| Calumet and Hecla/Quincy Reclaiming Sand Dredge | |
| Location: | M-26 near Torch Lake, Osceola Township |
| Coordinates: | |
| Built: | 1914 |
| Governing body: | State |
| Michigan State Historic Site | |
| Designated: | July 26, 1978[1] |
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Location of Calumet and Hecla/Quincy Reclaiming Sand Dredge in Michigan
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The Quincy Dredge Number Two (previously known as the Calumet and Hecla Dredge Number One) is a dredge currently sunk in shallow water in Torch Lake, across M-26 from the Quincy Mining Company Stamp Mills Historic District and just east of Mason in Osceola Township.[2] It was constructed to reclaim stamping sand from the lake for further processing, and was designated a Michigan State Historic Site in 1978.[1]
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The Reclaiming Sand Dredge was constructed for the Calumet and Hecla Mining Company in 1914 by the Bucyrus Company of South Milwaukee, Wisconsin,[3] and designated the Calumet and Hecla Dredge Number One.[1] The dredge was used to reclaim previously-milled sand deposited in the lake after if had gone through the stamp mill.[4] The dredged sand contained copper that earlier stamping technology had not been able to separate out.[4] Improvements in stamping efficiency and cost increases in traditional shaft mining made these sand tailings economically feasible to reclaim and re-stamp.[4]
Calumet and Hecla used the dredge at their Lake Linden Reclamation Plant until 1951.[2] In 1951, the Quincy Mine purchased the dredge and designated it as their Quincy Dredge Number Two, using it at their own reclamation facility,[2][4] which had been in operation since 1943.[5] The mine's Quincy Dredge Number One sank in 1956, and Dredge Number Two was used until 1967,[2] when it too sank during a winter lay-up.[4] By this time, copper prices had fallen low enough that the reclamation process was not profitable, and the Quincy Mine abandoned both the dredge and its reclamation facility.[4]
The dredge is currently owned by Houghton County, and is off-limits to the public.[4]
The dredge is a large, box-like vessel that was used to remove sand from the lake bottom.[2] The vessel has a steel hull measuring 110 feet long, 56 feet wide, and 9 feet deep.[3] The decking overhangs the hull by eight feet per side, giving an overall width of 72 feet.[3] The dredge could process over 10,000 tons of sand per day, and had a 141-foot suction pipe that could work in 115 feet of water.[2]
The dredge is currently sunk in shallow water, and canted over to one side.[4] Most of the superstructure and the large boom are visible above the waterline.[4]