Omaha daily bee., 1902-10-13
MINING IN THE BLACK HILLS
Preparations Being Made fer Winter Gam
psign on Many Properties.
NEW COMPANY GETS IN ON RAGGED TOP
Mining Association Completes the
work Of Raising Funds for
Entertaining the Mining
Congress.

Mining company. the grounds Of which are
situated at B~enchmark, on Elk creek, re-
turned last week from Sioux City, where he
had been to attend a meeting Of the stock
holders and directors OF the company. At
the meeting Il was decided to ask for bids
and award at once the contract for erect
ing a small stamp mill and saw mill on the
ground. The claims OF the company are all
heavily timbered, and the sswmill will be
used for the purpose Of getting out tlmbers
and lumber for the stamp mill. The de-
velopment which has been done on the
ground Of the company during the last
spring and summer has opened the ore
bodies sufficiently to warrant the making
of this improvement. Mr.. Allen expects to
have the work started on the plant this
week and to have It in running order this
year. While the ore Is a free milling prop
osition II is proposed to add cyaniding
tanks for the treatment Of the ~tailings.
Three veins of free milling ore have been
opened up on the property, and on two Of
them a good deal Of development work has
been done, while on the third the work has
been confined to the surface and is in the
nature OF open cuts. which have exposed
the vein for a considerable distance along
fits strike. and the ore taken from these
workings give very fair assay returns.
Out Nelut WHICH u buOWn Ou tue Wullt
Horse, Black Horse. Lillian and Bird lodes
has been exposed for a distance Of about
5000 feet. This vein, at a depth Of eighty
feet, lie fourteen feet wide and will assay
from s1s to s22 per ton gold. Another shaft
OF fifty feet has been sunk on this vein,
from which cross cuts and drifts have been
run, and In all Of them the ore Is Of the
same average value. Besides these work
ings two tunnels have been driven on the
vein, both Of them in ore which is as good
as that found In the shafts. About 1000
feet to the west Of this vein another vein
twenty feet in width has been opened Up
on claims owned by the company.
The small plant which is to be built is
purely for experimental purposes and will
be run continually during the winter months
and should the ere prove to be so good as
the management has every reason to be-
lieve It will. a larger plant will be erected
next year.
Besides the Lucky Strike company, there
are other companies working ground in the
vicinity, but none OF the ground has received
the development which has that OF the
Lucky Strike. The Peterson ground, which
has been worked only on the surface, shows
some very rich ore. IN fact within . few feet
of the surface several tons Of very rich ore
have been taken from the vein, which has
been sacked and shipped and the returns
have been sufficient to keep the work on
the property going steadily. A number Of
Deadwood people are interested in the dis
trict and with the erection Of the Lucky
Strike plant they will be given an oppor-
tunity to have ore from their ground
tested on a scale sufficiently large to give
them a good idea of what is in their ground.
New Company on Ragged Top.
The Potsdam Gold Mining company is the
name OF a new corporation recently organ
lied to prosecute mining operations in the
Ragged Top district. The company owns 500
acres OF land adjoining the ground OF the
Spearhsh and Deadwood- Standard, two COM
panies which are at the present time operat-
ing cyaniding plants with a daily capacity
which aggregates 500 tons. These COM
panies are operating on the same shoots Of
ore which are exposed on the ground Of
the Potsdam company's holdings. The on
GERS OF the company are: William Lardner,
president; John Gray. vice president; W.
l. Mclaughlin, secretary; A. J.. Maltner.
treasurer The above named gentlemen
with r. N. Ogden constitute the board OF
directors. Most of the company's ground
has been patented, and the rest is ready to
be patented. The company. will at once begin
~ "a oGNCAoplub Nv VI ouOoNS WHICH
have been exposed on it's ground. and will
also make arrangements for the erection Of
a treatment plant. The Potsdam company
is a Deadwood organization and has been
incorporated under the laws of the state
of South Dakota.
The Ak-Sar-Ben Gold Mining company
10 the name of another new company which
has recently been organized to work ground
on Sheeptail gulch and which owns about
nifty acres Of good property. The officers
OF the company are; o. l. Benway. Rock Is
land, ILL.,, president; ]. w. Good, Chadron,
Neb., vice president; A. d. Benway, Lin
coin. Neb., secretary and treasurer. On
one OF the eompany's claims. the Maggie,
there has been opened up one OF the largest
shoots of ore In the Black Hills. This ore
Is siileious and one Of the best cyanlding
proposition in the Hills. and will assay as
hlgh as S1s TO the ton. A tunnel is being
run on this shoot Of ore. which is opening
II up. and another tunnel has been started
on the contact between the trachyte and
limestone. and the indications are that an
other big shoot OF ore will be struck. The
company will continue work on its ground
eli Of the winter. and get Il in shape Sc
that It can erect a treatment plant Of its
own In the spring. Il Is said that the
company is a strong one and able TO make
all the improvements necessary to work
the ground,
Mining Association Election.
The Black Hills Mining Mems association
will hold It's annual election Of officers or
the 18th OF the present month. At tn,
injecting the committees which have beer
collecting the $4,000 guarantee demanded
by the American Mining congress will max,
a report It Is known beforehand that tn,
amount has been raised and that a funt
Of at least 1000 has been as good Al
guaranteed for the entertainment Of tn,
members Of the congress when II assemble
In Deadwood and Lead next year. Til,
association has been one OF the creates
aids to the mining industries OF the Hills
for II has really been a bureau Of informa
ton to the would-be investor. and tn,
reports sent out by the secretary on prop
critics and mining districts have been con
acientiously correct. for part OF the pur
pose Of the association is 10 protect would
be Investors. Tn association has a yer,
large membership. and Il comes from ever,
district In the Hills, and It's meetings ar
not only entertaining socially. but are al
ways a source OF Instruction, for II is tn
practice at every meeting to have a pape
read by some authority on mining.