lbowers@miningjournal.net
Upper Peninsula author Allan Koski displays his book “Empire Mine Cascade Range” during a recent interview in Negaunee. Koski was inspired to write about recent local mining history during his career at the Empire Mine in Richmond Township. The book is available at over a dozen area retail locations. (Journal photo by Lisa Bowers)
MARQUETTE For over 50 years, the Empire Mine served as a major part of the geographic and economic landscape of Marquette County’s Richmond Township.
The mine, which was indefinitely idled in 2016, employed 1,396 members of the United Steelworkers and 207 salaried employees in its heyday, and tens of thousands of miners over the decades.