit the SDI LaFarga copper plant in New Haven IN. They still use a reverb furnace and tap it nearly the same way.

[@Javelina_Poppers]

Very interesting to me how they processed the copper ore. I worked in an Arizona copper mine mill and crusher in the 70s and the way we processed the ore to be sent to the nearby smelter was completely different. The ball mills crushed the ore into a fine silt that was put into air agitated flotation tanks with a reagent that caused the copper to float to the surface to be skimmed off. The mostly pure copper slurry was then pumped by pipeline to the smelter to be melted down after the the water was drawn off the slurry by vacuum pumps and filter screens. Sounds complicated, but it was a beauty of a system to watch work.

[@davebrock6618]

Wow, this was awesome, never knew that while up there at MTU.

[@shadymaint1]

Took a look around that place quite some time ago. Was really cool. There even was an old steam train there.

[@C.Schmidt]

When you say "Copper Cakes" part of my brain knows what to expect. The other part starts thinking of baked goods... AND THEN I SAW THE PICTURE. And holy crap are they large!

[@AntonWongVideo]

mmm copper! 😋

[@AlexisDahl]

Right?! I had initially been imagining something roughly the size of barbell weights!

[@C.Schmidt]

@@AlexisDahl I was imagining like rice cake size... definitely not that large. Makes sense for mass production but the name paints a very different picture

[@cashstore1]

Lots of large copper mines here in Arizona as well. Still being mined.

[@jephtel5555]

Great video

[@larryg9137]

Hi! This is the 2nd KZbin video I've watched with your presentations about Michigan. They're very good and give a lot of great historical knowledge. May I make a couple of requests? How about a video about when the 'White Pine' old growth forests were logged? There is also the Cherry Festival, along with all the pie cherries grown the Traverse area. Michigan is an amazing state with a rich background. Thanks for all you give. What about all the soldiers who died from Michigan during the Civil War? The most Union Soldiers from any state, from my recollection...etc, etc, etc.

[@geebopbaluba1591]

You could easily be the sister of ask the mortician lady because you both look familiar and talk almost the same. I do enjoy both of your videos as well.

[@jrpeet]

Very cool

[@mikemcnamee6030]

“I’m not a cart so i’m gonna take the way I came in” 😂😂😂

[@uprebel5150]

How does this channel not have a million subscribers?

[@albertperrault6599]

You tell it so GRATE😂😂😂

[@HandsWithLegs]

When I was going to school up in the UP I picked up a few pieces of fire brick from an old smelter someplace up there that had a lot of the brick replaced with copper. It’s beautiful and getting rarer to find. I’m not sure if it’s from the Quincy smelter or another one though. Might be a fun video topic?

[@dennisyoung4631]

“As dark as an unlit copper mine….”

[@utarmandoenchicago]

Impressive

[@gitargr8]

Kept hearing Q-Anon, thanks for showing the sign spelling out Keweenaw!

[@robertshoemaker6204]

Very interesting...thank you. Shoe

[@dalebucknall313]

Great history thsnk

[@gregwarner3753]

Thank you for your video. I have recently become a fan of your efforts. Suggestion: Visit the Nickel/Copper mine and smelter in Sudbury Ontario, Canada. This is one of the richest and most productive mines on earth. You would be interested as the ore was created by the impact of a very large high velocity meteorite impact that resulted in a 100 mile wide crater and the quite deep impactite deposits your mentioned in another post. This mine is the site of a amazing environmental restoration program repairing the damage of a hundred years of releasing SO4 gas at ground level. It is not all that far from Northern Michigan.

[@josephknowlton7246]

Liked, shared and commented 🍻

[@jackabrey8033]

You earn a like every time.

[@pooljunki1]

7:10 this still happens at the foundry i worked at... maybe a little different but pretty much the same

[@JoshuaJohnsonOutdoors]

Hi Alexis, do you know when they started offering tours of the smelter? I'd always wanted to check the place out, but had been told access was prohibited. Thanks.

[@AlexisDahl]

Hi! Great question. I unfortunately don't know when tours started up, but imagine the park might be able to tell you more if you can get in touch with them. I do hope you get the chance to visit someday, though!

[@chefvaleriewilson8738]

it was recent. I toured it in 2018 and I believe that was the first year they had it open for tours. Or maybe it was the second year, but just recently it was opened for tours. One of the best tours in the whole U.P.

[@erbewayne6868]

I have Steroscope picts of ingots being loaded onto ships at the docks on Portage lake.

[@lmkcrazy]

Will there be an episode about going down the Quincy mine? The first episode eludes to it... Now i see your comment. I will be patiently waiting while watching all of your other videos.

[@jonnda]

LOL, I kept thinking you were saying Q-Anon National Historical Park...

[@johnnycook6348]

Back when Americans used to mine metals in America. Mostly all metals mining in the States now is being done by Canadian companies.

[@megmolkate]

Looks like it has been stabilized / restored since I was at Tech in the mid 90’s