Omaha daily bee., 1898-09-02
MINING IN THE BLACK HILLS
Latest News of Interest from the Rich
Mineral Regions of south
Dakota.

DEADwOoD, 5. D., Sept t.--(Special)-
Considerable interest is being taken in the
Ragged Top mining district and the immo-
diate vicinity, in the operations OF the
Spearfsh Cyanide company, recently organ
lied. 1t is composed principally of expert
enced mining men OF Ragged Top who have
leased the Metallic Streak group Of seven
claims in Calamity gulch. Across all OF the
claims is found a body OF ore three feet
thick, which is a surface working and will
carry an average OF SO ton gold II is
a cyaniding proposition. The company has
leased an old stucco mill at Spearhsh, which
has been remodeled and a long addition
built for a cyanide plant.
The tanks have all been put in place and
the first ore will be treated this week The
capacity will be about twenty-five tons a
day.
Drifting has commenced on the Crown
Hill mine at a depth of seventy feet A
good body Of low grade ore is being followed
which will assay S12 ton gold. The COM
pany has purchased five acres of land and a
two-story house at the Spokane mine, in
Custer county. The house will be converted
into a hotel. A complete hoisting plant has
been ordered and will be set up in a few
days. The whim, now in use at the Spokane
will be taken to the Crown Hill mine AS
soon as the hoistiug plant is finished at
the Spokane mine, it is the intention OF the
company to sink one of the shafts at the
Crown Hill mine down to quartzite, where
rich ore will undoubtedly be found.
Work is to be resumed on the shaft oppo-
site Chinatown by the Ajax Mining COM
pany, composed of capitalists residing at
Pine Ridge agency. A steam hoist is to be
put in capable Of sinking 500 feet The
shaft is already down eighty feet, which was
started on a seam of free-millng ore. The
property is to be thoroughly developed.
A four-foot ledge of ore has been struck
on the McHugh lease of the Dakota Maid
property, in Strawberry gulch. The ore is
very rich, equal to that taken from the Gilt
Edge mine. Work has commenced this
week on the Graham G Locke lease, south
of McHugh's workings. Ore is being taken
out of the Marrow shaft, on the same prop
erty.
complete hoisting plant has been or
dered for the Bismarck mine at Keystone,
which is owned by Milwaukee company.
This proposition promises to be one of the
best in the southern hills. The working
shaft is down 100 feet. with three levels. and
on each level body of ore has been cross
cut which is from twenty to forty-two feet
wide. There is some free gold in the ore,
but is is considered a concentrating PROPOSE
ton. A thousand tons of ore have been run
as test through the Ingram stamp mill
with good results. 1t is the intention to
build stamp mill on the company's prop
erty.
The shaft in the Holy Terror mine is
being enlarged to three compartments, the
work being started with an upraise from
the 6OO-foot level AS soon as the Holy Ter
ror and Keystone mines are completed the
ore from the latter will be raised through
the Holy Terror shaft and run back to the
Keystone mill on tramway. Twenty addi-
tonal stamps are being put in the Key
stone mill. The prospect Is that keystone
will be a large camp in a short time. 1t is
today one of the most prosperous mining
camps in the hills. There is a large pay
roll of miners and no men out of work.
A rich body Of ore has been struck in the
Ben Hur mine near Terry. The vein has
not been fully determined in size, although
nine feet of good pay ore is in sight. Some
of the ore will go as high as s52 ton. Ship
ments will commence next week.
The Mogul mine, owned by the Horseshoe
company, at Terry still has the same width
of ore body, 100 feet wide and ten feet
thick 1t is estimated that there is ore in
sight to last ten years at the present rate
of mining. Owing to a scarcity Of water at
the Kildonan chlorination plant at Pluma,
owned by this company, only 100 tons of
ore are being treated per day instead Of the
full capacity, $50 tons.
three-foot ledge of free milling ore has
been struck on some property owned by
Nicholas Mckay in the Yamboua district in
the southern hills. The ore is SIS free mill
ing and $50 refractory. There is consider
able activity in this new camp and numerous
inquiries are coming from eastern capital
lists in regard to prospective sales.