The Mitchell capital. (Mitchell, Dakota [S.D.]) 1879-1918, 1904-02-26
THE GREATEST OF
THE GOLD MINES
Something About the Greatest
Bullion Producers in
fine World.
HoMEsTAKe LeADs THEM
South Dakota Mine Uses tho Lowest
Grade Ore. but Turns Out More
Pure Gold Than Any Other
Mine in the World.

London Economist: The biggest gold
producing mine in the world is the
Homestake. in South Dakota. 1t is one
Of the poorest, relatively, as the ore
only yields about 15s. q ton; but as
against this the costs are only los. a.
ton. At present the quantity of ore
treated a year is over 1.400, goo tons; that
Is. with 800 stamps, but 200 more are
going to be added. The output from
Homestake now is over 10000 ounces
tine gold a month, but in a year or two
1t should be a good deal more. About
three miles from Homestake is a mine
called Golden Reward, which also is
entirely owned by Americans. This
mine Is now producing not much more
h 100000 a month, but in a year or
two 1 expect this will be greatly In
creased. If the figures shown me at
this mine We're correct, 1t has the po-
t~entialities of another Homestake.
There are a number Of mines which
earn better profits than Homestake, but
none which approach it in size. The
next largest Is Alaska Treadwell, on
Douglas Island. This mine has $40
stamps, but all Of these can only be run
for part of the year. owing to scarcity
Of water. We may place the average
yearly output at 60o,0 900 n This ore
yields barely SIS. a ton, which shows
Alaska Treadwell to be. the lowest
grade Of the worlds gold mines; but
owing to exceptional facilities the total
working costs are only 5s. a ton AS
an actual producer Of gold the Tread
we'll stands far down the list, but the
mine is today in probably a sounder
condition h a ever before. 1t has paid
a million pounds in dividends.
Stratton's Independence.
Before leaving the states we may
note tho Otbor bio cold nro61corc thara
AT Cripple Creek there is the Portland
mine, turning aut about 100000 a
month; but l imagine the lower work.
lngs are not looking well, and this
yield will not be continued Indefinitely.
Adjoining this is STATIONS Independ-
ence, also a big producer; but as this
mine is practically worked out l need
not take note of it. The other big Col
orado gold mine is Camp Bird, turning
out about G34,000 a month; this mine
a good ore reserves. In Mexico there
Is no mine producing regularly so much
as this. but next year the I'll Orc, with
200 stamps running, should reach an
output of nearly 100000 monthly.
h two big India mines, Champion
Reef and Mysore, are now in the front
rank Of gold producers. The smaller
mines adjoining them, Ooregum and
Nundydroog, are not likely to rival
them; but two such great mines are q
6oou average Iof oile county. slloulu
Imagine thai each mine has now
reached it's maximum production or
t~hereabout; neither has got that
amount Of ore reserve. proportionate
to its market value, which l consider a
mine ought to nave, but as against
this the developments in depth con-
tnue to be good.
In the Transvaal.
In the Transvaal you have the Gu
rious feature of dozens of great gold
mines working at half their capacity
for want of labor. That is a temporary
affair, which does not affect the real
capacity OF these mines, SO I have as
sumed that they are producing on the
basis Of the year 1899-when they had
a sufficient abors supply. On this esti-
mate there are seventeen Transvaal
mines among the thirty biggest gold
producers of the world, and the ball
ance is made up by six mines in West
Australia, three in the United States,
two in India. one in Queensland and
one In New Zealand; all these, let 1t
be noted, are in the territories Of and
are controlled by English speaking
people. OF the seventeen T%ransvaal
mines ten are outcrops, six are first
ROW deeps and one is a second row
deep.
In the world of gold mining exact
knowledge is just as important, and Is
JUST as dlr1cult to acquire, as In any
thing else. 1t is astonishing; even,
how few mining people know that the
Homestake is the biggest gold producer
In the world. for l suppose I have seen
the newspapers of at least a dozen
countries or mining camps assign that
place to their own local big mine. The
greatest" gold mine, too, is claimed
Tor probably twenty localities, al
though. I think, taking Its past, present
and future into consideration, that
Mt. Morgan still holds that title. But
when some one who ought to know
III new mine, which is little known,
and probably lies by itself In a strange
lid inaccessible country, is really the
dnestsgold mine in the world, II IL then
that my interest IL aroused. I am all
ways hearing about this-shall I call It
5sfabnlors"-soft Of mine. which 1t