Custer chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, Black Hills, D.T. [S.D.]) 1880-1890, 1880-11-13
The Homs.take Mine and Mills.

CpulIdig Shows Niiat pfoHN thtit ~ III
handling the low grade ores of tlle Hills,
and is the best advertisement ofthe re-
sources of this country we have seen
published;
The Homestake surface improvements
and mine equipments cost altogether
S503,475. The more important of these
embrace an S0-stanIp mill costing sl64-
500, which began work July II, 1878, a
l20-stamp mill costing $25l 800, which
started up September |, 1879, vertical
shan and hoisting works costing $4,000,
incline shaft, hoisting works. air cou-
pressors. powder drills, etc, $4,000;
blacksmith and machine shops, foundry
and saw-miils, Sl6,JO0; tramway 800
feet, 81 cars, one locomotive and tender,
SlS,50d; timber framing house, Offices,
store houses etc, S7,475. The supplies
on baud September i, for BlfIIs. lniIies,
shops, eic., were valued 4 S42,246.25.
Tie Holnestake has been the most
productive OF the Black Hills mines Its
total output from January |. 1878, to
September !, 1880, was 27S.2S3 tons of
ore crushed, yielding 1894 ounces OF
gold retort Of the total value Of 81 ,92I-
1882. This retort contained Slg,7J0.57
in silver. There has been almost uni
form gain in production from the begin
ming, the last eight mo 4ths turning out
more than either OF the wears 1873 or
1879. The yield of August was Sl44
9S043 from 1862 tons OF ore. with 800
stamps ri work for the entire month.
and no allowance for loss Of time for
clean-ups, each stamp wonld average
over two and tao-tenths of ore every
twentv-four hours.
The company had paid sGOO.00O in
dividends up TO September, out of this
yield Of 81 .924, ,769:l2, or s2.94 per ton OF
ore miIled, besides expending over a
half a million in permanent improve
mcnts and dead work" and retaining
Slo7 04S.24 ON hand and large amount
Of supplies. The expenditures were
Si00Un for dividends and As. .2l0.l0 for
mills, machinery, buildings. etc. The
superintendent estimates IA $40 tons of
ore above the lC0-f.ot level capable OF
giving a net yield above expenses of
- .Ssl $50.
In the TWO years and eight months to
September /, the company mined and
ntilIed 27S, ,2S3 tons Of ore, of an average
yield Of s5,S5 per ton, at a direct cost Of
s347 per ton, very properly not counting
the cost of all p"rmanent improvements,
purchase money, etc, which would
average Si.63 per ton. The S347 per
tom expenses were divided as follows
dead work. including shaftsinking and
tramway. S0.3G-J0; milling in the 50
stamp mi'l, 1892 tons average cost,
s6.:0-ls per ton, of 27-SS cents was the
water for the battery and boilers in the
l2t'-stamp mill, l2l $40 tons, S0.77-70 per
ton, of which 2i:77 cents was for water !;
ore crashing, s0.S-72 per ton; sundries,
blacksmith, foundry, saw-nlill, roads,
etc., Sl.61-s'S per ton.
The gold in the ore is mostly coarse
and is easily retained in the batteries,
tests proving that from IS to 50 per cent.
of the eight or ten dollars contained in
ton of ore are saved. Clean-ups are
are made on the first and 18th of each
month. For time $500 per ton was
the average yield. When the entire
vein matter was milled the yield Was as
low as s4.25 and $500 per ton. Since
February last thu richer ore in the 100
foot level has brought up the average of
all ore milled TO S7-95 per ton. The
mill retort gold averages in fineness 500
in gold and 40 in silver, and the value
per ounce is 1915. The mills are run
by steam and no blankets are used on
tailings.
The superintendent Of the company
reports the vertical shaft 200 feet deep.
The inclined shaft intersects the i00-foot
level lis feet in, and is approaching the
2O0-foot level. A cposs-cnt 200 feet long
viii soon connect both shafts. About
500 tons of ore are hoisted daily at the
vertical shaft and 900 can be. The'in-
cline shaft has a six inch Cornish pump
and engines that can raise 200 tons of
ore daily in addition to pumping to
inches of water.
The ore veins are Of lew grade but of
immense size. The low figures at which
this character of quarts found in large
quantities can be mined and milled per-
nit of profits where none would be ex-
pected on smaller and more refractory
veins. The property embraces four
parallel veins, each of which would be
considered prodigioas in most localities,
and dipping about 81 degrees to the east,
so that one 10 certain extent oyerlaps
another. The Golden Star is the largest
and main producing vein. This has
been opened for a length of 435 feet, and
cross-cuts and excavations show enorm-