Custer weekly chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, S.D.) 1890-1931, 1899-09-09
Mining Items.

The diamond drill which is being put
down at the Dacy shaft at Ragged Top"
has now reached the depth of 100 feet.
The latest report is to the effect that
they have passed through strata of
quartzite 20 feet thick, and are now in q
body Of phonolyte OF unknown extent
Phnnolyte under the quartzite il some
thing new and to many surprising, but
We see nothing strange in tho occur
rance. Phonolyte is an ignsous rock
and just as liable to oyer flow between
strata of quartzite as would porphory,
which is not uncommon
The Maloney-Blue Lead, Copper
Mining and Smelling company. This is
the name Of the new organization of
which MIR. r. NJ. Maloney, of Dead
wood, and Wallace Kirk Of Chicago are
the main promoters. The property
consists Of 250 acres of mining ground
near the town of Sheridan, on the south
side of Spring creek. The claims occupy
the greater part of the Blue Lead noun.
tain, the central claim of which is the
famous old Grey Eagle copper mine,
which has been worked in disultory
manner ever since the early days of
1877. 1t has now passed into the hands
of q strong company and will he devel-
oped to the full extent. 1t is noun.
tain ridge of vast naturalization. and
much may be expected from its deyel-
opment. At present copper is the main
metal sought, but we shall miss our
guess if in the long run gold is not
found to be the metal Of paramount
value in that mountain of wonderful
possibilities.
PLACER MINING LAWS.
Under the United States placer min
ing laws one person may make single
location containing 90 acres of placer
mining land, two persons may make a
single location containing not more than
40 acres in compact body, three may
locate 60 acres, etc, but no single loca-
tion, whether made by eight persons or
more, can exceed 100 acres. 1t has been
decided that single location of placer
mining ground may embrace 20, 40, 60,
so, 100, l20, l40 or l60 acres in CON-
pact body, according to the number of
locators. If eight persons should make
eight separate locations Of 20 acres each,
and seven Of the locators should convey
their claims to the other. it would re-
quire annual assessment Of the value of
$500 to maintain the possessory right to
all of the claims but, in the case Of a
single location, embracing 160 acres of
placer mining land, the owners thereof,
in order to maintain his possessory
right thereto, would not De required to
expend 800 worth of mining labor on
20 acres thereof but his possessory right
to the entire 100 acres might be main
tanned by performing thereon $4,000
worth of actual mining work designed
in good faith tor the improvement of
the 100 acre location as a single mining
claim. When one or more persons
have made location of 20, 40, 90 or
more acres of placer land, in a single
tract, they may elsewhere locate addi-
tional claims. The location of a placer
claim requires a bona flde discovery,
the same as quartz location. If \
location be made without such discov-
cry it is not valid location, and Sec
ond party later making discovery can
legally claim the land, and hold the
same against the first locator. Placer
locations may be made in subdivisions
of ten acres each where land has been
previously surveyed by the government,
and the locations must conform as near
ly as possible to the surveyed lines of
the land. 1t is not absolutely necessary
to have a claim surveyed in order to
determine the corner stakes.-Mining
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