By Anthony Reynolds
Marquette, MI – The world's largest piece of natural float copper has found a new home in Marquette.
The 40-ton specimen was unearthed near Hancock in 1997. It was deposited there after being carried--or floated--by a glacier in the last ice age. The slab is approximately 15 feet in diameter and several feet thick, and is now on permanent display at Presque Isle Park.
A few years ago the late Upper Peninsula historian Fred Rydholm asked the Superior Watershed Partnership to help his Ancient Artifact Preservation Society buy the slab so it wouldn't be melted down for industrial use.
A capital campaign is now in the works to raise the $350,000 necessary to complete the purchase. For more information, call 228-6095.