Full Text of "The Black Hills Illustrated" - Part 8


	This file contains a full text transcription of pages 177-206 of "The 
	Black Hills Illustrated" edited and published under the Auspices of 
	The Black Hills Mining Men's Association by George P. Baldwin.

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PENNINGTON COUNTY MINING.

	Pennington, the largest mining county of the Black Hills, has the unique 
distinction of containing within its boundaries deposits, some of them in 
commercial quantity, of nearly all of the metals and minerals known to the 
geologist. Aside from gold and silver, which are the best known, are veins of 
asbestos, graphite, cinnabar, mica, tin, coal, copper, wolframite, arsenic, 
spodumene, lepidolite, feldspar, pyrites of iron, gypsum, etc.

	Pennington county as well contains some of the largest streams of water of 
any of the Black Hills counties, such streams as Rapid, Castle, Battle, Spring, 
Box Elder and Elk creeks ; square miles of finest virgin pine forests; good 
railroad accommodations; in fact, all of the physical adjuncts to successful and 
economic mining.

	Pennington county extends from the South Dakota-Wyoming state line, in the 
most rugged portion of the mountains, eastward to the Cheyenne river.  It 
contains mines, fine farming lands, nurseries and cattle ranges. Its resources 
are as varied as any western county and it is peopled with a good class of 
American citizens, honest, industrious and sober.  Rapid City, the county seat, 
is elsewhere mentioned, and is but an example, on a larger scale, of the most 
thriving towns of the county.

	The Burlington railway penetrates the western end of the county, passing 
through a rich mineral section, and the Northwestern skirts the foothills, 
touching Rapid City.  These trunk lines furnish excellent railroad facilities, 
but one of the richest mineral sections of the county, Pactola and Silver City, 
are now-without a railroad. The Black Hills & Missouri River railroad, however, 
will tap it on its east-west line from Rapid City to Mystic, on the Burlington.  
Some fifteen miles of grading are completed, and bridges finished and track laid 
on eight miles of this road, while the directors give out that the forty miles 
between Rapid City and Mystic will be completed and equipped within a year. 
Along the surveyed route, following Rapid creek, are the mining camps mentioned 
and great quantities of timber that will lie available for mining purposes. It 
will give an outlet to the smelter at Rapid City for the ores that would now 
have to be transported by team, and its completion will undoubtedly mean much 
for the future of Pennington county.

	L. A. Richards, operating near Pactola, in Pennington county, seems to 
have evolved the only practicable process for handling the low grade placer 
deposits of that section which has as yet been given serious consideration and 
trial at the hands of the miner. He makes application of the cyanide process in 
extracting the values, not depending alone on the riffles in the sluice boxes to 
catch the gold. It is well known that gold often occurs in so finely a divided 
state that it will practically float on water, and on agitation will remain 
suspended. Mr. Richards saves this gold by cyanide. His process is briefly as 
follows:

	The gravel is raised from a pit by an automatic chain elevator and dumped 
into sluice boxes 33 feet long with Hungarian riffles set l inch apart in the 
bottom. These riffles serve to collect the greater part of the coarser gold. 
Thence the material passes over grizzlies (iron bars set 1/2 inch apart), the 
finer portion going through sluices 100 feet long with 1/4 - inch Hungarian 
riffles. The coarse portion rejected on the grizzlies goes to the boulder pile 
as refuse. At the end of this sluice box is a l6-mesh screen onto which the 
material flows. That portion passing the screen goes to the cyanide vats and the 
balance to the refuse piles.

	Mr. Richards says that he saves 28 cents worth of gold per cubic yard of 
gravel in the cyanide, and 40 cents per yard in the riffles. The whole operation 
does not cost one-third of that.

	A description of many of the best properties will give a thorough idea of 
the varied and great deposits of Pennington county, so prolific in paying veins, 
timber and streams.

LAKOTA GOLD MINING AND REDUCTION COMPANY.

	One of the oldest mines in Pennington county is known as the Grizzly Bear, 
and is the property of the Lakota Gold Mining and Reduction Company. The mine 
was discovered about twenty-five years ago, and, like many others, has during 
that time passed through a good many hands, and finally come into the possession 
of a strong corporation. In the early days of the mine certain portions of the 
vein were removed and treated in small stamp mills. From the best evidence 
obtainable, this ore was worth from $25 to $100 per ton. But such a practice of 
"robbing" the ore deposit would not pay, and the day of the "pocket hunter," or 
specimen seeker, was brought to a close.

	During the years prior to the acquirement of the mine by the present 
owners nearly $200,000 was taken out. Two stamp mills were built, one containing 
five and the other twenty stamps. They were intermittently worked on the higher-
grade ore of the vein, as what is pay stuff now was considered waste then; there 
are great quantities of low-grade ores exposed. The time has passed when the 
mine can be worked in a crude and unscientific way, and for the purpose of 
properly equipping the mine with modern machinery, brains and capital, the 
Lakota company was organized.

	The old mills have long since been removed, and on the site of the larger 
one there is to be erected a plant of the latest modern design, carefully 
planned to handle the ore at the least cost and effect the greatest saving of 
the values. The mill will contain ten stamps, and after amalgamation the 
tailings will be treated by the cyanide process to recover the refractory 
values. The plant will be so constructed that it may be cheaply and quickly 
increased in capacity as more ore is opened. The mine, too, is to be equipped 
with a splendid steam hoisting plant, with air compressor and drills.

	The lumber for these buildings was sawed from timber growing on the 
company's own. ground, in the company's own sawmill.

	The main vein, a fissure in the slates having a strike or course of 
northeast-southwest and a dip of 4S degrees from the horizontal, traverses the 
company's property for over a mile. It has a width of from three to thirty feet, 
and is a good quality of milling ore from wall to wall. The walls are the 
Algonkian slates, the home of the deep fissure, and the vein proper a mixture of 
quartz, spar and pyrites. Assays made at random show values of from $3.40 to 
$946 per ton, gold. With the equipment the company will have for the mining and 
milling of its ore, material having a value of $3.50 per ton will show a profit.

	A great deal of work, approximately 2,200 feet, has been done upon the 
ore, opening the vein in 24 shafts, 15 cuts, 4 drifts and 6 tunnels. In the 
tunnels and shafts immediately behind the mill site there are absolutely blocked 
out on four sides 25,000 tons of ore, which would make, without opening up 
another pound, two years' supply for the ten-stamp mill at its quota of forty 
tons a day. But estimating the ore body from showings made in tunnels and other 
openings lower down on the hill, but not connected with the workings mentioned, 
there are over 100,000 tons in sight. This is a fair and just estimate in 
itself, as the ore body is undoubtedly continuous and of uniformly good value 
for the entire distance.

	Such fissure veins as the one mentioned have wherever developed in the 
vicinity shown great depth and increasing values. For instance, at the Holy 
Terror at Keystone, the ore is richer at the bottom, 1,200 feet, than at the 
surface. As depth is gained, however, the values become more refractory. They 
are, as a rule, included in the iron pyrite, which, on the surface, is oxidized, 
leaving the ore susceptible to thorough treatment by amalgamation, and it can be 
successfully recovered by cyanidation. The unoxidized zone in these veins is 
found at varying depths, sometimes 200 feet, and sometimes 500 feet. At the 
Lakota mine the refractory or unoxidized zone has not yet been encountered.

	N. O. Ford, consulting engineer for the company, states in a report that 
"the tailings of the old mill, of which there are thousands of tons, average 
$3.55 per ton." Thus it is easy to see where a great portion of the values in 
the ore were lost when it was treated in the crude mills in which no appliances 
for saving the gold were installed excepting amalgamating plates.  This gold can 
be recovered by the cyanide process.

	Not only the vein described, but other mineral bearing deposits, crop out 
at different points on the property. These other veins will all in the due 
course of time receive their share of development work, and undoubtedly ore 
bodies will be discovered in the future of which the company has no cognizance 
at present. All these bits of evidence indicate that the company is the owner of 
a large and valuable mineral estate, and that at some future time the milling 
equipment at present planned will be too small to handle the output of ore that 
will be daily made. Looking into the future, the company has in mind the 
possible installation of an electric-power generating plant near the Burlington 
Railroad, two miles away. Here coal can be cheaply secured, and the electricity 
to operate the bigger plant may be economically generated and transmitted to the 
mine. The spot chosen is an ideal one for such a plant, and, should the occasion 
warrant, it will be built.

	Water and timber-two essentials to economical mining-are plentiful on the 
ground of the Lakota company. The greater portion of the property is covered 
with a heavy growth of Norway pine, which, with the sawmill already installed, 
can be cheaply transformed into lumber and mine timbers, while the otherwise 
valueless portions of the trees can be used for fuel under the boilers in the 
mill and hoist. The water comes from numerous springs, one of which is situated 
300 feet above the mill site and half a mile distant. A pipe line from it 
delivers the water at the boarding house, offices, and will flow directly to a 
large reservoir above the mill.

	Nearly all of the work done so far has been under the direction and 
supervision of Mr. Charles W. Linn, secretary of the company. A great deal of 
development has been accomplished, lumber has been sawed for the mill and hoist, 
a boarding house, stable and office have been constructed, and, to cover all, 
only a very modest sum, $20,000, has been spent, considering the value received.

	The Lakota Gold Mining and Reduction Company has a capitalization of 
$2,500,000, divided into 500,000 shares of a par value of $5 each. The company 
owns 292 acres of ground five miles northeast of Hill City. All but 100 acres 
are patented.

COL. JAMES A. CLARK'S COMBINED GROUPS SITUATED ABOUT KEYSTONE.

	One of the largest groups of mines under the management of one man, in 
Pennington county, is held by Col. J. A. Clark and associates. The property is 
near Keystone, and covers a wide strip of the most valuable mineral section of 
the county. Veins of gold and silver have been well explored and show good 
values, while developments on copper ore bodies are now in progress.  The estate 
contains a number of the most valuable veins explored in the Keystone and Copper 
Mountain districts-communities noted for their large deposits of low-grade ores.

	Colonel Clark has made Keystone and the Holy Smoke camp, as his residence 
two miles from the town is known, his home for the past nine years, and much of 
his time has been spent in amalgamating the interests of more than a score of 
small owners in the vicinity, preparing for the uniting of them under one head, 
a company backed by sufficient capital to make its success an assured fact. 
Expansion and combination of company interests are the watchwords in western 
mining, and to these points Colonel dark has spent the most of his time for the 
past years. He has at last succeeded far beyond his expectations, and has 
control to-day of some 3,700 acres of ground.

	The major portion of the ground lies west and northwest of the town of 
Keystone, extending from Copper Mountain, near Sheridan, to Harney City, and one 
large group of claims, the Dakota Girl, is five miles southwest of Keystone, on 
Little Squaw creek. The ground covers some of the finest standing timber in the 
Black Hills, and jealous operators have even gone so far as to assert that the 
colonel was securing the ground for its valuable accessories in that line. But 
in justice to the integrity of Colonel dark it may be said that the price paid 
for the ground far exceeds the sum at which the timber could be sold, and that 
mining, pure and simple, is being daily carried forward; and to use the words of 
the gentleman himself, "the property has not been purchased for timber or other 
speculative purposes outside of mining, and to imagine that such is the case is 
pure fallacy."

	The following table gives the name and location of the various groups 
controlled by Colonel dark, in addition to which there are held about 1,500 
acres under bond, and title to which will pass to the colonel some time this 
year:

	Name                                          Acres.
	Vulcan M. and M. Company.....................    102
	Sitting Bull group ..........................     52
	Minneapolis group ...........................    100
	Eagle Mountain group ........................    500
	King Oscar group ............................    500
	Belt group ..................................    350
	Harney City group ...........................    500
	Chicago group ...............................    200
	Gold Band group .............................    200
	Smith & Palmer group.........................    240
	Gold Wedge group.............................    200
	Goddard group ...............................    200
	McGowan & Hopkins group. ....................    300
	Dakota Girl group............................    240
	Total .......................................  3,684

	On the property of the Vulcan Mining and Milling Company, which is 
patented, there have been sunk two working shafts, one 85 and the other 106 feet 
in depth. From the bottom of the 106-foot shaft 42 feet of drifting has been 
done, opening the vein. The ore is concentrating and of good commercial grade. 
Several other shallow shafts, tunnels and pits disclose vein matter on the 
property. The deep shaft is equipped with a first-class whim, blacksmith shop, 
etc., all enclosed within a substantial house. This property is at the Holy 
Smoke camp, one of the claims of the company bearing that name.

	On the Minneapolis group several extensive openings have been made on the 
vein, showing good milling ore in large quantities. This property adjoins the 
Vulcan on the north, and it is here that Colonel dark will make his 
headquarters, having just completed an elegant log house. The highly-mineralized 
nature of the country may be better understood when it is known that in sinking 
a well near the house on this property a large vein of quartz, intermingled with 
hornblende, and the whole carrying a great deal of iron pyrite, was struck at a 
depth of fifteen feet. This ground has been surveyed for patent, and title will 
be secured at once.

