Custer chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, Black Hills, D.T. [S.D.]) 1880-1890, 1889-11-02
Black Hills Tin.

, IN our issue OF last week we publishe,
portion of a lengthy communication
descriptive of the tin deposits of tn
Southern Hills, which recently appear
ed in the columns of the New Yorl
Daily Sun over the signature of Amos ]
Cummings.
This communication contained the mos
elaborate and complete description o.
the various groups Of mining locations
of the great tin belt that has vet been
given to the public, and we regret our
inability to reproduce it in full. The
writer concludes his highly interesting
communication as follows:
| 1t is said that the average of the tin
ores in the Black Hills is about double
the average of the Cornwall mines.
This may be so, but IL is certain that
the ore is far more easily treated. Most
a6 qdastsd sbsd c0fBREew fBsfs wilFfb h6 qoasfas f IN
the Black Hills. Prof Vincent says
that the ores here are of almost typical
purity. The SO assays and Z analyses,
which he personally conducted, aver
aged 7i.3l per cent, of white metal.
Absolutely pure oxide runs " per cent.
The Professor speaks Of the remarkab bic
absence of iron, so much to be dreaded
when present either as sulphide or in
chemical union with the tin. He adds
that this absence will give to the Har-
ney Peak ores great advantage over
the products of other tin producing re-
gions. There, almost without excep
ton, all ores have TO he taken through
an entirely separate department of
labor. Tedious, prolonged. and costly
calcination is required to decompose the
sulphides. Even after this, says the
Professor, some iron remains chemical
ly incorporated with the white metal,
seriously depreciating its value. The
Harvey Peak ores, he adds, are equally
free from lead, arsenic, zinc, and other
deleterious elements. Such immunities
are of an Importance not easy Of exag-
geration.
The value Of the Harney mines is H.
lustrated by comparison with those Of
Cornwall. A Cornish Captain, who
gained long practical mining experience
in the Kingcroft Mine of Cornwall, tells
me that the ore there is taken out in
paying quantities at a great depth, even
when 1t runs less than per cent. in tin.
In the Just district he says that the
veins are only ~ inches wide, and in
the Lamp district the same. The La
lanth shows veins feet wide, and the
Cameron 80 feet. He thinks that the
Daikieth has proved the richest lode in
the world. IL has been worked since
the time of Julius Cesar. The vein is
10 feet wide at the depth of 5000 feet.
Some f6,000,000 in copper was taken
from one of the mines in the district
before tin was found. From 1900 to
1000 workmen are employed. The vein
runs under the sea. At times breaks
have occurred, and the drifts and levels
have been filled with salt water, many
miners losing their lives. This Captain
is now in charge of the Harvey mines.
lie says that the ore is purer and richer
than the Cornwall ore. From what he
has seen, he estimates that in two years
from now, when the veins are fully
probed, the Harvey Peak Company will
turn out daily $500 tons of ore, yielding
an average of more than per cent. of
pure tin. By working only the richest
lodes the average would be double the
amount. Nearly all the veins grow
richer as they increase in depth. The
deposit of tin seems to double after the
water line is crossed. The eyes of all
prospectors are now turned upon the
400 bonded lodes. If they fall into the
hands of the Peak Company the whole
tin belt is practically in the clutch of
monopoly. fla new syndicate is form
ed it would indicate competition, and
an increase in value of lodes newly dis
covered. Whatever happens, the de-
velopments warrant the assertion that
the Black Hills is destined TO become
one OF the richest mining centres of the
Union. A city is gaining great growth
at its gateway, and thousands of miners
will soon throng its hills. Reduction
mills will employ other thousands of
workmen, and thousands of farmers will
find market for their produce at their
very doors instead Of sending it thous-
and miles away. Woollen mills will be
needed to clothe the laboring multitude,
and Rapid City and other places become
manufacturing centres, to the delight Of
hundreds of herders in and near the
Hills. The world is growing, but no
where more grandly than here.