The Champion Mill processed copper-bearing rock from the nearby copper mines. The design of the mill was based upon dumping copper-filled rocks from a locomotive into an area where 1 of 5 large stamps would break the minerals into pieces. Water from Lake Superior was added, while the pieces were pulverized by iron balls. The result was a sludge that was forty percent copper or more. This was then sent by locomotive to Michigan Smelter, near Houghton