	The Eagle Mountain group is located on the great copper belt which extends 
through the Black Hills for miles, and crops out most prominently on the Blue 
Lead at Sheridan. Practically the same surface showing is made on both the Eagle 
Mountain and Blue Lead mines, and it is but fair to presume that the one is the 
extension or continuation of the latter. The property is being developed by a 
three-compartment shaft. This shaft will be sunk to water level, following the 
vein from its outcrop on the top of the hill, and at that point extensive 
lateral workings will be driven to determine the size of the ore body. Should it 
contain copper in paying quantities, Colonel Clark's backers stand ready to 
erect a smelting plant in which to treat the ore.

	The King Oscar group shows small and large veins of free-milling gold 
ores, verticals in the slates. The property has been well developed by open 
cuts, shafts and tunnels. Ore is disclosed in 25 different places. An excellent 
camp has been established here, good, commodious log buildings having been 
erected for the use of the miners as boarding-houses, bunk houses, 
superintendent's quarters, etc.

	The Harney group, formerly known as the Wheelock property, in honor of the 
former owners, exhibits large low-grade veins of free-milling and concentrating 
ore. Six or more tunnels have been driven on the property, and the veins are 
opened in forty places altogether. The tunnels vary in length from 60 to 150 
feet, and are well timbered and driven to show up the ore bodies to the best 
advantage. This ground has been surveyed for patent and the application made. 
Near the northwest corner is an immense bar or hill of placer gravel, to which 
some attention will be given. It is an enormous deposit, and the water to work 
it successfully can be secured from Battle creek, which flows at its edge.

	The other properties listed above all show more or less valuable mineral 
deposits, but as our space is limited, only the most valuable and best-developed 
are mentioned here specifically.

	With such a large acreage, and so many veins of ore, it would be most 
surprising if this property should fail to become a wonderful producer and 
dividend-payer. Only one of the veins that have been disclosed, equipped with a 
mill, should be enough to prove the value of the property.

	It is understood that Colonel Clark has eastern associates who are 
financially able to carry cut all plans.

J. T. HARRINGTON'S 1NCA AND OTHER PROPERTIES.

	There is probably no better-known mining operator in the Black Hills than 
J. T. Harrington. He has been in the Hills since 1880, and has been miner, mill 
man, successful prospector and lucky owner successively since then. To his 
friends he is known as "Jerry," big-hearted, true and loyal. He has been careful 
and conservative in all of his ventures, and seems to have a knack of looking 
into the future. He will invest in a piece of mining property that he believes 
is a locality that will soon "come to the front," and nine times out of ten he 
does not have to hold the ground long before there is an anxious purchaser. For 
instance, he surmised that the Garden City district was on the eve of a boom, 
and he interested himself in something over 250 acres of ground in the locality. 
Before a year had passed a strong company (the Penobscot, described on another 
page) was organized, and they wanted Mr. Harrington's ground, and wanted it bad. 
They got it, at an advance of considerable over his purchase price. And, again, 
he purchased nearly the whole of the Clover Leaf mine at one time and another, 
buying out the old owners for a mere song. Everybody thought he was foolish, 
investing in a mine flooded with water, and in such shape that it was thought it 
would never be opened again. But he kept his own counsel, .and before long had 
sold the mine, to the surprise of his friends, and had $8o,coo in the bank as 
the result.

	He has various properties in the Black Hills, and should his hopes 
materialize on them as they have on his holdings in the past, we may look for 
several paying mines. But he says he does not want to sell them. He is perfectly 
content to operate them himself, and he is in no hurry about the working of 
them, either. He says that many a good man has ruined himself by hurrying to 
make money. Mr. Harrington says: "I will start the Inca mill in the spring. I am 
in no hurry, and the wagon road from the mine to the mill is in bad shape. Oh, 
yes; the mill is ready to run on a day's notice. It is perfect. But it will do 
just as well to wait till spring."


THE INCA.

	That is one of Mr. Harrington's favorite properties, the Inca. It is 
located near Mystic, a station on the Burlington Railroad in Pennington county. 
It is on the top of Fairview Mountain (a peak most aptly named; pen cannot 
described the beauty and grandeur of the panorama spread at one's feet). But the 
mine. The vein is a big, free-milling vertical in the slates; no one knows how 
deep it goes or how long it is, ibut Mr. Harrington owns 3,000 feet of the 
length. It was a great producer in the early days, and is exceptionally well 
opened up. It is developed sufficiently to supply a mill of 100 stamps, and the 
ten-stamp mill which is to be operated in conjunction with the mine could be 
operated for years without making an impression on the ore reserves. The width 
of the vein has not been determined, as the majority of the work has been 
confined to a streak of ore worth $50 a ton which lies next to the hanging wall. 
Cross-cuts run thirty feet show no sign of the foot wall, but surface 
indications are such that the owner is inclined to believe that the vein is 
about 300 feet wide. The workings are almost on the top of Fairview Mountain, 
and consist of three tunnels and an open cut, a shaft 175 feet deep in ore all 
the way connecting the two upper tunnels. Mr. Harrington proposes at some future 
time to run a big tunnel in from further down the mountain, which could easily 
tap the vein at a depth -of 500 feet and afford an easy method of mining.

	On one side of the Inca mine is Rapid creek, and on the other side Castle 
creek-two of the largest streams in the Black Hills.

	The mill is located on Castle creek, a little over a mile from the mine. 
The two are connected with a good wagon road, affording a downhill haul all the 
way from the mine to the mill for the ore wagons. But Mr. Harrington thinks that 
when the mill is enlarged it will be located on Rapid creek, since the dip of 
the vein is in that direction, and less tunneling would be necessary from the 
base of the mountain in order to tap it.

	The mill contains ten stamps, silver-plated coppers and Wilfley tables. It 
is a model little plant, and ready to start any minute. It is operated by a 
steam engine, although with but little effort a ditch could be constructed which 
would give a sufficient waterpower to easily operate it. Castle creek is a 
swift-running stream, and its possibilities for developing power by means of 
water motors are almost unlimited. With the mill already upon the ground, the 
Inca mine is easily a first-class proposition. With its big mass of $4 to $5 ore 
and the elegant milling facilities, it is undoubtedly an embryo dividend-payer.

THE TRANSVAAL.

	Another one of Mr. Harrington's properties is the Transvaal mine, 
consisting of 167 acres of patented property near Custer Peak, in southern 
Lawrence county. Various free-milling veins have been opened, but particular 
attention has been paid to one body of ore which is about 30 feet wide and 
running full length of the property, or 5,000 feet. The principal developments 
consist of a shaft 85 feet deep, with numerous shallow shafts and open cuts. The 
values in the ore average $3 to $7 a ton, and to extract the values the owner 
contemplates a free-milling stamp mill with a cyanide annex, similar to the 
Homestake milling system, as the ore is similar in character and values to the 
ore of that famous property.

	Such a mill is contemplated for erection at once, and experts who have 
visited the ground declare that the mine is fully capable of supplying the plant 
with ore in sufficient quantities and of good enough values to make the future 
of the property assured. Good limber and splendid water facilities-two important 
adjuncts to successful mining-are included in the holdings.

THE TOMAHAWK.

	At Nemo, in the southern end of Lawrence county, Mr. Harrington owns 
another mining property-the Tomahawk. Included within the boundaries are 640 
acres of land. The main vein is developed by a shaft 100 feet deep which shows 
an ore body fully 50 feet wide, which averages by assays $4 a ton. It is another 
free-milling proposition, similar to the Transvaal.

	To mine transport and extract the values from the ore would cost less than 
$3 a ton, thus leaving a neat profit on the operation. The vein is big. 
Development has shown it to be fully 600 feet wide, and it has been prospected 
along its course already for over 9,coo feet. Here again Mr. Harrington's vigor 
proclaims itself. He says that he will build a mill at this mine in the spring 
of 1904, and that he has ore blocked to supply a big plant for years. The latter 
is very true. It is a big vein, and opened up as it is, could supply a mill for 
years and scarcely scratch the face of the ore bodies.

	Interested in this property with Mr. Harrington is John F. Sawyer of Nemo, 
South Dakota, a veteran prospector, and they hope ere long to hear a stamp 
mill's familiar music as it pounds out the precious metal. As manufacturers they 
need never consult market quotations on the price of their product-it is ever 
the same, $20.67 per fine ounce.

EMPIRE STATE MINING COMPANY, HILL CITY, S. D.

(Formerly the Golden Slipper Grounds.)

	The Golden Slipper mine was first discovered in 1893, and after the mine 
was opened a small mill was utilized, in which some $46,000 in gold bullion was 
recovered in the following six years. The mine passed through the usual 
vicissitudes incidental to many mining operations, lying idle a year and a half, 
and filled with water, the shaft at that time being 290 feet deep, following the 
vein on the incline.

	The present company secured the property in November, 1900, and 
immediately after unwatering the mine, sunk the shaft an additional 172 feet, 
and opened up ore for the purpose of testing, for which an experimental ten-
stamp mill was erected. Five stamps of the plant have been dropped at various 
times, and a total of $9,000 has been produced from about 250 tons of ore. The 
concentrates have been saved on a Wilfley table, and have netted well. Evidently 
the tailings from the concentrators should be treated by cyanidation. A good 
value is contained in them, and for that reason not a pound has been allowed to 
escape, but all are held in a dam erected for the purpose. The experimental 
plant has fulfilled its purpose, and is to be replaced by a larger mill at once, 
with an up-to-date cyanide plant. It has proven the values in the ore to be of 
exceptional grade, and that the same may be saved by amalgamation and 
concentration, and the values in the tailings should also be saved by the 
cyanide process.

	A mill site has been secured on Palmer gulch, where this 20-stamp mill 
will soon be erected. The location is an ideal one-the ore can be delivered by 
gravity, the water from the living stream, while the fuel supply would come from 
the hills above, thus affording a downhill haul for all the commodities 
required.

	There are two distinct veins opened in the Golden Slipper mine to a depth 
of 462 feet. They are united to a depth of 55 feet, where they divide and 
continue downward, with a dip of about 17 degrees from the vertical. The veins 
are fissures in the archean slates and the walls are well denned and regular. 
The smaller vein, which is the richer, on the lower levels, has a width of four 
and one-half feet, and is of blue quartz. The other vein is n feet wide, and of 
lower grade. Both veins carry high percentages of mispickel and pyrite, which is 
found to be rich in gold.

	The machinery equipment at the mine consists of a ten-stamp mill, with 
copper plates and Wilfley table, Lidgerwood hoist, Sullivan two-stage, 8-drill 
compressor, 100-horsepower boiler, blacksmith shop, water-tanks for fire 
protection, and boarding and bunk houses.

	J. B. Safford, who has been in charge of the workings of the Empire State 
company, is an old and experienced miner, having served his apprenticeship on 
the famous Comstock lode, in Nevada, beginning there in 1859. He has learned his 
profession well, and has conducted all the operation of the mine on lines of 
strictest economy.

	The Empire State Mining Company has a capitalization of $1,000,000, 
divided into a like number of shares, each having a par value of $1. The 
officers are as follows: E. Dickinson, president; H. S. Burkhardt, first vice-
president; H. H. Sessions, second vice-president; C. F. Cooke, third vice-
president; J. B. Safford, fourth vice-president and general manager; A. A. W. 
Burkhardt, secretary; A. J. Parley, treasurer. The main office is Hill City, S. 
D., with a branch at 702 Great Northern building, Chicago.

GOLDEN WEST MINING COMPANY.

	Five miles west of Rochford the Golden West Mining Company has recently 
possessed itself of what appears to be a most valuable piece of mining property. 
Like all other favorites in the Black Hills, it is a big low-grade proposition. 
But the natural advantages at hand are of a character enjoyed by few Black Hills 
companies.  There is a waterpower flowing 1,000 cubic feet of water per minute 
in a creek having an average grade of over 75 feet per mile. The ground is 
covered with a heavy growth of the finest Norway pine to be seen in the 
district. Fuel and mining timbers are assured for years to come. And the ore 
body itself is of a character that from present explorations will equal anything 
ever found in Pennington county. It is an immense dike or vein of mineralized 
hornblende, perhaps an altered schist impregnated with hornblende. The grade is 
low-$3.50 per ton-but on ore of that value a good profit can be made.

	The company owns two distinct groups of mining claims, the Benedict of 200 
acres and the Yellow Bird of 57 acres. Applications for patents have been made. 
On the Benedict an ore shoot of very soft material 100 feet wide between walls 
and 400 feet long has been explored by over 900 feet of underground workings. 
Conservatively, 150,000 tons of ore are exposed, of a value of $3 per ton. The 
ore is most easily mined, hardly any powder being used. In doing the 900 feet of 
development work mentioned, not over 500 pounds of powder was used. On the 
Yellow Bird, $12,000 worth of ore is in sight.

	The company believes that the ore from the Benedict can be mined and 
milled for less than $1 per ton. Several hundred tons were treated in a sampling 
mill last summer for a total expense on that small scale of $1.60 per ton. With 
a larger plant, and working on a larger scale, the costs would be 
proportionately reduced.

