Omaha daily bee., 1903-04-06
MINING IN The BLACK HILLS
karveIOusly Rich Ore is Taken from the
Turk Group.
ASSAYS HUNDREDS OF DOLLARS
cpecimens Heated in Cook stove Are
Covered with Gold Blisters-
Principal owner f. John
McKcnna.

COSIEh CITY, .. De- April Ds-NDptCldl'J
development work on the Turk group Of
claims east OF the city has disclosed some
very rich orc. assays from the samples
brought to Custer City running up into the
hundreds Of dollars. John McKenna, the
principal owner Of the ground, came to
Custer City last week and with him brought
several sacks Of specimens taken indlscrimi-
nately from the face Of the drift in the
Turk No. 8. This drift starts along the
course Of a ledge from the bottom Of a
sixty-foot shaft. and for all of'its distance
10 In ore, tho vein being about twelve feet
wide. The specimens shown are remark
ably rich, consisting Of quartz besprinkled
all over with bismuth telluride and syl-
vanite. Specimens placed In the oven Of a
cook stove and heated to the right tenn
perature. come out literally covered with
blisters Of gold. The ore is very rich, and
the worth Of the small amount Of speci-
mems exhibited by Mr.. McKenna Will
amount to several hundred dollars.
Foster & Russell have completed their
contract on tho Provo mine, eight miles
west from Custer City. and owned by ].
N. Wright. They have sunk a shaft to a
depth OF thirty-hve feet, which has fol-
lowed down for that distance a vertical,
small where exposed at the surface, but
which has widened out to five feet in the
bottom OF the shaft. The vein on its out
groupings carried good values. but with
depth these have grown, and occasional
~freegold specimens we're met with in the
material extracted from the shaft.
Mica in Custer County.
The mica deposits Of Custer county are
again attracting attention, those which
have been worked paying we'll, especially
those Of the Porcelain & Marble Co. G. X.
Shoemaker, who has In the past done con-
siderable development work on his ground
three miles southeast Of the city, is pre-
pairing to resume work, and has as good a
showing Of mica as appears any place in
the district. The sheets OF mica occur with
great regularity and the deposits are very
thick, and as all Of the product Of the
mine, up to an inch or 30 in width, can be
used and has a commercial value, the work.
ing Of the ground should pay we'll. The
Crown Mica company, a new organization,
is preparing to begin operations on a large
scale, and operations will probably begin
next week upon It's ground. The deposits
upon the company's ground occur with
great regularity and are very easily worked.
At the present time there is being mined
and shipped from Custer county mines about
1901 900 pounds Of mica every month, all of
It being taken by one firm, which has a
contract to purchase the product Of the
Porcelain & Marble Co.'s mines, and would
be glad to take as much more. The de-
mand created for mica In the electrical
trades makes a good market for even the
broken fragments from the large sheets,
and the industry Of supplying the demand
for mica promises to be one Of the most
important of Custer county, for the grade
Of mica produced here is just as good as
that produced in Canada or In my other
Of the states Of the union.
The London and Dakota Mining and
Smelling company is the name of a new
corporation which has been organized to
work and develop Custer county mines.
The officers Of the company are as follows:
Sir James Francis whitley OF London, pres
ident; Thomas Delicate, Custer City, vice
president; e. L. Grantham, Custer City,
secretary; Lord G. p. T. Colmey, London,
treasurer. ~The gentlemen who are the
principal stockholders in the company have
had experts examining the mines for sew
eral weeks. and It was upon then report
that the property was purchased and tho
company organized. The property consists
OF two full claims on the north fork OF
French creek. eight miles northwest from
Custer City, and was formerly the property
of ]. ID. and Thomas Carroll, who parted
"@N ~ "a "a 30 NOhoAaGIAIlOns In0
property has attracted attention for a long
time on account o. the rich ore which Il
has at times produced. some of it going
as high as $4,000 to the ton gold. The
vein, vertical. is not a large one, but whit
there is OF 1t is said to be very rich. The
new company will at once put a large force
OF miners at work to thoroughly develou
the property, and when this, work has sum
GENTLY advanced will probably erect a
smelling plant, as the ore Is a smeltins
proposition.
FaIsebottom Proves Rich.
DEADWooD. s. D.. April 5.-(specIal)-
The Falsebottom. or Garden City district.
is proving, after years Of waiting, to be
one Of the richest and most productive In
the Black Hills, and development work
now In progress on the various propertie,
in the district proves that It is even richie,
thar was ever dreamed of by its earliest
prospectors. One of the companies, in fact
the principal company operating IN the dis.
trict. which has done the most to develor
its resources, has been the Penobscot, which
has already expended in the neighborhoot
OF 100000 in the purchase Of ground and
the erection OF plants there. Since II,
forty-ton wet crushing cyanide plant wen
into commission last February, the Penob.
scot company has not missed a semi.
monthly cleanup. and its gold bricks hay,
been Of an average value OF S15,O 900 each
The company. besides treating at its owr
plant $50 tons Of ore a day, has for tn,
past month been making shipments o.
thirty-hve tons of smelling ore a day I,
eastern treatment plants. This smeltinI
ore was discovered several weeks ago ii
the Realization, one Of the mines OF tn
company, and has averaged IN value ISL
a ton. although occasional punches OF I
is met with which run up into the hun
dreds. This ore is too rich to treat b,
cyanidation, and only the lower grades ar,
being treated at the company's plant a
Maitland. The Garden City district pro
duces the richest ~eyaniding ores OF any dis
trict in the Hills. and this is carried ou
not only in the workings Of the Penobscot
but In those Of other groups Of claims
AS soon as railroad communication can b.
had with the outside world. the shipment
from the Penobseot will be more tha,
doubled, for Il is said that the rich shoe
is one OF the 'argest contained In any O
the company's numerous properties.
Morning Glory De yeIODinE.
The Morning Glory Mining company 1
developing a group OF claims at the heaI
Of Falsebottom creek which contains nifty
four acres. The present work OF the com