At Tamarack #5 there is a vertical shaft, unusual for Calumet and the Copper Country. It goes down deep (5308 ft from the surface, see below) to intersect the copper-rich C&H conglomerate at a place about 1.2 miles NW of where the conglomerate is at the surface. Here the shaft is filled with water which warms with depth. The heat comes from the ground and natural radioactivity which is everywhere inside the earth and which makes rocks hotter and hotter as depth increases. The temperature at the bottom on the shaft here is more than 80 degrees F
and the hot water here is salty and contains dissolved gases. Of interest is the high temperature of the water, which could provide geothermal energy to form a base for hot water heating. There is a promising current investigation of a heat pump geothermal system within shallow mines at Calumet.
The existence of deep, hot water under Calumet and Quincy, where there are also deep shafts, is even more provocative and potentially important to investigate, because it raises a perspective of direct thermal water, even a spa. Potential for this more advanced geothermal potential for Calumet may happen in the future, especially as energy needs are reorganized toward sustainable plans. The geothermal energy is sustainable as heat generation is quite stable and dependable.