	The new mill will be situated 2,700 feet from the mine, connected by an 
aerial tramway. The plant will be operated by water-power from a flume 7,000 
feet long, giving a fall of 107 feet, generating 140 horsepower-enough to treat 
250 tons of ore per day by the Chilian process. The mill will be equipped with 
two six-foot Chilian mills of latest pattern, with Blake crusher and rolls, 
reducing the ore very fine before it is delivered to the pulverizers. After 
amalgamating, the ore will pass to settling cones, where the sands will be 
separated from the slimes for cyanide treatment of the former, the latter 
carrying practically no values.

	The sampling mill last summer ran 76 twenty-four-hour days, crushing a 
little over n tons per day, or 860 tons in the period. Bullion recovered 
amounted to $3,006, or about $3.50 per ton. The ore was taken from the various 
workings in the course of development, and from a large open cut. The mill was 
the crudest kind of a Chilian pattern, and while this was saved on the plates, 
nearly the same amount was lost in the tailings that could be recovered by 
cyanidation.

	Charles E. Curtiss, the president, is an inventor of note (having invented 
the McCormick corn-shredder), as well as being a civil engineer. He spent his 
early life in the Rocky mountains following that profession. He will take charge 
of the construction of the new mill, and will devote one year to getting 
everything in shipshape order.

	The Golden West Mining Company has a capital of $3,000,000 (of which 
$1,000,000 has been retired), the shares having a par value of $1 each. C. E. 
Curtiss is president; N. C. Fisher, vice-president; W. R. Selleck, for 34 years 
treasurer of the McCormick Harvester Company, is treasurer; E. J. Kennedy is 
secretary and general manager. The principal office is in Chicago.

THE CLARA BELLE GOLD MINING COMPANY.

	Frank Hebert, one of the early pioneers of the Black Hills, in the year 
1886, discovered and located the Clara Belle mine in Pennington county. The 
surface indications on the Clara Belle were wonderfully rich. Ore was found 
which might easily rank with the best ever discovered in the Black Hills, and 
the property at once achieved a reputation that has remained with it to this 
day. Mr. Hebert is one of those indefatigable workers and prospectors who have 
learned their lesson in the hardest school-that of experience. His knowledge of 
mining was not limited to that of the Black Hills alone, for he had operated in 
other western mining districts. He at once proceeded to open up his bonanza by 
the best means at hand, investing his small capital and working underground with 
the men himself. Thus for fifteen years, by close attention to duty, he 
succeeded in opening up the Clara Belle to a depth of 200 feet and erecting a 
small mill.

	But as is the case with many another mine, there came a time when Mr. 
Hebert was unable to conduct the operations alone and unaided, and he found it 
necessary to organize a company. So in April, 1901, the Clara Belle Gold Mining 
Company was incorporated with a capitalization of $1,000,000, divided into 
shares of a par value of $l each. Stock was sold for the purpose of erecting a 
hoist and sinking a shaft to a level below that of the old workings. This shaft 
hag now reached a depth of 250 feet and is well timbered for the entire 
distance.

	The Clara Belle vein is one of the true quartz fissures of the southern 
Black Hills. It has a width of ten feet, enclosed between well-defined walls of 
the algonkian slates. Four feet of the vein next to the hanging wall is the 
richest, although the entire vein from wall to wall is a good grade of milling 
ore. The vein dips about 15 degrees from the vertical.

	The property of the Clara Belle company is situated eight miles north of 
Custer City, between Oreville and Sylvan lake, on Bear gulch. It consists of 75 
acres in a solid group. Over half of the property is covered with a heavy growth 
of pine timber, which will be sufficient to supply lumber and fuel for mining 
operations for many years to come.  On the banks of Bear gulch, a mountain 
stream fed by never-failing springs, is located the mill of the company, which 
contains two Tremain stamps, giving a capacity of ten tons per day. The ore 
after crushing flows over amalgamating plates, where the free gold is saved, and 
this summer the company will install a cyanide annex to recover the refractory 
values. From this little mill, which is regarded by the company merely as an 
experimental plant, to be succeeded some day by a larger and more complete 
affair, has been produced about $15,000 in gold bullion. The ore which was 
treated in this mill was worth at least $10 per ton free milling, while much of 
it is worth over $50 per ton. Although this ore shows almost fabulous values, 
Mr. Hebert places the average of the ore at from $6 to $8 per ton in future 
operations with a big mill. Late reports say the ore is richer than ever.

	Frank Hebert is president of the Clara Belle Gold Mining Company; F. A. 
Gira of Custer is vice-president; Charles Hebert is treasurer, and L. M. Hebert, 
secretary, all being residents of Oreville, Pennington county, S. D. The 
principal office of the company is located at Oreville.

[Photo - FOUR VIEWS OF THE CLARA BELLE ABOVE GROUND.]

SUNFLOWER MINING AND MILLING COMPANY.

	Prominent Omaha capitalists two years ago organized and incorporated under 
the laws of South Dakota the Sunflower Mining and Milling Company, purchasing 
the Sunflower group of eight claims, or 160 acres, four miles west of Hill City, 
Pennington county. The property was originally four claims located by one of the 
pioneers of the county, John Truax, some 20 years ago, but was abandoned by him 
and relocated by Christ Baysel, Mary Baysel, P. W. Kuhns and James Hodge, by 
whom it was transferred to the company.

	The principal developments on the veins consist of a vertical shaft loo 
feet deep, with cross-cut 22 feet, on claim No. 1, showing a strong vein of 
auriferous arsenopyrite ore. The cross-cut runs into the vein from the foot 
wall, and the opposite side of the ore body has not been reached. Ore from the 
shaft assays from $3 to $12 per ton, a test run on ore from the 40-foot level 
showing $4 per ton free gold and 7 per cent of concentrates worth $60 per ton.

	A shaft 30 feet deep on a parallel vein shows three feet of milling ore in 
the bottom. A cross vein of silicious ore, not showing on the surface, crossing 
between shafts I and 2, is opened by a vertical shaft 40 feet deep. The vein was 
only a few inches wide when discovered, and having increased to four feet at 40 
feet depth, gives promise of a large ore body at greater deptli. This silicious 
ore shows values of from $10 to $16, and a test run of 25 pounds made at 
Deadwood showed $12.25 per ton.

	A tunnel is now being driven from the south, from near the foot of the 
hill, which at about 230 feet from the portal will tap both the pyritc and 
silicious ore bodies. This tunnel has just encountered an ore body, the 
dimensions of which have not been determined, but is similar in appearance to 
the ore in shaft No. 1.

	The property is well timbered, and none of it has ever been utilized. It 
will furnish mine timbers, lumber and fuel for years to come, thus providing the 
company with essentials oftentimes proving costly. Seven springs, combining to 
form a creek, would furnish water for a large stamp mill, which if necessary to 
obtain a further supply, another creek 800 feet distant toward the south can be 
utilized to supply any deficiency.

	Although the company has not yet entered the mill building stage, it is 
safe to presume that the treatment method to be pursued will be crushing by 
stamps, amalgamation and concentration, while the ore from the silicious vein 
has been found to be amenable to the cyanide process, and a portion of the mill 
will probably be arranged for treating it by that method. The concentrates would 
be shipped to smelters for treatment.

	In toto, the Sunflower company is developing ore bodies which are among 
the best in the Hill City district, has natural advantages in the way of timber 
and water that are second to none, while the short distance to railroad makes 
transportation a small item. The stock is largely held by Omaha and Council 
Bluffs business men, and the directors are all men of means and high standing. 
The management of the company is entrusted to Christ Baysel, a prominent mining 
engineer of Omaha, assuring the company of careful and conservative operations 
nt the mine. In regard to its personnel the company is especially favored, as 
all the directors are preeminently successful business men, of a quality not 
likely to make mistakes.

	The Sunflower Mining and Milling Company has a capital stock of $600,000, 
in shares of $1 each par value. The directors are C. B. Liver, O. Younkerman, G. 
W. Icken, Dr. M. C. Christensen, George S. Davis, E. G. Meilhede and Christ 
Baysel. The officers are C. B. Liver, president; O. Younkerman, vice-president; 
G. W. Icken, secretary and treasurer, and Christ Baysel superintendent. The 
principal office is at Omaha, Neb.

[Photo collage - WORKINGS AT THE SUNFLOWER.]

ABERDEEN GOLD MINING AND MILLING COMPANY.

	Three miles east of Hill City, on the strike of the vein known as the "J. 
R.," is eighty-five acres of mineral land belonging to the Aberdeen Gold Mining 
and Milling Company. Just across the north and west lines is the J. R. mine, 
from which a few years ago (1892 to 1895) some $90,000 was produced. More 
properly, the shaft from which this ore was hoisted to the surface is 250 feet 
from the boundary line, and the vein exposed on the Aberdeen is evidently a 
continuation.

	In order to open up the mine for large production the company is engaged 
in sinking a shaft, following the vein. The ore body shows a width of one and a 
half to two feet, and assays show mill rock with $10 of free gold. The shaft is 
equipped with a first-class whim, and in passing it may be mentioned here that 
the shaft is as well timbered as any in the Black Hills. An especial air of good 
workmanship and careful timbering is noticeable about the surface workings at 
the mouth of the shaft, and bespeaks good, careful management.

	The vein is a fissure in the slates, filled with quartz, and at places 
wonderfully rich. That it extends to great depth has been proven at the J. R., 
where it has been followed to nearly 600 feet below the outcrop.

	The Aberdeen Company is backed largely by capitalists of Eastern South 
Dakota, and they stand ready to furnish the money for a mill when it shall be 
needed.

	The company is capitalized for 500,000 shares of a par value of $1 each. 
The president is ex-State Representative Patrick Daley, who has assumed charge 
of the operations at the mine. Mr. Daley is a careful business man, and the 
operations are conducted economically. The vice-president is C. J. McLeod; 
secretary and treasurer, William Austin. These gentlemen, with M. H. Kelley and 
Isaac Lincoln, form the directorate. The principal office is at Hill City, S. D.

DAKOTA-CALUMET COMPANY.

	The Dakota-Calumet Company owns a large acreage near Sheridan, Pennington 
County, covering the extension of the "Blue Lead" copper lode, and has erected 
for the treatment of the ores a modern and well equipped copper matting smelter. 
With the starting of this plant the Black Hills will enter the list of copper 
producing mining districts, and be known as a mining section with other 
metalliferous products than gold.

	In the past not a great deal of attention has been paid to copper in the 
Black Hills, and the Dakota-Calumet Company is the first to erect a smelter. And 
although the Blue Lead or Copper Mountain has been known and recognized by 
prospectors for more than a quarter of a century, up until a few years ago no 
systematic development of the copper mines had been attempted.

	On the Dakota-Calumet property a vein or zone of ore is opened near the 
top of the hill above the smelter, carrying oxides and carbonates of copper. The 
ore occurs in deposits from ten to thirty-five feet wide, and is of uniform good 
quality.   Several dozen surface pits and tunnels show the great mass of ore to 
best advantage, but the company is now sinking a three-compartment shaft to 
further explore and develop the ore. It is proposed to open stopes at deep 
levels from this shaft, and the principal ore supply for the mill will be 
procured from them, although in the course of time all of the ore in the cuts 
near the surface will be worked.

	From the shaft to the mill a gravity Bleichert wire rope or aerial tramway 
has been built for conveying the ore to the plant. It is 1,400 feet long, and 
operates on the jig-back system, or, in other words, when the loaded bucket of 
ore arrives at the mill it automatically dumps and returns to the mine, while 
the bucket on the opposite ropes comes down and discharges its load. The 
operation being continuous, a large amount of ore can be handled by this method 
in a day.

	The smelter is equipped with two eighty-horsepower boilers, an eighty-
horsepower Bates Corliss engine, a No. 6 Connellsville blower, sufficient to 
supply air for two furnaces similar to the one installed and an eight-drill 
Sullivan air compressor. The smelting is done in a forty-two by eighty-four-inch 
copper matting furnace. Ore bins at the plant have a capacity of 500 tons of ore 
and fluxes. The plant is equipped throughout with all labor-saving devices, and 
is constructed with especial view of economy in operations.

	Among the other surface improvements of the company are a large and 
comfortable boarding-house, roomy bunk house, offices and superintendent's 
quarters, well designed and equipped laboratory, blacksmith shop and pumping 
station a few hundred feet from the smelter where the water supply is secured.

	The Dakota-Calumet Company has a capital stock of $3,000,000, in 3,000,000 
shares of a par value of $l each. The president is Hon. Chas. Foster, of 
Fostoria, Ohio; vice-president, Saml. A. Baxter, Lima, Ohio; treasurer, Henry C. 
Ellison, Cleveland, Ohio; secretary, Wm. F. Numan, Lima, Ohio; superintendent, 
A. C. Overpeck, Sheridan, S. D. Offices are maintained at Lima, Ohio, and 
Sheridan, S. D.

