Custer weekly chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, S.D.) 1890-1931, 1899-08-26
Mining Items.


that such step Is not made necessary.
Mining Items.
The working SHAFT Ia the Old Bill has
been enlarged; and is being retimbered
preparatory to deep sinking.
The Homestake Mining company has
declared Its regular monthly dividend
of twenty-five cents per share payable
at the transfer agency in New York on
the 25th.
On the Lizzie two shifts employed
continuously, and the best returns from
the face of the drift gave an assay re-
turn of $3.50 per ton in gold. The
vein is of immense size and the hang
ing wall has not been reached
The Vigilante shaft is making good
headway in its descent into the earth,
and some very fine looking pyritic ore
has just been struck in the bottom
This was unexpected and seems to in
dicate that large cross zone is dipping
towards the vertical line of the shaft
The vein upon which the shaft started
has dipped away to the east, and it is
not expected that it will be reached on
the 300 foot level short of 100 feet of
drifting. Still, you can't most always
sometimes tell "what a man will strike
when he gets probing around under the
crust of mother natures pot pie"
CHILCooT CAMP.
The prospects Of this camp have lain
idle for nearly year, but everything
goes to show that things will pick up,
and that in the very near future. The
latest strike has been made upon ground
belonging to Daniel Wise and l.. +.
Parrish. The owners believe it is con-
tinuation of the Chilkoot ledge. Sam
piles taken from the vein 60 from $50 to
$50 per ton free milling. That this will
be gold producing camp is beyond dis
pute as the ledge can now be traced for
mile. Custer county and the southern
Hills are bound to come to the front.
The more finds the merrier.
THE EMPIRE AND BAKER.
Very little is known, even by Custer
people, Of the merits of the Empire and
Baker mines, situated about two
miles west of Custer, therefore we will
give our impression obtained from a
visit to the property snort time ago
in company with the owners, Mr.. Will
liam Tafrant and Edward Rogers OF
this city.
The property consists Of ten full
claims and fraction. Four full claims
and the fraction are located on the
main vein, the others are side claims
covering valuable timber and mineral
ground. The country rock on all sides
is granite and slate. The course Of the
vein is nearly north and south. The
east wall Of the vein is granite, the west
wall is slate. The character of the ore
is quartz, schistose slate. and sometalc.
The gold occurs free and in combination
with ar5enopyrite, and tellurides. Open
ings have been made along the vein for
distance of more than a mile, vary.
ing in depth from few to 100 feet. On
the Baker there Is one shaft 100 feet in
depth with a cross cut at the bottom
80 feet, On the fraction tunnel 80 feet
under cover. On the Empire there is
one shat: so feet in depth, and one oi
one hundred feet, with cross cut at the
bottom of 90 feet. On the Empire No
there is 25 foot shaft. Besides these
| developments there are about twenty
other openings which consist of oper
cuts and shafts under fifteen feet IN
depth. At every opening along the
vein good free milling and concent trat
ing ore is found in large quantities
and in many places very considerable
amounts Of exceedingly rich ore il
found. There are large bodies which
will certainly yield from $40 to $50 pei
ton, while there is considerable ore tina.
will go up into the hundreds. Selected
specimens can be taken from the EN-
pre- WulCtl are lEOlh hNO W bWCHIJ -hNt
per cent free gold. In some of them
the gold can be seen at quite distance
If surface prospects are indications
of mine, the Empire and Baker
will, when operated, certainly tax
their places among the great gold pro
ducers of the world.
NEW METAL FOR THE HILLS.
A metal has been found in the bottom
of the Detroit & Deadwood company
shaft, on the hill above City creek, tina
is puzzling the metallurgists in this sec
ton. 1t is white metal, resemblin
platinum to a certain extent, but it i
malleable, and perfectly indestructibl
as far as has been ascertained. 1t ha
been subjected to different acids. an,
under the aqua regia test it underwear
slight efferyescence, but it is believe
that there was little gold in the piec
thus experimental with, as it was after
wards found that the ore in which tn
metal was found carries about 80 cent
a ton in gold. 1t was submitted t
nitric acid, and sulphuric acid, an
neither had any effect upon 1t. 1t wi
answer the description of three or fou
metals, apparently, but none Of tn