Custer weekly chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, S.D.) 1890-1931, 1900-05-19
The Custer Marble Company.

| The Custer Marble Company.
B. r, Noble of Yale. Michigan, presi-
dent of the Black Hills Porcelain &
Marble Company, is expected to arrive
from the east on the 2lst. We are in
formed that Mr.. Noble has been active
ly engaged since his departure in getting
the company on firm basis financially
and that he has succeeded. The COM
pany has done q large amount Of de-
velopment work the past month. Thir-
teen men are now employed in opening
up the marble ledge and building road.
From the Black Hills Mining Review of
tha l4th inst we clip the following from
an article written by F. w. Bower who
recently visited the property:
There is a solid face of marble now sx-
posed 80 feet thick and there is no tell
ing how far it extends into the noun
tain. 1t has been traced in the past
week, over q mile and a quarter north
and south and the ledge is not less than
l 800 feet in width. The wealth of this
marble ledge can scarcely be apprehend-
ed. The marble expert, who now has
charge Of the opening Of the ledge,
states that the grade of rock is consider
ably better than that Of any of the
quarries in the Eastern States. The
polish that the marble is capable Of TAX
ing is remarkable. There are about 20
feet Of pure white marble for the top
layer of the ledge and a shaft sunk lower
than that has shown 10 feet Of serpen-
tine marble, which 10 green and white
in color. How much deeper this color
ed ledge goes has not been determined.
diamond drill has been purchased at
Omaha and as soon as it arrives, a hole
will be bored through the formations for
100 feet or more, which will determine
the amount of marble. The stone is
very highly crystalized and when il is
exposed to the sun it sparkles like dia
monds. Those who have examined the
ledge can see in it millions of dollars for
the company and large payroll OF
oNDhO "OihSAo lOl NuntCI SOuuty. lb 10
necessary TO build two miles Of new
wagon road in order to get across the
marshy places in the valley. That there
is merit in the company's project is
shown by the fact that the Burlington
company has guaranteed to put in spur
Of road to the quarry. The marble COM
pany has timbered up the shaft on the
kaolin clay vein to depth of 25 feet
and work will soon commence sinking
on the clay. A diamond drill will be
placed on the lithograph stone claim,
west Of Custer, and hole will be sunk
to determine the character Of the stone
under the Gaping, far enough from the
action of the elements to give good
quality of rock. lithograph stone is
very susceptible to the elements. 1t is
necessary to get under at least 80 feet of
covering before the stone will become
solid and free from cracks. There are
three separate ledges on the company g
ground, making in all about four feet of
stone. Tests have been made on pieces
of the rock and they haye stood all of
the requirement Of first class lithograph
stone. The thing necessary now to
make the lithograph project winner is
to be able to get out large blocks. 1t is
believed that this can be done by get
ting in on the ledge beyond the action
of the frost.
The marble company has 300 acres of
ground. 1t is being pushed by two
bankers of Michigan and New York and
there is reason to expect that it will
eventually become one of the largest
companies in the Black Hills. The com
pany will have before the close of the
year. marble, kaolin. onyx, lithograph,
mica, n excl and antimony mines on a
paying basis.
MIR. Noble has great faith in the future
of the Black Hills. His first trip was
made through Mr.. j. M. Sweeney, gen.
eral superintendent of the British
American Gold and Copper Company.
who invited him, together with Mr.
Isaac Gibbard of Rochester, N. Y, to
look over the properties of his company.
This Mr.. Noble did and he was so much
pleased at the British.American Com
pany's properties that he became pos
sessed of good block of stock. He
found other desirable properties, too, and
he has already shown what he thinks of
some of them by his organization of the
Black Hills Porcelain Clay & Marble
Company. Mr.. Noble has other things
in view, some Of which may develop on
this trip. AS mining promoter. Mr..
Noble will eclipse anything the Black
Hills has had for many day.
A patent for the Russell mica mine
on French creek, owned by the st. Louis
Mica Company, is now in the land Office
at Rapid City. Notice to that effect
having been received this week by A.
I. Feay, attorney in fact for the COM