	The balance of the most notable properties of Pennington County follow 
alphabetically:


	Black Eagle Mining Company of Deadwood.-Has 112 acres (patent near 
consummation) about four miles southeast of Rochford, Pennington County. The 
property is well timbered and plenty of water can be had from Castle creek, 
about a half mile from the south line of the property, where the company owns a 
water right. Five prospect shafts, averaging 65 feet each, have been sunk on the 
ground and nearly 800 feet of tunnels and from 400 to 500 feet of cross-cuts 
have been run for development purposes. In one shaft a cross-cut at 23 feet 
shows a vein of ore l8 1/2 feet wide, and at 46 feet depth a cross-cut shows 34% 
feet of width on the vein. Average assays of the first showed $30 and of the 
latter $14.20 in gold per ton. Strong mineralization is found at other points. 
It is a free milling proposition and the company is erecting a Huntington mill 
as a sampling plant and will run for the present 50 tons daily until a thorough 
test run of 2,000 tons has been made. Subsequently a large mill will be erected 
to run by water power. A diamond drill will shortly be utilized to work over the 
entire property. The company is incorporated under the laws of South Dakota with 
capitalization of $1,000,000, in shares of $l; the offices are located at 
Logansport, Ind. E. B. McConnell is president, P. A. Bonebrake is vice-
president; M. J. Beach is secretary and treasurer, and H. E. Fischer 
superintendent and engineer.


	Black Hills and. Duluth Copper Mining Company.-Owns 500 acres on Spring 
creek, western Pennington county, on which 300 feet of work with a diamond drill 
has disclosed a 30-foot vein of copper ore.  The vein carries copper pyrites in 
considerable quantity, 1,680 pounds sent to Omaha returned over 300 pounds pure 
copper, worth between $50 and $60. It is capitalized for 3,000,000 shares of a 
par value of $i each. F. A. Towner of Custer, is president; M. J. Bailey of 
Custer, secretary, and W. F. Hanley of Custer, treasurer. The principal office 
is at Custer City, S. D.


	Burlington Mining Company.-Owns 118 acres on divide between Friday and 
Marshall gulches, nine miles northwest of Hill City. Shows a small vein of rich 
gold ore, which is being followed by a shaft. Assays run up to $100 per ton.   
Capitalized for $1,500,000 in shares of $1 each, par value. J. B. Taylor. Hill 
City, is president and superintendent; J. L. Bentley, Deadwood, secretary, and 
D. A. McPherson, Deadwood, treasurer.


	Butte Mining and Milling Company.-Owns 60 acres adjoining the Mainstay 
property on the north (near Keytsone). A tunnel 280 feet in length and shaft 30 
feet deep shows a large body of low grade ore. Capitalized for $300,000 in 
shares of $1 each, par value. W. H. Benham, Columbus, Neb., is president; O. T. 
Roen, Columbus, treasurer; O. C. Shannon, Columbus, secretary; George D. Willis, 
Keystone, general manager.


	Copper Cliff Mining Company.-Capital stock $1,000,000, in shares of $1 
each. B. F. Brazer, president; Charles A. Fohrman, vice-president and scientist; 
E. W. Eldridge, secretary and treasurer, and A. S. White, business manager.

	The property of 410 acres is located near Rochford and the proposition is 
one of amorphous graphite, which is used principally for making paint pigment. 
There is said to be at present 120,000 tons in sight and it is estimated that 
the property will yield at least six million tons. A change of name is 
contemplated to distinguish between a manufacturing and a copper proposition, 
which latter it is not. The factory and offices of the company are in Chicago, 
Ill.


	Cumberland Mining and Milling Company.-Owns 52 acres, 30 acres patented, 3 
miles southeast of Hill City. Company is developing one of the well-known old 
mines of Pennington county, the J. R., and has a vertical shaft 240 feet deep, 
giving 600 feet depth below the outcrop. The former owners produced about 
$60,000 from the high-grade ore. Capitalized for $1,500,000, in shares of $1 
each, par value. F. C. Crocker of Hill City, is president and general manager; 
Jackson Crocker, vice-president; James Graham, Hill City, secretary-treasurer.


	Dora Belle Mine.-Consists of one ten-acre claim adjoining the Holy Terror 
on the west. Owned by James Stewart and Mike Cronin, of Keystone. Developed by a 
tunnel So feet in length, showing quartz stringers, and the owners believe that 
by sinking the solid vein will be found. Situated in a locality favorable to the 
making of a good piece of property.


	Gertie Mining and Milling Company.-Owns 155 acres, 35 acres patented, near 
Hill City, S. D. The company is developing a meritorious tin property, and has a 
shaft 500 feet deep showing tight feet of solid ore with the foot wall not yet 
in sight. At the surface there are two veins with 20 feet of country rock 
between, dipping in slightly different directions. But one of these is explored 
to any depth. Capitalized for one million shares of one dollar each, par value. 
L. G. Wright, of Cleveland, is president; F. H. Trude. Chicago, vice-president; 
E. C. Johnson, Hill City, secretary and treasurer.


	Gold Standard Development Company.-Organized under laws of South Dakota, 
with capital stock of $1,000,000, in shares of $1 each. Henry Robinson of Akron, 
O., is president and treasurer; M. E. Robinson is vice-president, and Harvey 
Musser is secretary. The other directors are George Phillips and James Duncan. 
The property is located two miles from Pactola and one and one-half miles from 
the Wyoming & Dakota railway, now building; it consists of 1,800 acres, well 
timbered and watered, and a portion has been already patented. Rapid creek is 
only one and one-half miles distant. Several shafts have been sunk on the 
ground, the deepest being no feet; and cross-cuts are now being run at the 
hundred foot level to determine the width of the vein, which assays from $1.50 
to $40 and will probably average $5 per ton gold. The vein is a vertical and 
apparently free milling ore. This vein can be traced a great distance on the 
surface and all development work so far has been confined to this, although 
other good veins have been found on the property.


	Gopher Gold Mining Company.-Owns 200 acres five miles northwest of Hill 
City.  The principal development consists of four shafts-one 100 feet, one 180 
feet and the others shallower. Some 400 feet of drifting and crQsscutting has 
been done. A small vein of free milling ore has been opened.  It is capitalized 
for $1,000,000 in 100,000 shares of $10 each, par value. A. D. Arundel of Hill 
City, is manager.


	Highland Group.-Consists of 60 acres, unpatented, the sole property of 
Fred H. Whitfield, of Rapid City. Ground situated near Silver City, Pennington 
County. Developed by a 60-foot incline shaft, showing good body of gold and 
silver ore. The mine is equipped with a complete 10-stamp mill, and the holdings 
include water right, timber land, etc.


	J. C. Sherman's Pactola Properties.-Mr. Sherman came to Pactola (then 
called Camp Crook) in March, 1876, and has probably handled more mining 
properties than any one in the district. He owned at one time the well known 
Omega group, which he sold to New York parties. He developed the Amaqueen mines 
near Custer Peak, 15 miles south of Lead City, and he owns the Harvest mine of 
lead, gold and silver, located half a mile from Pactola. He is actively at work 
on this mine and has sunk a shaft 55 feet, all in ore with high assay.

	He confidently expects to reap his "harvest" from this mine and he ought 
to know, being probably better acquainted with the mines of this district than 
any one in the Black Hills to-day.


	Lucky Boy Mine.-Consists of ten acres adjoining townsite of Keystone. A 
vein carrying good gold values, first discovered in a tunnel, showed 
considerable improvement at 200 feet that it was decided to sink 200 feet more, 
and a strictly first-class mining plant was installed to do the work. A shaft 
7x17 feet (three compartments) is being sunk. The machinery consists of 150 
horsepower hoist good for 1,200 feet, 16x30 Corliss air compressor, boilers, 
etc. The property is owned by Walter Read and T. J. Neacy, owners of the Filer & 
Stowell Machinery Company of Milwaukee.


	Mainstay G. M. and M. Co.-Owns 35 acres near Keystone. S. D. Explorations 
on the vein show an ore body 137 feet wide. claimed to be good milling ore 
(gold). On the 200-foot level shows equally as strong as nearer the surface, and 
is evidently a big low grade ore body, half the values free-milling and the 
balance concentrating and cyaniding should recover. Equipped with hoist, 
compressors, 30-stamp mill, and a cyanide annex to the plant is proposed, when 
production will be resumed. Capitalized for one million shares of one dollar 
each par value. E. S. Burnham, New York, is president; Dr. A. W. McCandless, 
vice-president: A. W. Trimpi, secretary-treasurer; T. R. Griffiths, general 
manager.


	Maloney Blue Lead Copper Mining & Smelting Company. -Incorporated under 
laws of South Dakota and capitalized for $3,000,000 in shares of $r each. R. M. 
Maloney of Deadwood is president and treasurer. The property consists of 345 
acres of patented and 35 acres of unpatented ground east of Hill City and near 
the Keystone branch of the Burlington railway. It is a copper proposition.


	Mineral Group.-Known as the Cochran Mine. James Cochran, owner, Rochford, 
S. D. This group consists of 50 acres, located at Myersville. The ore is a free-
milling quartz averaging $4 to $8 per ton. Mr. Cochran owns a 20-ton Huntington 
mill which he runs during the summer months, and has produced $35,0000 in gold 
to date. The property is developed by two shafts 100 feet deep, 200 feet of 
drifts, and large open cuts from which the ore has been milled.


	National Smelting Company.-Incorporated under the laws of Maine. 
Capitalized for $1,500,000, divided into 300,000 shares of $5 each. W. L. 
McLaughlin, general manager. Deadwood, S. D.; Th. Knutzen, superintendent, Rapid 
City, S. D. This company is practically the same as the Horseshoe Mining 
Company, and is operated in conjunction with the latter corporation. The company 
owns a 300-ton matte smelter at Rapid City, one of the best equipped and most 
complete plants of its kind in the United States. It was completed in May, 1902, 
and was purchased by the present management on September 1 of the same year.


	Omega Mine.-Consists of 300 acres, near Pactola. Shows a large body of low 
grade free milling ore, developed by 150-foot tunnel, numerous cross-cuts and a 
shaft. Owned by George W. dark of New York City.


	Oriole Mining Company.-Incorporated under the laws of South Dakota and 
capitalized for 1,000,000 shares of $1 each, of which 400,000 shares are in the 
treasury. J. N. Wright, general manager, Custer, S. D. This company's property 
of 116 acres is developed by a 100-foot shaft and 100 feet of drifting. One 
carload of ore shipped to Denver brought $66 per ton.


	Redfern Gold Mining & Milling Company.-Incorporated under the laws of 
South Dakota and capitalized for 1,000,000 shares of $1 each. John Croft, 
president, Deadwood, S. D.; J. W. Baker, secretary, Deadwood, S. D.; Peter 
Stankovitche, manager, Lead, S. D. The company owns twelve claims of 240 acres 
two miles southwest of Redfern station on the Burlington Route. Development work 
shows indications of large quantities of ore, which a five-stamp experimental 
mill proves can be worked at a profit. Five stamps are being added and active 
development work carried on.


	Robbie Burns Group.-Consists of 90 acres 5 miles west of Rochford, near 
the Golden West mine. Partially developed and shows a seemingly large body of 
hornblendic ore, assays averaging $3.50 free milling-. Owned by Dr. L. D. 
Bailor, Lead City; E. H. Sheppherd, Rochford, and W. A. Quimby, Lead City.


	Sallie Cavanaugh Mine.-Consists of 240 acres one mile from Oreville, 
Pennington county.  Shows large veins of good quality tin ore. Three thousand 
feet along the strike of the vein is owned, making a well developed proposition 
with the numerous open cuts and shafts in that distance. The vein has an average 
width of eight feet. A gold medal was given the owners at the Chicago World's 
Fair for the purest cassiteritc, taken from this property.  Owned by Mrs. Jeff 
McDermott, Oreville, Thomas Sweeney, James Halley and others of Rapid City.


	Standby Mine.-J. B. Baker, manager, Lead, S. D. This property is located 
at Rochford, on the main line of the Burlington Route, and consists of 75 acres 
of patented ground and 150 horsepower water right on Rapid creek. It is equipped 
with a 6o-stamp mill, air compressor, etc. There are large bodies of low-grade 
ore which in the past have been treated by the free-milling process. It has been 
found that only about 30 per cent of the values can be saved by this process, 
and plans are under way for the erection of a concentrating and cyaniding annex 
to the mill. Extensive experiments tend to prove that the values can be 
successfully extracted by these methods.


	Sunbeam Mining & Milling Company.-Incorporated under the laws of South 
Dakota. Capitalized for 1,000,000 shares of $1 each. J. N. Wright, vice-
president, Custer, S. D.; James Graham, manager, Hill City, S. D. The company 
owns 60 acres of unpatented ground seven miles northwest of Hill City, on Friday 
gulch. This property is known as the "Hawk Wright ground," and has a reputation 
for richness, fine free-gold specimens having been taken from the vein. The 
ground is equipped with a hoist, compressor, etc., and a 10-stamp mill. This 
property is watched with great interest, as the vein at a depth of 425 feet is 
very rich, giving values of from $20 to several thousand dollars per ton.


