Custer weekly chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, S.D.) 1890-1931, 1903-11-21
MINING Items.


Prof. James A. Ogden and S. W. Rus
cell Of Deadwood have received patent
for their new invention for precipitating
gold from its cyanide solution. This is
intended to superceed the zinc boxes, as
it is aaid that it is more thorough and
much cheaper.
The Horseshoe smelter at Rapid City
is running at the full capacity of one
stack and is treating 100 tons Of ore per
day. Most of this ore runs about SIS
per ton in gold and comes from the Ben
Hur mine. 1t is announced that an
other stack will be soon brought into
service when 200 tons per day will be
treated.
Harry Francis came in from the Cop.
per Butte mines on Wednesday last. He
informs us hat lie is engaged in taking
out three car loads Of iron sulphide ore
and will ship the same to Chicago to be
used in the manufacture Of nitric acid.
He says that he has Il solid vein Of py-
rite full 40 feet in width, and If he can
make a favorable rate with the railroad
company he can make it profitable and
has a market for so tons a day.
The Lexington Hill Mining Co., who
purchased quite an extensive group OF
claims in Spruce gulch have closed down
their mill for the wipter. They have
been running quite steadily for some
months on ore which paid well, but they
have of late encountered a good deal of
free milling gold in their ore. They
have given as a reason Of stopping at
this time that they find it necessary to
put In copper plates to save this free
gold which cannot be saved by the cya-
hide process. 1t is their design also to
run q tunnel into the hill back of the
mill to strike the quartzite and thus
economize by doing away with the long
wagon haul. They will probably not
resume milling until spring.
Dredging machines are coming more
and more into use as a means OF work
ing the large placer bars Of Idaho, Cali
fornia, Alaska and Montana. The fret
machines introduced were generally pro-
nounced a failure but they have perfect
ed them to such an extent that they are
now o success. and most all Of the com
panies using them are paying dividends
We would suggest that we have some
good territory in the Black Hills that
would be we'll adapted for Il plant ofthat
kind. The whole length OF Rapid creek,
and Castle creek present thousands Of
acres of gravel bars which are known to
be rich in placer gold. Ihe depth to
bed rock, and the vast volume of water
to overcome has precluded them thus far
from being worked at q profit. They
need a dredge.
THE COLUMBIA
is the name of q new group Of mines
which have lately been discovered by
our enterprising ~prospectors, Perry Bert
schy and Denis Henault. There are
six claims in the group and the boys
who have lately returned from that sec.
ton are of the opinion that they cannot
be excelled in tire Black Hills. They
are old time miners, familiar with all
the mineral districts in the richest one
hundred miles square on earth" and
their opinion ought to be regarded as
having some weight. The property is
situated about two miles southeast from
Pactola and is bounded on three sides
by the Gold Standard group of mines OF
which Geo. Phillips is the s~uperintend-
ent. The Columbia main vein lies be-
tween the Gold Standard on the north
and the Frue Vanner on the south, and
this is as far as known the main vein
which runs through the district. The
Gold Standard is developed by a shaft
so feet deep on the north of the Column
! bia, and another shaft 100 feet deep Oh
the south. The development and the
surface indications show this vein to be
something immense, as the ore crops out
for at least 200 feet in width between
walls OF diorite and h~ornblende OIL the
west side and quartzite on the east. The
ore consists of quartz and phonolite
heavily ~impregnated with oxide of iron
near the surface which turns to a pyrite
as depth is attained. The country rock
is slate of old micacious variety, which
belongs to the Archean, and this too is
highly mineralized in places and yields
well in gold by the fire assay. The sam
Piles taken from across the vein at the
surface give returns from $1,000 to $49OC
in gold per ton, and these samples were
taken as an average Of the ore on a
grand scale. The boys were very fortu
nate in getting hold of this ground, a
portion of which was formerly owned by
others which they were wise enough to
Join and consolidate. The property
which embraces about 100 acres of min
eral ground, with plenty of timber and
water for all purposes, is at present own
ed by Perry Bertschy, Howard Wetzell,
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