Disclosure: Rose Law Group represents Resolution Copper
Written by Keridwen Cornelius | Phoenix Magazine
It’s raining nearly 7,000 feet underground.
The slick, sprayed concrete “rock” in this man-made cavern is striped with Mars-orange and alien-green algae. Calcification blooms into what look like bleached coral and barnacles clinging to the ceiling beams and emergency phone. More than a mile closer to the Earth’s molten core than their colleagues above, the miners raise their voices over the roar of pipes pumping 180-degree water and steamy air to the surface.
When the men first bored this tunnel, their machines pierced the aquifer, letting rip torrents of hot water. The resulting 90-degree temps in the cavern were so onerous that the miners had to swallow sensors to monitor their heat stress. Now, the downpours have softened, cool air is blown in, and it’s not entirely unpleasant in this bizarre underworld near Superior.