	Tamarack Group.-Consists of 320 acres 15 miles west of Rapid City, near 
Rapid Creek. Shows a big mineralized zone 1,800 feet wide of quartz and slate. A 
tunnel is being driven to tap the vein at several hundred feet depth. Owned by 
P. B. McCarthy of Rapid City.


	The Bullion Gold Mining & Milling Company.-Has capital stock of 
$5,000,000, in shares of $1 each. Officers are F. H. Long, president; E. S. 
Hartwell, vice-president; J. F. Huntoon, secretary and treasurer. The property 
consists of 80 acres located at Keystone. A tunnel of 160 feet has been driven 
loo feet below the outcrop and another has been driven 1,000 feet, which is 400 
feet below the outcrop. Three cross-cuts from foot wall show a workable vein 70 
feet wide and the hanging wall not yet reached. Where the 1,000-foot tunnel cuts 
the vein the ore averages $7 per ton, some of it running much higher. Mr. Long 
is pursuing active operations.


	Tin King Mine.-Consists of 60 acres, near Oreville, owned by E. C. Hunt, 
of that postoffice. A large tin vein is exposed in numerous workings.


	Tykoon Mining Company.-Incorporated under South Dakota laws with 
capitalization of $1,000,000 in shares of $1 each. W. E. Holmes, secretary, 
Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The property consists of 200 acres, partly patented, 
adjoining the town of Keystone. The ore is adapted for amalgamation and 
concentration and is treated in a ten-stamp mill. One tunnel 600 feet long cuts 
five veins from 6 to 43 feet wide. A shaft 100 feet deep, with cross-cut of 150 
feet, cuts three veins from 6 to 22 feet wide.


CUSTER COUNTY MINES AND MINING.

	Ever since the discovery of gold in Custer county, mining has been the 
chief pursuit of the citizens.  Placer mining nourished in the early days, and 
is followed to some extent yet, although the fields are gradually becoming 
worked out. Still, the gravel of French creek and its tributaries has given 
employment to many men during the last fifteen years in the recovery of the 
placer gold. Tenderfoot gulch is another placer creek of Custer county, and gave 
its share of gold to the world. Placer mining being the easiest accomplished 
under ordinary circumstances of climate and physical condition, is the first 
attempted in a new country, but the attention of the prospector is soon directed 
to the more substantial class, lode or quartz mining.

	In 1876 the first discoveries of quartz ores were made in Custer county, 
numerous miners claiming to have been the first discoverers of "ore in place," 
or veins. Wonderfully rich specimens were found, the veins further exploited, 
and upon the excellent showings made stamp mills were built.

	But, like the hopes of many of the pioneers in a new section, they were 
destined to be crushed. Though the veins produced rich ore near the surface, ore 
that yielded good profits in the amalgamating mills, it was found that at no 
great depth the character changed. The gold which on the surface had been 
released by the elements from its associated base metals (oxidized, as it is 
called) was lower down still intermingled and combined with them, and could not 
be saved in the stamp mills. Thus, knowing nothing of the new processes which 
have since been devised for the treatment of such ores, the mills were 
abandoned. One mill in Custer county was operated on ore that was worth at least 
twenty-five dollars a ton and four-fifths of the amount was lost owing to 
improper devices for saving it. No attempt was made to save the gold other than 
by amalgamation, while to-day the. mills are equipped with cyanide vats and 
ninety per cent of the values recovered where not one-third was returned before.

	There is still another cause for the abandonment of at least one 
particular mine, and that was that the mill was not even a second or a third 
class stamp mill. It was a stamp mill first operated in the zinc fields of 
Illinois, moved from there to Colorado, discarded as worn out, brought to 
Deadwood and operate for a short time, discarded again and taken to this mine in 
Custer county. It was poorly erected, the mortars being set on a log, which in 
turn laid on soft soil near a bog, with the result that as the stamps dropped in 
it it swayed to and fro. The mill was "hung up" for repairs about half the time, 
and finally had to be abandoned since it could not be made to crush ore enough 
to pay for ordinary expenses and repairs.  From the tailings of this mill, which 
ran twenty-five years ago, the writer has many times panned gold and amalgam, 
while a few years ago people in the vicinity made money placer mining the 
tailings.  Thus has Custer county been ever handicapped by misunderstanding and 
misapplication of milling processes, and is only to-day awakening to the 
possibilities of the new metallurgical methods.

	The veins of Custer county, that is gold veins, occur as fissures in the 
slates, having a variety of dips and courses. In other words there is no great 
regularity or vein system evident in the county save in one instance. Mineral 
Ridge. Probably the intense volcanic action which forced Harney Peak and its 
attendant mass of granite mountains to the surface distorted the slates for 
miles in every direction.  Cracks or fissures were formed such as one sees in 
the earth on dry, hot days in summer, and were in turn filled by vein matter. 
Small, rich veins are the rule, large, low-grade ones the exception. Wonderfully 
rich ore is mined from veins from a foot to ten feet in width.

	The great pity is that sufficient depth has not been secured in Custer 
county to accurately estimate the value of the veins. Mining has been 
accomplished near the surface, where as explained the rich free-milling ore is 
found, and the veins in many cases abandoned when the refractory streaks are 
encountered.

	The ores in these small veins are of such a character as would indicate 
that they extend to great depths. Tellurides of gold and silver-sylvanite and 
calaverite-and tellurides of gold, silver and bismuth-tetradymite-are minerals 
that have a deep-seated origin. Undoubtedly, then the veins have come from far 
toward the center of the earth, and they may, and will be, followed one day for 
thousands of feet in their downward courses, and will prove the producers of 
millions of dollars.   True, business-like, scientific gold mining has only just 
begun in Custer county.

	Aside from gold, Custer county's mineral resources are most varied and 
valuable.  The largest producing mica mine in the Black Hills is but two miles 
from Custer City, the county seat, with many other producers and prospects near 
by. It has a record of production amounting to $200,000. Excellent marble is 
mined at various points in the Harney range of mountains, and in the foothills 
to the east and southeast. A fine quality of building stone, sandstone and lime, 
is quarried in the foothills. Rare elements, such as platinum, palladium, 
osmium, irridium, cobalt, etc., are found in the veins. Copper is well 
distributed through veins in the western part of county, occurring in fissures 
breaking through the carboniferous limestone. Tin veins are abundant and show 
fine values. Some of the Harney Peak Company's best property is located in 
Custer county. Iron veins are occasionally found, immense bodies of hematite 
like Iron Mountain being not infrequent.

	Water and timber for the miner are well supplied by nature. Practically 
the entire county is covered with an exceptionally heavy growth of Norway pine, 
the extreme western end being probably the best timbered of all. Thus Custer 
county exhibits and holds forth to the investor all of the geological and 
physical advantages for economic mining which could be asked for, and at some 
time in the near future dozens of mills will be successfully working on Custer 
county ores where to-day there is one.

RUBERTA MINING AND MILLING COMPANY.

	The Ruberta Mining and Milling Company was organized in thc latter part of 
the year 1902, purchasing the property known as the "Old Charlie" mine, situated 
four miles southwest of Custer; also four miles from the Burlington railway, on 
Four Mile creek. The mine was discovered and located by Charles Holmes in 1880. 
He found free gold cropping in several veins on the surface.

	The first concerted attempt at working the mine was made by a company of 
Michigan capitalists, who built a 20-stamp mill. They handled about 1,000 tons 
of ore and produced about $7,500. Since then the mine has been operated by 
various leasers and has produced several thousand dollars' worth of gold, some 
of the ore running as high as $10 per ton on the plates. The mine could not be 
made to pay, as the ore is not free-milling in character, only a portion of the 
gold being amenable to the amalgamation process. It was, of course, necessary, 
in order to make the ore pay to handle, to mine only the very richest portions 
of the veins, and in this way a few dollars a ton could be saved on the plates, 
while tailings worth $20 a ton and more were turned down the stream.

	It has been demonstrated that the concentrates and slimes carrying the 
principal values, and which were not saved, assayed some times as high as $200 
per ton, and occasionally up to $1,000 per ton. Cyanide will save these values, 
and this is the method by which the Ruberta company will treat the ores.

	The first work of the Ruberta company on coming into possession 01 the 
property was to retimber the 200-foot shaft and make it a safe working place for 
the miners. Then a drift was run from the bottom a distance of 40 feet following 
the vein, and another drift of similar length run east, cutting the vein and 
formation and exposing several smaller ore bodies. Mr. Olds, the general manager 
of the company, sank this shaft himself before incorporating the company, 
spending approximately $25,000 in development.

	The hill on which the mine is situated is a perfect network of veins, at 
least twenty different ore bodies being disclosed in the workings. They have 
practically the same dip and trend, and increase rapidly with depth. The veins 
vary in width from a few inches up to eight feet, and converging, or enlarging, 
as they do, it is the belief of experts that they will be found to unite at a 
depth forming a big ore body. It is believed that at 350 feet a monster vein 
will be found, as, from indications, a large number of the small fissures will 
be found to have joined.

	An open cut 150 feet long, 30 feet wide and 30 feet deep is practically 
all ore, giving good results by the free-milling process. A vertical shaft has 
been sunk 20 feet north of the cut to a depth of 100 feet, opening several 
veins, some of which assayed as high as $2,000 per ton. The ores found carried 
tellurides of gold and were only partially free-milling, and carried a portion 
of their values in sulphides. Fifty feet below the surface in this shaft a drift 
was run to cut the formation. Several veins were encountered, and the values 
were shown to increase with depth. At the bottom of the shaft another cross-cut 
was run on the same course to determine the continuity of the veins which had 
been opened above. All the veins previously discovered were found, and showed 
increase in width as well as value. Six veins were cut in the lower drift within 
a distance of 60 feet from the shaft.

	On the east side of the claims a tunnel has been driven in under the big 
open cut, towards the main vertical shaft. This tunnel taps the veins at a depth 
of about 100 feet, and shows good values.

	The property is equipped with a new air compressor, hoist, pumps, and all 
material for continuous working. The hoisting engine is built to raise ore from 
a depth of 600 feet.

	The company is erecting a mill which will contain six Merralls rapid 
crushing stamps, reducing the ore to one-quarter-inch particles, after which it 
is delivered to rolls and reduced to any desired fineness. After amalgamating, 
the ore will be treated by the cyanide process.  The cost of mining and milling 
should not exceed $2.50 per ton, and the mill will save 90 per cent of the 
values in the ore. Mr. Olds believes that the average value of the ore will be 
not less than $15 per ton-a very conservative estimate, considering the fact 
that 100 assays from the vein in the incline shaft averaged $44 per ton from the 
surface to the bottom. The property is covered with good timber, and plenty of 
water can be readily secured, both from the mine and from surface springs.

	The Ruberta Mining and Milling Company has a capital of $750,000, divided 
into 750,000 shares of a par value of $1 each. W. W. Olds of Custer, S. D., is 
president and general manager; A. J. Branyan of Cleveland, O., vice-president; 
J. R. Smith of Custer, secretary, and W. F. Hanley of Custer, treasurer. The 
company owns 140 acres of property, held by the annual performance of assessment 
work.

[Map - Property of Ruberta Mining and Milling Company. Situated in Secs 5, 6, 
31, & 32 Ts 3 & 4S, R 4E  4 Miles from Custer]


MAY MINING AND MILLING COMPANY.

	Ten miles southwest of Custer City, on Lightning creek, is the property of 
the May Mining and Milling Company, consisting of 120 acres. The mine exhibits 
very peculiar geological conditions, appearing to be entirely of volcanic 
origin, entirely different from surrounding sections. Several large diorite 
dikes form one of the walls of the veins, the opposite wall being either schist 
or quartzite. The veins are verticles, and, having undoubted eruptive walls, may 
be safely considered to extend to great depths.

	The veins are as a rule narrow, but very rich. Their width rarely exceeds 
four feet. The ores show a plentiful sprinkling of free gold to the naked eye, 
and as an instance of their value, it may be stated that $80 was panned out in 
two hours by one man from the decomposed ore occurring on and near the surface.

	The principal developments consist of two shafts on the veins, one being 
100 feet deep, with 30 feet of drifting at the bottom following the ore. Good 
values were returned from assays and pan tests. Four hundred feet from this 
opening another shaft was sunk 100 feet to prove the continuity of the veins, 
the same ore being found as at original discovery.

	The veins have a slight dip to the southwest and their general course is 
northeast. The values developed are sufficient to warrant the erection of a 
free-milling and cyaniding mill, and the company is contemplating the 
construction of a plant of that character. Water in abundance can be easily 
secured, and the property is covered with a heavy growth of pine timber.

	The May Mining and Milling Company is incorporated with a capital of 
$750,000, the shares having a par value of $1 each. The president is I. M. 
Donaldson; secretary-treasurer, J. R. Smith, and general manager, W. W. Olds, 
all the gentlemen being residents of Custer City. The main office of the company 
is given as Custer City, S. D.

