Mines and Mining in the Black Hills Survey: Contextual Information

Everton, Laurie

From the introduction: "Numerous mines are located within the Black Hills Mining District. The most important and longest running mine in the Black Hills District is the Homestake Mine. Other important mines in the northern Hills along what was known as the Homestake mineral belt include the Father DeSmet Mine the mining camp of Central City, and the Caledonia, the Old Abe and the Deadwood Terra in the mining camp of Terraville. A western extension of the Homestake mineral belt occurred in the Bald Mountain, Ruby Basin and Terry Peak area, and included the mines in and around the mining camp of Portland (later Trojan) and the mines in and around the mining camp of Terry. Another important mining district in the northern Hills consisted of the Yellow Creek District, and specifically the Wasp No. 2 Mine and the Little Blue Fraction or Bismark Mine. Two other important districts located in the northern Hills included Galena which was mined mostly for silver, and an area where carbonates were found and where the mining camp of Carbonate was located. The Tinton area was also an important northern Hills district where both tin and gold were found in marketable quantities. The Maitland Mine and the Uncle Sam Mine were also located in the northern Hills. In the central Black Hills, the Rochford District, the Keystone District and the tin mines in and around Hill City played an important role in Black Hills Mining. In the southern Black Hills the St. Elmo/Clara Belle and Spokane mines were the only areas of extensive mining." From the conclusion: "Mining in the Black Hills was conducted from 1876 through 2000. The majority of mining occurred between the years of 1876 and 1917. All types of mining occurred within the Black Hills Mining District, including placer and hydraulic mining, prospecting, hard rock mining including tunneling, drifting, shafts, and stopes, open pit mining, and shallow trench mining. Minerals and ores taken out of the Black Hills mines included (mostly) gold and silver, and also copper, tin, tungsten, spoumene, feldspar, mica, and a small amount of rare and other minerals. In the beginning many hundreds of thousands of dollars were invested into the mines in the Black Hills, and in the beginning a number of mines (especially along the Homestake mineral belt, the western extension at Bald Mountain, and the Wasp No. 2 Mine at Yellow Creek) paid their investors handsomely, but in the end only one mine in the Black Hills was prosperous enough to continue to pay investors. The Great Homestake Mine was at one time the second largest gold mine in North America, and was the only mine in the Black Hills that was profitably worked (almost) continually from 1877 through 2000. Although the Black Hills was one of the smallest mineralized areas in North America where mining was conducted, a good deal of ore was profitably taken out of the area, and the Homestake Mine was a legacy that made the Black Hills Mining Districts one of the best known in the world." Project funding was provided in part by a Historic Preservation Fund grant to the South Dakota State Historical Society administered by the State, Tribal, and Local Plans and Grants Division, National Park Service, U.S. Department of Interior (grant number P17AF00031).

Mines and Mining in the Black Hills Survey: Contextual Information

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