Custer weekly chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, S.D.) 1890-1931, 1893-10-14
THE GOLD STAR MILL.
Its Dropping Stamps Make Welcome
Music at Four Mile.

Its Dropping Stamps Make Welcom'
Music at Four Mile.
II has been years since the last staml
mill in the immediate vicinity Of Custer
City shut down for an indefinite pc
riod," and the din of active machinery
has come 10 be an unfamiliar sound
among these hills. Consequently wher
the tumult Of conflicting iron stamps
and gold ore disturbed the usual quietude
of the Four Mile neighborhood lasi
| Tuesday afternoon it rekindled the
smoulderng fires Of hope in the breasts
Of all who heard the sound, and sent g
thrill Of new life over the hills and
through the valleys of this section OF the
southern Hills. Not because the enter
prise is at present very extensive one
not because the .aill is a very large one
or will give direct employment to a
great number Of work kmen, but because
all OF US who have so anxiously watched
the progress Of this enterprise, sincerely
hope and fondly believe that its opera
ton will mark the commencement Of an
era Of general activity and prosperity in
this mining district. Saturday night
last it was expected that the crushing Of
ore wonld be commenced the Monday
morning following, but during Sunday
night the new water tank In the mill
settled several inches and number Of
leaks were started. Nearly al. Of Mon
day was required to replace the tank
and put it in proper condition. and the
consequence was delay Of "a hours
in starting the mill The st run was
made on one hundred tons Of ore from
Mr. Olds property, and while that was
being crushed, four or five teams were
engaged in filling the bins with two
hundred tons Of ore from one Of II. A.
Athens we'll developed properties.
While Messrs. Olds and Lewis expect to
reduce more or less of the product Of
their own mines. custom ore will have
the preference, and will be handled just
oS iaSt 80 VIC supply ohh VIC SdpoCiiJ Vi
the plant will permit. Prominent among
the mine owners who are getting out
ore from their properties with view to
having it practically tested at the mill.
are VIM. Nevin, JAS. Demereau, II. q.
Butterfield, I. |. Wheeler, NJ. :. Beuter,
from the Caledonia, Haserodt and Har-
han f-N, D., 4.
strated by these tests that the gold can
be saved by the process in use there
will be no cause for the mill to shut
down because of insufficient quantities
of custom ore to keep it running. The
mill is equipped with twenty stamps,
but only ten will be operated at present,
as it is believed that the ore crushed by
them will be all that can be concentrat-
ed with The two tables now in the mill
Two shifts of three men each are at
work in the mill, and the ten stamps are
reducing about thirty tons every twenty
four hours. The free gold is saved by
amalgamation, and the Perfection
tables are depended upon to concentrate
the base or refractory ores. The Per-
fection concentrators are the kind sue
cessfully used by the Homestake and at
Keystone, and in some important re-
spects are different from those hereto
fore used in experimenting with the
ores Of this district. Two material diff.
fercnccs between the Perfection and the
Vanner are the end bunting motion
and copper surfaces Of the former in
place of the side motion and rubber
surfaces Of the latter. For the present
the concentrates will be shipped to
Hills COLONIZATION Works, at Denver
Col, but Mr. Olds informs us that if the
mill is operated with the good results
hoped for it, Its capacity will be increas-
ed and one barrel chlorinator will be
added to the Custer plant.
In putting the mill property in shape
and equipping it with machinery nc
necessary expense has been spared, and
yet the rule adopted at the outset, and
which will continue to be rigidly OBJ.
served is one Of true economy. Every
thing that is required to make the
enterprise success will be secured tn.
plant will be operated by men who have
acquired thorough understanding oi
their business by years of experience
but there will be no sinecures with
liberal salaries attached, no idle men
about the mill, and not one cent of un
Unnecessary expense. Governed by such
a policy, and with such men as w. w
Oids, John Christensen aud s. ID. Porter
in the mill to look after every detail
and do large portion of the work
themselves, the enterprise certainly
should not collapse through mismanage-
ment. 1t need not be thought for an
instant that the failure of this under.
taking would indicate that our ores are
worthless, but its failure under existing
conditions will be strong evidence that
some other process is needed for the
treatment Of our refractory ores. How.
ever, failure is not anticipated. The
outlook for the enterprise is a rosy one
and the hopes that center on it are
legion. The mine owners Of Custer
county are given better opportunity to
practically test their ores than they
have ever had before, and the good
effects of the successful operation of this
little mill will be speedily felt and in q
remarkable degree. II the wishes and
prayers of this community will avail.
there will be no limit to the success
which will crown the efforts Of Aessrs.
Olds and Lewis.
Rev. A. j. Cheeseman departed for
Martinsville, Ind, Tuesday evening,
called there by the serious illness of his
wife, who has been making her parents
protracted visit. The length Of his
absence from Custer is Of course mat.
ter of uncertainty, but il II thought that
he will roturn within thA next two