GRANTZ GOLD MINING COMPANY.

	The Grantz Gold Mining Company is the owner of two tracts of land in the 
southern Black Hills, one known as the St. Elmo group, five miles south of Hill 
City, in Pennington county, and the other, the Roosevelt group, nine miles 
northwest of Custer City, in Custer county. Both properties are surveyed for 
patent, and consist of 163 and 210 acres each, respectively.

	The St. Elmo is one of the old mines of the section, and has passed 
through several hands, finally over two years ago coining into the possession of 
a company headed by Otto P. Th. Grantz, a miner of nearly half a century's 
experience. The ground adjoins the Clara Belle mine, and the ores of the two are 
identical in character. In fact, the underground workings of the two properties 
are connected where the Clara Belle owners had taken ore from their extension of 
the St. Elmo vein.

	Under former management and ownership the mine was robbed of the better 
portions of the veins, mining being carried on in a most unworkmanlike manner. 
The richer parts of the ore body were gouged out, timbering was poorly done, the 
slopes rendered unsafe for workmen, and the property in general suffered from 
mismanagement.

	Mr. Grantz himself took personal charge of the operations of the company 
on its organization, and the first work inaugurated was the sinking of a large 
working shaft to open the vein below the old slopes, admitting of cheap mining 
combined with safety for the men. This shaft has been sunk to a depth of 208 
feet vertically, and drifting to the vein will soon be in progress. When the 
vein is opened at this level the property will be in shape to produce ore to the 
best advantage.

	The St. Elmo is equipped with a first-class ten-stamp mill, complete, 
built by the last owners. After this mill was built it was operated only a short 
time. Good results were obtained, considering the fact that no attempt was made 
to save any of the values save the free-milling portion, or that caught on the 
amalgamating plates. Undoubtedly a large portion of the values in the ore were 
lost in the tailings from this crude milling operation, and it is the intention 
of the Grantz company to add to the mill a complete cyaniding equipment before 
attempting to treat any more of the ore.

	The following table gives the value of the bullion shipped to the United 
States Assay Office during a portion of the year 1896. The number of tons is 
taken from the records of the company:
       Tons                              Gold value.
        43                                  $ 561.29
        28                                    309.30
        13                                    149.30 
        32                                    511.94 
        31                                    430.66
        72                                    777.83
        30                                    331.79 
        57                                    636.24
Total  306                                 $3,708.35

Average per ton, in gold, $12.12.

	This is a splendid showing, as $2.50 per ton is an outside figure for the 
cost of mining and milling the ore. The ore is delivered into bins at the top of 
the mill by wagons from the mine, the two being about one-half mile apart, and 
downhill all the way from mine to mill. The machinery of the plant is first 
class, and could be made ready to run upon a day's notice. There is lumber 
delivered at the mill for the cyanide annex, and several hundred cords of wood 
piled up would furnish fuel for many months.   In addition to these assets, the 
properly is covered with heavy pine timber in sufficient quantities to furnish 
the mine and mill with timbers and fuel for years to come. Several springs and 
gulches furnish the water used in the reduction of the ore.

	Quite a different state of affairs exists at the Roosevelt mine, the other 
property of the Grantz company. Here the company is engaged in developing an 
almost virgin piece of ground. With the exception of a forty-foot shaft and a 
small open cut, practically no development had been done upon the property until 
Mr. Grantz took hold. Since then a large working shaft, two-compartment, has 
been sunk to a depth of ninety feet, encountering the vein on its northward dip, 
and considerable drifting, nearly 200 feet, accomplished on this level. It is 
proposed to sink this shaft several hundred feet deeper, as the course and dip 
of the ore shoots have now been determined and the company has a good basis of 
knowledge to work from.

	On the surface the vein is well exposed in an open cut. The ore body has a 
width of four to six feet of high-grade shipping ore, with occasional stringers 
that assay up into the thousands. From 177 assays made during 1902 and the early 
part of 1903, an average of $83.03 per ton in gold was returned.

	The ore is a bismuth telluride-tetradymite-occurring in spherical 
crystals. This telluride carries a high percentage of gold, as eight assays on 
it give average values of $10,361.65 per ton. There are also found specimens 
showing sylvanite, and free gold is frequently discovered. The surface 
indications of the Roosevelt may be said to approximate those of Cripple Creek 
during its early history, with perhaps even better values exposed than were 
discovered there. Experts from the Colorado camp have no hesitancy in declaring 
their belief that the Roosevelt will prove richer and better with depth, since 
such is the history of tellurides ores.

	A comfortable camp has been established at the Roosevelt. Among the 
buildings are boarding-house, bunk house, assay office, ore house, blacksmith 
shop, stables and cottages for the employes. The buildings were constructed of 
lumber sawed from timber cut on the company's ground, and though for several 
months during the summer of 1902 a sawmill was in constant operation, hardly a 
scar was made in the heavy forest.

	The Grantz Gold Mining Company has a capital stock of 2,500,000 shares of 
a par value of $1 each. The principal office is at Deadwood.

	Otto P. Th. Grantz is president. He is a miner of repute, having been in 
the West nearly all of his life, coming to the Black Hills at an early date. 
Some four years ago he sold valuable property in North Lead to the Hidden 
Fortune Gold Mining Company, after netting himself from three carloads of ore 
$67,000. Mr. Grantz also acts as general manager of the company, giving the 
affairs his personal attention. George V. Ayres, hardware and mining supply 
merchant of Deadwood, is secretary and treasurer. Other directors are James 
McDonald, Hill City; D. M. Gillette, R. H. Graves and Asa Baldwin of Deadwood 
and Herbert S. Shaw of Denver.

THE CUYAHOGA MINING COMPANY.

	The Cuyahoga Mining Company was organized in the spring of 1900 under the 
laws of the state of South Dakota with a capital of $500,000, the shares having 
a par value of $1 each. The property of the company consists of a group of 
twenty-nine contiguous and adjoining claims aggregating 580 acres in the Iron 
Mountain district of Custer county, four miles from Keystone on the B. & M. 
railway, as illustrated in the accompanying map; also two claims at Spokane, two 
and one-half miles from the first-mentioned property, containing veins of 
silver-lead ore, and one claim one-half mile from Glendale, on which a fine 
showing of the valuable mineral mica has been made.

	On the main group of the company the principal development consists of a 
tunnel 700 feet long running north and south at right angles to the formation. 
At a point 100 feet from the portal of the tunnel a quartz fissure in the slates 
20 feet wide has been opened. Careful assays have demonstrated this vein to have 
an average value of $4.10 in gold per ton. Two hundred and six feet from the 
portal a vein 101 feet wide, assaying from $5 to $15.12 per ton in gold, is 
disclosed. The vein is divided by a characteristic horse of slate 30 feet wide.

	One of the most curious formations exhibited in the Black Hills is found 
in this vein. A large opening or cave was encountered 30 by 50 feet and 25 feet 
in height. It was practically filled with an ash or decomposed quartz which was 
easily removed, and, in order to thoroughly prospect this ore body, the hoisting 
engine shown on the opposite page was installed and a shaft sunk to a depth of 
35 feet. Following the vein at this depth the vein has the same general 
characteristics; as ore first discovered.

	Continuing on through the cave, 350 feet from the entrance the tunnel 
penetrates a vein of graphite containing 25 per cent of the pure mineral, while 
near the breast of the tunnel was discovered a vein of tin ore 50 feet wide, 
carrying the white metal in good percentages. On the surface a vein of gold ore 
has been opened which has not yet been penetrated by the bore, from which assays 
as high as $21 per ton have been returned. Careful surveys have estimated that a 
depth of 550 feet will be gained on this vein by means of the tunnel.

	This is probably one of the most important tunnel developments in the 
Black Hills, as it well illustrates the numerous bodies of mineral of different 
characters which are encountered in the section.

	As has been noted, there were discovered in this tunnel veins of gold 
quartz, graphite and tin ore, together with appreciable quantities of copper at 
numerous points.

	In order to handle these enormous bodies of low-grade ore, which must be 
treated economically and on a large scale, the corn-pay will erect a large 
cyanide plant, as numerous tests have demonstrated the adaptability of the ores 
to this treatment method. Lumber for this plant will be sawed in the company's 
own mill, the trees cut from the virgin forests, which cover large portions of 
the territory. The first step toward the construction of this plant will be the' 
erection as early in the spring as feasible of a sawmill in which the lumber 
will be made. The company, by the way, owns one of the finest forests of Norway 
pine in the southern Black Hills, enough for many years' supply of fuel, lumber 
and mine timbers.

	At the mouth of the tunnel a power house and blacksmith shop have been 
erected, containing a loo-horsepower boiler and a 12 by 12 Norwalk air 
compressor sufficient in size to operate three drills, while it also furnishes 
power for the underground hoist and pumps.

	Other surface improvements consist of boarding-house, assay office, with 
complete outfit, four dwellings and a stable.

	All of the operations of the company have been conducted on lines of the 
strictest economy, although the buildings have been erected most substantially. 
Scarcely $35,000 has been expended by the company in development work and in 
making the improvements mentioned.

	The officers of the Cuyahoga Mining Company are H. A. Henke of Cleveland, 
O., president; H. G. Wickoff of Paynesville, 0., vice-president; J. A. Foerstner 
of Cleveland, O., secretary; H. C. Hemann, also of Cleveland, treasurer, and F. 
A. Gira of Custer, general manager. The secretary's office is 521 The Cuyahoga, 
Cleveland, O., and the manager's office, Custer City, S. D.

	The gentlemen comprising the directorate of the Cuyahoga Mining Company 
are men of large means, principally of Cleveland; and Mr. Gira, the manager, is 
also of that city. He is fortunate in having the entire confidence of the 
directorate and has accepted the responsibility by making his home at Custer 
until he shall have developed the mine to such an extent that it will no longer 
require his presence on the spot. In other words, he has sacrificed every other 
interest to the one in hand and carries with him every element of success for 
that reason.

THE GOLDEN BANNER MINING AND MILLING COMPANY.

	The property of the Golden Banner Mining and Milling Company is situated 
about eight miles northwest of Custer City, in Custer county, S. D. It consists 
of 192 acres of land, covering the veins for a distance of 1,000 feet along 
their outcrop. The ores of the Golden Banner company are free-milling and 
concentrating in character; in other words, to save the values the material is 
to be treated in a stamp mill. First, the free gold recovered by amalgamation 
and the concentrates saved by machines.

	At the sawmill, which the company has erected, is installed a boiler and 
engine of sufficient power to operate a small stamp mill. The company intends to 
build this stamp mill adjoining the sawmill so that both can be operated by the 
same power. Excavations have already been made for the stamp mill, and it will 
probably be completed during the present year.  With the equipment of five 
stamps much can be determined regarding the possibilities of the ore deposits 
and their commercial value.

	The ore is found in quartz veins, a series of these parallel bodies 
running the length of the property in the direction of nearly east and west. 
These veins are separated by a few feet of slate, which is of sufficient value 
to pay for milling. The widest point yet opened on the ore body shows it to be 
over 60 feet across. The greatest depth yet attained is 65 feet, showing the ore 
to be continuous and of uniform value for that distance, with a probability that 
it continues to immeasurable depth. It is a big low-grade proposition, and if 
$2.50 to $3 per ton can be saved by amalgamation, a neat profit will be made, 
since with large stamp mills and mining upon a heavy scale, the total cost of 
breaking the ore, transporting it to the mill and treatment would not exceed 
$1.25 per ton.

	As an indicator of the value of the ores, the result of a little trial 
test will be mentioned.  Six years ago nine wagonloads of ore were taken from 
the dump at the mouth of one of the shafts. This ore was hauled to a crude mill 
on Spring creek, where, after considerable delay, the gold was finally 
recovered. Each wagon-load consisted of very nearly a ton of ore, and the gold 
recovered amounted to $18.70, or a little better than $2 per ton. No attempt was 
made to save the concentrates, which are of good value, and Messrs. Downing and 
Yerxa, who conducted the test, believe that only a small portion of the gold was 
recovered, since the mill was such a crude affair that it was impossible to do 
close work. This test clearly show's the possibilities of the mine, and as a big 
low-grade proposition it ranks favorably with others of the Black Hills.

	Some $3,100 has already been spent by the Golden Banner company erecting a 
sawmill, sawing lumber and constructing a water ditch, erecting a barn, 
blacksmith shop, whim, shaft house, etc. About 25,000 feet of lumber was sawed, 
all of which has been used in the construction of these buildings. All the 
lumber for milling and the building of the mill can be sawed from trees on the 
company's ground for $4 per 1,000 feet.

	The president of the Golden Banner Mining Company is Isaac Downing; 
secretary and treasurer, W. E. Benedict; superintendent, A. J. Yerxa. It is 
capitalized for 750,000 shares of a par value of $1 each. The general office is 
located at Custer City, S. D.

[Photo  - SHOWING SURFACE IMPROVEMENTS ON GOLDEN BANNER PROPERTY.]

THE EXTREME GOLD MINING AND MILLING COMPANY.

	A little over a year ago J. N. Wright, one of the prosperous mining 
operators, a pioneer citizen of Custer City, succeeded in interesting with him 
several capitalists of Washington, Pa., and other Eastern points, in an 
enterprise which was incorporated as "The Extreme Gold Mining & Milling 
Company," under the laws of South Dakota. Under the control of the company are 
320 acres of unpatented properly situated three miles northwest of Custer City 
on Ruby Creek. A great deal of the property is heavily timbered; in fact, a 
quarter of a million feet of lumber which was cut and sawed for the company 
scarcely made an impression on the forest which it owns.

	The main vein owned by The Extreme Company is a true fissure in the 
slates, from ten to fifty feet thick, producing a quartz heavily impregnated 
with arsenopyrite. To treat this ore The Extreme Company decided a year ago to 
erect a mill embodying the principles of crushing by stamps, amalgamating, 
concentrating and cyaniding. If it were not for the arsenopyrite it would not be 
necessary to concentrate before cyaniding, hut it is well known that this 
mineral has a deleterious effect on cyanide solutions; consequently it is 
eliminated from the ore by concentrators before the pulp is treated in the 
cyanide vats.

	Hundreds of assays have been made from this vein, showing it to carry 
values from $2.20 to $408 per ton in gold. Mr. Wright believes that the ore will 
average, as it is delivered to the mill, from $8 to $10 per ton. Another vein 
which this company owns is a large ore body, a fissure in the slates, forty to 
fifty feet wide, and contains some very rich streaks. The average value is 
placed at $4 to $5 per ton.

	The mill which the company is running contains ten stamps, and its 
adaptability to the treatment of the ores is being thoroughly demonstrated. The 
tailings from the mill assay from $1.20 to $1.40, although the cyanide annex has 
not yet been finished. When this annex is in operation, probably ninety per cent 
of this value will he saved. The mill was erected by the company with a view of 
demonstrating in the most practical manner its value as applied to the ores of 
the company. It is constructed in such a manner that it may be increased in 
capacity as conditions warrant, and in the future we may hope to see a plant 
containing at least sixty stamps and having a daily capacity of 250 tons in 
operation at this point; at least, such are the hopes of the company. An air 
compressor will be placed in the mill sufficiently large to furnish power for 
the hoist pumps and drills at the mine. A dynamo will furnish electric lights 
for the workings, both surface and underground.

	The ore is hauled now from the mine in wagons, but future plans call for a 
gravity tramway connecting the hoist and mill, affording a cheaper delivery of 
ore than by any other method. Whether this will be an aerial rope tram or of 
another character has not yet been decided.

	Dr. J. Y. Scott, of Washington, Pa., is president of The Extreme Gold 
Mining & Milling Company; W. F. Wright, of Custer City, vice-president; Dr. W. 
H. Chambers, of McKeesport, Pa., secretary; W. J. Andrews, of Washington, Pa., 
treasurer; J. N. Wright, general manager, and Isaac Downing, superintendent. The 
company has a capital of $1,200,000, divided into a similar number of shares 
each having a par value of $1. The principal office and place of business is 
Custer City, S. D., while a branch office has been established at Washington, 
Pa.

[Photo - THREE WINTER VIEWS AT THE "EXTREME" CAMP.]

MINERAL RIDGE BELT.

	Five miles south of Custer City is one of the most important geological 
formations in the Black Hills. For a distance of more than four miles a 
continuous body of pay ore is shown in a series of mines covering the strike or 
course of the formation. It is known as Mineral Ridge Belt.

	For the past twenty-five years the various owners have held their claims 
on the belt, cheerfully doing the annual assessment work required by United 
States law to hold them, and in the course of that time some of them have been 
opened to a considerable extent.

	The various owners of these claims are unable to handle them, and a 
wonderful opportunity for the investment of capital is offered. It is an immense 
low-grade proposition, requiring, to be placed on a paying basis, the 
expenditure of thousands of dollars for erection of mills. It is not by any 
means a small proposition, for the average low grade of the ore would 
necessitate big milling operations to place them on a paying basis.

	The general characteristics of the belt may be summed up as follows: The 
outcrop of the veins, the hard quartz and diorite walls, weathering slowly, have 
left a long mountain or ridge standing, which reaches to a height somewhat above 
that of the surrounding country. The general course of this ridge is northwest 
and southeast, in general conformity to Black Hills geology, with deep ravines 
and gulches paralleling it on either side for nearly its entire distance. The 
ores are contained in banded veins of quartz, talcose slate and hornblende, from 
30 to 200 feet in width, inter-lapping and paralleling, with a general course of 
northwest and southeast. ,The belt is really a system of parallel, interlapping 
ore bodies, the exact boundaries of which are so hard to determine that at first 
glance they seem to he one big vein four miles in length.

	The gold values present in ore are both free and in concentrates, 
averaging close to and above four dollars per ton. In the opinion of the writer 
amalgamation and cyanidation would successfully extract the values, and it is 
fair to presume that, with the natural facilities at hand, the immense quantity 
of ore in sight and a conservative management, this could be accomplished, 
including mining and delivery at the mills, for less than two dollars per ton.

	Nearly the whole belt is covered with an exceptionally fine growth of pine 
timber, and sawmills, conveniently located, could supply mining timbers, lumber, 
etc., for the operation of the property, while a large amount of the refuse 
timber, dead trees, etc., could be utilized to advantage as fuel under the 
boilers. Water could probably be procured either at Bear Springs, a steady 
flowing and sufficient supply, or it might instead be advisable, if larger 
milling operations were carried on than the Bear Springs supply would 
accommodate, to convey the ore by rail to the Cheyenne river, where any amount 
for practical operations could be procured.

	In toto, Mineral Ridge Belt presents to-day an opening, for the judicious 
investment of capital, that will bear the closest scrutiny.

	Among the properties along the belt might be mentioned the following:

	The Newark mine, owned by Henry Pilger of Custer City. It is developed, by 
shaft, to a depth of 100 feet, showing good values in the ores. A large acreage 
is owned, and included is a water right. This property is at the northerly end 
of the belt as here described.

	A short distance northeast of the belt, and paralleling it, is the 
Mayflower mine, controlled by Henry Pilger and Judge A. T. Feay of Custer City. 
A stamp mill was built on this mine in the early days, but the crude methods 
employed were not successful. A deep shaft has been sunk and the vein is well 
opened up. As a test some 2,800 pounds were sent to Denver.  Assays of $14 were 
returned, and the metallurgists reported that $12 per ton could be recovered by 
the cyanide process.

	The Turk mine, owned by James McKenna of Custer, is the producer of some 
of the highest grade ore found on the belt. Telluride ores assaying a hundred 
dollars a ton and better are exposed in the workings.

	The Columbia mine, owned by Thomas I. Wheeler of Custer, has been well 
developed by the owner. A large tunnel is being driven to tap a vein shown in 
openings higher up the hillside. The property shows large amounts of low-grade 
ore.

	The Evening Star group, owned by A. T. Feay, B. R. Wood, C. W. Robbins and 
James Demereau of Custer, consists of no acres, showing numerous veins of medium 
and low grade ores. Considerable exploratory work has been done.

	The Bonanza, consisting of five claims, is the property of Butterfield 
Bros. of Custer. The principal developments consist of a 50-foot shaft and 40-
foot tunnel. A 30-foot vein of low-grade ore is exposed.

	The largest development on the belt is on the property of Henry Albion of 
Custer, where a tunnel several hundred feet in length has penetrated the ore 
body for a considerable distance. The usual ore of the belt is disclosed, 
namely, a low-grade free-milling material.

	J. P. Foran, Charles Ostrum and Elmer Ruddock each own groups of claims on 
the belt, on which the developments have shown ore deposits in conformity with 
the belt rule, and have each performed on their properties large amounts of 
valuable work.

SAG1NAW GOLD MINING COMPANY.

	This property consists of 317 acres and is located eight miles northwest 
of Custer City, on the north fork of French creek. The grounds are heavily 
timbered with the Norway pine, and a part of the property is a 100-acre ranch 
through which the north fork of French creek flows. This is a very apparent 
advantage, as water for milling operations is at hand.

	The property is a large one, and a great deal of development work has been 
done, most of it under the personal supervision of Mr. L. P. Woodbury, the 
president of the company, who has ever given the company his unceasing 
attention.

DEVELOPMENTS AND EXPLORATIONS.

	The proposition is one of semi-low grade ore with wide veins. The three 
veins upon which the principal work has been done so far have been explored in 
shafts, tunnels and surface pits along their course for practically 500 feet.  
In several diamond drill holes (crosscutting the three veins a number of times) 
they are again disclosed at a depth of about 500 feet. A number of other veins 
are known to occur on the property but have not been developed to any great 
extent up to this time.

EXPERT OPINIONS.

	On this point W. J. Rattle, a mining engineer of ^repute of Cleveland, 
Ohio, says: "The out-croppings and general character of the veins on the Saginaw 
property are indications that there are a large number of veins in an immense 
network underlying the grounds."

	The three veins mentioned above have an average dip of 22 degrees toward 
the southeast, and range in width from 18 inches to over 8 feet.   They are true 
fissures, or quartz lodes in the schists, carrying gold in the native state, in 
iron pyrites and arsenical pyrites. By the use of the diamond drill a most 
interesting geological feature was discovered, namely, that the three veins 
converge at about 500 feet depth, forming an ore body nearly 20 feet wide and a 
shaft has been started to tap the veins at the depth mentioned which is now down 
nearly 200 feet.

LARGE TEST ORE RUNS.

	Henry E. Wood of Denver, a metallurgist of national reputation, has tested 
a great deal of the Saginaw ores. A recent shipment to him of 33 tons assorted 
to convey an idea of the values in the low-grade ore, gave returns of $8 per 
ton, and at the same time a test of 600 pounds of selected ore showed values 
amounting to $86 per ton. Numerous other tests have shown the gold values to run 
from a few dollars to over a hundred, and a conservative estimate of what might 
be expected as a general average is given as $10 to $12 per ton.

PROPER TREATMENT.

	Treatment of the ores will be by a combination of amalgamation, 
concentration and cyanidation. This, Mr. Wood says, will cost not to exceed 
$2.25 per ton with a proper equipment and accomplished in a mill handling at 
least 100 tons per day. 

	As an example of what can be done on the lower-grade ores by a combination 
of these processes, the following returns from Mr. Wood are self-explanatory:

	From the sample of 33 tons of low-grade ore he made these tests and the 
value in each instance ran $8 per ton; the difference in tests was a difference 
only in the size of the screen mesh, but the results were the same-$8 per ton; 
and he used amalgamation, concentration and cyanidation and these are the 
treatments he recommends, and by the combined treatment lie has been able to 
extract $7.20 (or 90 per cent) of the values. He has already made specifications 
for a 100-ton mill on the proper processes as above and these will be followed 
in the near future as soon as a little more cross-cutting has been done. A 
conservative estimate on the amount of ore already blocked out down to 500 feet 
on the three veins, and figuring on a low average width of the veins as shown, 
gives a total of 2,250,000 cubic feet or something over 200,000 tons, enough to 
supply a 100-ton mill over six years. In all probability the practical results 
will far exceed these estimates both in the values of ore and the amount of ore 
in sight down to the 500 feet explored- as we have purposely given particular 
prominence to the treatment of the lowest grade ore ($8) yet found, whereas much 
of it runs to very high values and in large quantities as shown above by the 
test of 600 pounds of ore giving value of $86; on this score a test by Mariner & 
Hoskins, well-known assayers of Chicago, show values ranging from $55 to $.90 
and the Dominion of Canada Provincial Assay Office (at Belleville, Out.) shows 
values ranging up to $49.20.

IMPROVEMENTS TO DATE.

	Improvements upon the property at present include the shaft house and 
blacksmith shop; a saw mill where all timber and lumber used by the company is 
cut; an assay office 16x20 feet; office building of three rooms; bunk house of 
three rooms; boarding house of five rooms; several miners' cabins and frame 
cottages, large barn, etc.

	The shaft machinery is enclosed in a building 35x55 feet, and includes a 
14x16 Norwalk high altitude air compressor; a Monogram hoist capable of raising 
ore from 500 feet depth; 85-horse-power boiler, and all blacksmith tools, feed 
pumps, water tanks, etc., necessary. The shaft is two compartment, substantially 
timbered, and good progress has been made by the use of compressed air drills.

	Fifty-five acres of the property have already been patented and 
application has been filed for the balance.

	The company is incorporated under the laws of South Dakota with a 
capitalization of $l,500,000 in shares of $1 each. L. P. Woodbury of Chicago, is 
president, with offices at 1021 Stock Exchange building, Chicago. W. Schlichter 
is secretary and treasurer: the directors are L. P. Woodbury and R. L. Boyer, 
Chicago; Benjamin Eilber of Ubly, Mich.; O. W. Mosher of New Richmond, Wis.; and 
Howard N. Wagg of Chicago.

THE WHITE CLOUD GOLD MINING AND MILLING COMPANY.

	Four miles north of Custer City on Laughing Water creek the White Cloud 
Gold Mining and Milling Company owns 275 acres of the choicest mineral land of 
Custer county. The claims adjoin and practically surround the celebrated Gold 
Fish mine of the Gladiator Consolidated Company and cover, in addition to the 
numerous quartz veins, over 200 acres of excellent timber land, sufficient for 
all requirements for mining and domestic purposes.  Laughing Water creek, which 
extends across the property, is a stream in which flows water sufficient to 
supply any stamp mill the company may erect.

	Cyrus W. Robbins recently made a report on the property of the White Cloud 
company in which he speaks very flatteringly of the indications for future 
value. The ore is found in fissure veins of white quartz, the gold being both in 
a free state and combined with pyrite and tetradymite. On a low hill having a 
general course of northwest and southeast, four of the largest and strongest 
veins of gold-bearing quartz have been opened. Their outcrop may be traced the 
entire length of the property, or nearly two miles, being the extension of the 
ore bodies opened in the Gold Fish mine. Assays give returns of gold all the way 
from $3 to $40 per ton, taken at different times and from various points where 
the veins have been opened, and it is perfectly safe to estimate the average 
value at $7 per ton.

	Cyaniding will undoubtedly be the treatment pursued by the company in the 
extraction of the values from its ores. By this process, which has come to be 
the most general in use throughout the Black Hills, the values can be recovered 
for $1.50 per ton. Estimating mining at $1.50 to $2 per ton, it will be readily 
seen that the operation of the mill on the class of ore mentioned will be highly 
profitable.

	All of the claims have been opened by discovery shafts the regulation ten 
feet in depth, while many of them have been continued to a greater distance. 
Several other shafts have been sunk to a depth of 25 feet. In every one of the 
openings one or more of the four veins mentioned have been disclosed. These 
veins have a width of from four to twelve feet. On the Gold Ring claim an open 
cut eight by twelve feet shows a vein four feet wide; on the east of this is a 
vein fully ten feet in thickness, and another on the west side has a width of 
four feet.

	The officers and directors of the White Cloud Gold Mining and Milling 
Company are all citizens of Custer City. Absalom Wilcox, the president, is one 
of the pioneers of that section; C. E. Nason, vice-president, has been 
prominently identified with mining in the vicinity for several years; J. E. 
Pilcher, secretary, is an assayer and conducts a general drug business; T. W. 
Delicate, the treasurer, is cashier of the Custer County Bank; J. A. Collins, 
superintendent and general manager, is a man of large experience in the mines. 
The directors consist of A. Wilcox, S. R. Shankland, C. E. Nason, William 
Tarrant, J. E. Pilcher, J. A. Collins and F. A. Gira. The company is capitalized 
for $1,000,000, being organized under the laws of the state of South Dakota, and 
the main office is at Custer City, S. D.

[Photo collage - AT THE WHITE CLOUD.]

ARGYLE FULLER'S EARTH COMPANY.

	Argyle Fuller's Earth Company.-The company is mining Fuller's Earth from a 
bed fifteen feet thick and of unknown lateral extent, and the proximity to 
railroad, two miles, gives cheap transportation facilities, which enable the 
company to compete with the material mined from England. The company has the 
promise of a railroad spur to the property in the future and the output will be 
enlarged and cheapened. The Fuller's Earth overlies a bed of Henault pumice sand 
(named after the discoverer, the president of the company) four feet thick, 
which is sold as an abrasive, a substitute for the best Italian ground pumice. 
Nature has here provided this pumice sand already ground and of unequaled 
purity, analyses showing ?2 per cent silica and 2 per cent iron with some mica 
and manganese. The company has a capital stock of $500,000, divided into 100,000 
shares of a par value of $5 each. Owns 640 acres near Argyle station on the 
Burlington Route, in southern Custer County. Denis Henault is president, H. A. 
Albien vice-president and treasurer, and J. S. Putnam, secretary. All of these 
gentlemen reside in Custer City, where the principal office of the company is.

CUSTER MOUNTAIN MINING COMPANY.

	Custer Mountain Mining Company.-This property is about two and one-half 
miles east of Custer and comprises 512 acres. The character of the ore is such 
that it will be treated by the cyanide process; assays show $4 to $15 per ton of 
gold and some silver. The vein is a vertical formation and the 80-foot shaft 
already down the vein has not dipped six inches from the perpendicular; it shows 
already a width of 12 feet at least and the foot wall has not yet been reached. 
About 30 feet of tunneling has been done. Water was struck in the shaft at 60 
feet. Up to date a windlass has been employed, but the company is about to 
install a hoist for more active operations.

	There are many other quartz veins on the property showing at the surface; 
but nothing has yet been done on them.

	The capital stock is $1,000,000, in shares of $1 each.

	The officers are Denis Henault, president; John Virtue, vice-president ; 
John Oak, treasurer, and Will Nevin, secretary.

	The property has two springs for milling purposes and is exceptionally 
well timbered.

IVANHOE GOLD MINING AND MILLING COMPANY.

	Ivanhoe Gold Mining and Milling Company.-One of the prominent mine 
building enterprises of Custer county is the Ivanhoe Gold Mining and Milling 
Company, operating at Camp Ivanhoe, six miles east of Custer, S. D. The company 
owns a tract embracing 250 acres, on which it is pushing development work, with 
all the prospects of ultimate success.  Five distinct gold bearing veins, from 
eight inches to seventeen feet in width, are shown on the property and surface 
values give an average of $9 to $16 per ton in gold.

	One shaft on the property has been sunk to a depth of 105 feet, and the 
company is now installing a hoisting plant and intends sinking it to 500 feet to 
fully determine the value of the ground. The equipment includes a 100-horsepower 
marine boiler, 10-drill air compressor, 600-foot hoist, pumps, drills, 
blacksmith shop, assay office, etc. A commodious boarding-house for the employes 
has been erected, as well as quarters for the superintendent.

	The company has a capital stock of $1,000,000 in shares of $1 each, par 
value. Dr. Herman F. Ratte of Custer is president; Dr. David A. Smith of Lead 
City, vice-president; Charles P. Doney of Indianapolis, Ind., treasurer, and 
Charles J. Sine of Custer, secretary and superintendent.

	The machinery is all of the most improved patterns and careful attention 
was given to its selection before having it installed.

THE MAGGIE MINE.

	The Maggie Mine, belonging to Ed N. Davis of Custer and Herman Reinbold of 
Omaha, shows a vein from which analysis gives 24.5 per cent copper, 17 per cent 
nickel, 3.5 per cent cobalt, 10 ounces silver and $18.26 gold. The vein is 14 
feet wide, of hornblendic schist and quartz, with very rich shoots. The group 
includes 240 acres, 13 miles east of Custer, on French creek, and is well 
watered and timbered.

PROVIDENT MINING COMPANY.

	Provident Mining Company.-Capital, $50,000 paid up. This company took the 
business of Herman Reinbold & Co., formerly of Custer, S. D. and Omaha, Neb., 
and makes a specialty of mining and shipping rare minerals, like tungstall, 
spodumen, etc., and owns properties in various parts of Custer and Pennington 
counties; the company is shipping and exporting ores for chemical and technical 
purposes. Herman Reinbold is president and C. Reinbold, secretary, with 
headquarters at Omaha.

PARKS GROUP.

	Parks Group.-The property is in the Roosevelt district, ten miles 
northwest of Custer City, and exhibits several strong veins showing excellent 
values, with occasional assays up in the hundreds of dollars. Several veins from 
six inches to three feet in width are exposed, all carrying gold. Development 
would undoubtedly open up a good mine here, as the $2,000 which has been already 
expended has sufficed to exploit the veins to good advantage. The property 
consists of four claims and a fraction, or 45 acres, near the Tiead of French 
creek, owned by August Fisher, of Custer City.

	The balance of the most notable properties of Custer County follow 
alphabetically:


	Baltimore Group.-Two large veins are exposed on this ground, one fourteen 
feet wide of solid quartz, which it is claimed shows excellent gold values. 
Another vein is 200 feet wide, with stringers assaying $7 to $8 per ton, while 
some assays have been returned as high as $700 per ton. The property adjoins the 
Extreme Company's holdings, two miles northwest of Custer City. The group 
consists of eleven twenty-acre claims, unpatented, amounting to 220 acres, owned 
by J. Foran and John Wilhelm of Custer City.


	Black Hills Porcelain, Clay and Marble Company.-Incorporated under the 
laws of South Dakota.   Capitalised for 3,000,000 shares of $1 each. Offices at 
Custer, S. D., and Chicago, Ill. C. E. Mason, general manager, Custer, S. D.

	This company owns 2,000 acres of unpatented ground in Custer and 
Pennington counties, containing marble, mica, lithograph stone, kaolin clay and 
black granite.   Some lithograph stone is being shipped, blocks as large as six 
feet square, said to be equal in quality to the best Bavarian stone, being 
obtained.


	Golden Mortar Mining, Milling and Development Company.-This company owns 
two groups of unpatented claims, one mile apart, six miles west of Custer City. 
On the Fraction group a vein has been followed fifty feet in depth, showing good 
values in gold. On the Golden Mortar group is exposed and developed by a shaft 
60 feet deep a vein 30 feet wide. The company has a capital stock of $1,200,000, 
the shares having a par value of $1 each. The president is E. G. McClure; vice-
president, W. H. Chambers; treasurer, W. F. Wright; secretary, W. W. Wright; 
superintendent and general manager, J. N. Wright. The headquarters are at Custer 
City.


	Grand Junction.-This claim proper was located in 1878 by C. C. Crary of 
Custer, who put up a small stamp mill, and shortly sold out. His successors sold 
in 1882 to St. Louis parties, who built a forty-stamp mill, but owing to gross 
mismanagement the mine was forced to close down. Thousands of tons of ore were 
mined from the vein, which is sixty feet wide and can be traced for half a mile 
in length, making an open cut 200 feet long, 75 feet wide and 70 feet in depth. 
The property consists of ten acres patented and fifty unpatented. Seven miles 
north of Custer City on Spring creek is the location.


	Granite Beef Group.-A vein ten feet wide is opened in showing a great 
variety of metals, included among them are gold, silver, platinum, irridium, 
copper, manganese, iron, bismuth, etc. The ore shows pay values, but owing to 
the complexity of the contents and the base elements, no process has been 
devised for its successful treatment. The mine is owned by C. W. Robbins, James 
Demereau and A. T. Feay, of Custer City. Consists of oo acres, unpatented, two 
miles southeast of the city, on Mill creek.


	Hartford Mine.-The property of C. C. Crary, who located the Grand Junction 
but afterward sold, and J. C. Spencer, the proprietor of Sylvan Lake. It adjoins 
the latter mine and the vein can be traced across the property. Mill tests from 
the ores have shown good values. Consists of 50 acres, 10 of which are patented.


	Interstate Gold Mining and Milling Company.-Owns 640 acres of unpatented 
property eight miles northwest of Custer City on which several shafts have been 
sunk, showing telluride ores in good quantity and fair values. J. H. Godden, 
Emmettsburg, Iowa, is president; E. H. Soper, same city, treasurer; F. S. 
Applemen, same city, secretary; W. R. Millham, Custer, general manager. The 
capital stock is l,000,000 shares of a par value of $1 each.


	Leroy Mining and Milling Company.-Consists of 185 acres near Custer, well 
timbered and showing three veins of free milling quartz telluride ore with good 
gold values.  A shaft has been sunk 115 feet and a drift run 57 feet at the loo-
foot level.

	The shaft was run down on cross vein which was two feet wide at surface 
and is 3 feet wide at 100-foot level; it is expected to cross-cut two parallel- 
veins which are 3x5 feet wide, respectively, at surface. Assays show from $6.40 
to $10.50 per ton. Capital stock, $1,000,000, in shares of $1 each. F. H. Cook 
of Minneapolis is president; Austin Q. Millar of Minneapolis, secretary; A. T. 
Feay of Custer, vice-president, and J. H. Sinclair of Denver, consulting 
engineer.


	Omega Group.-One hundred and seventy-five feet of shaft work has exposed 
on this property a large vein of low-grade free milling and concentrating ore. 
Is situated on French creek, close to water, and the ground well covered with 
timber. The property is three miles east of Custer City, and is owned by Ed 
Rogers of Custer and D. W, Webster of Hill City, the former owning one-quarter 
and the latter three-quarters. The property consists of 55 acres.


	Sunrise and Otis Groups.-Owned by Charles Hayward, Charles Upham, Dan 
Holden and A. Feay of Keystone.

	These groups consist of 70 acres of unpatented ground located at the head 
of Big Squaw creek. They adjoin the Chilkoot and Detroit groups, and show the 
same ore bodies.


	Wabash Gold Mining and Milling Company.-Property located near Custer. 
Capital is $100,000 in shares of $100 each. Incorporated under laws of South 
Dakota. Stock held mainly in Milwaukee. W. T. Durand, president; Henry 
Mannegold, vice-president; Gustav Wallaeger, Jr., secretary and treasurer.