The Brookings register. [volume] (Brookings, Brookings County, S.D.) 1903-1971, 1906-01-11

The year 1905 has been an extreme
ty prosperous n for the Black Hills,
both in respect to mining and agricul-
to about $4,000, 000, which is a slight
increase over that of last year. There
we're some unfortunate mishaps dur
Ing the season which took off the ex-
pected increase, such as the destruc.
tive fire of the Horseshoe company,
which destroyed the 300-ton cyanide
mill. and the failure of the Golden Re-
ward company to start the big smelt-
er in Dcadwood. Several smaller com.
panies have beee able to operate their
mills only part of the time, owing to
improvements that have been made in
the mill management.
The Homestake company has led
all the other companies, as it has done
Tor the past twenty-eight years. 1t has
averaged a daily tonnage of about A.
900 tons, and the gross output will go
up to the $4,000, 900 mark. The COM
pany early in the year resumed the
payment of the so cents per share
dividend, which brought the price Of
the stock up near the par value. The
company is employing about $500 men
and has made a good many improve
ments that will tend to increase the
percentage of extraction.
For several years experiments have
been conducted in an endeavor to find
a way Of saving the remaining values
In the shines. c. w. Merrill, who
worked out the problem of cyaniding
the sands. has succeeded in finding
q way to treat the shines also, and as
q result a plant is now being built in
Deadwood with a capacity for han.
ding 2,700 tons per day. This will
save to the company something like
80 cents per ton. The plant will cost
about 100000 and will be the largest
Of its kind in the world.
Homestake Operations.
A great deal of substantial develop
ment work has been done around the
Homestake mine, which has demon.
strated to q large extent the length
and width of the big vein. On the
North the Columbus Consolidated has
opened some mammoth ore veins
which are an extension of the Home
stake veins proper. Still farther north
the Penobscot company has uncov-
cred some good quartz ore in its low
er workings below the quartzite. On
the east, the Homestake Extension
company has crosscut a vein of free
width. Plans for a 300-stamp mill
have been drawn and the plant is to
be In operation early in the summer.
The Puma Mining company has not
done much work during the season,
but a recent proposition made to the
stockholders is said to have realized
sufficient money to complete the mill
at Puma.
South Of the Homestake mine the
most Of the development work has
do company put down a shaft to the
depth of 1900 feet, with several lat,
terals. Southeast of the Ellison Hoist.
ing works the Homestake South Elk.
tension company, composed of New
York capitalists, has put a shaft down
100 feet and has a bright prospect of
finding some Homestake ore. The
Wauconda and Anaconda companies,
also the Big Lead company, have done
some substantial work and sufficient
ore has been opened up to warrant
the erection of some good-sized mills.
The Wasp No. 2 company has been a
steady producer and dividend-payer.
1t is located on the strike of the Home
stake vein, but is being operated en-.
tirely on quartzite ore on an average
value of $1.60 a ton.
Big Dividend Payer.
The record of this mine has been
the most remarkable of any in the
Hills. 1t is a close corporation, own
ed by Lead and Deadwood business
men, and it has paid several times
over in dividends the original invest
ment. Beneath this quartzite are to
be found the Homestake vertical veins
which In places outcrop. This prop
erty was bonded for a time to a big
London corporation and several hun
dred holes were put through the
quartzite where a fair grade of ore
was found. The deal was not con-
summated, though the general average
OF all the assays taken was better
than 81 a ton. Estimates made at
that time showed more than 1000, 900
tons of ore in sight.
The largest amount Of ore in re-
serve outside the Homestake mine is
to be found in the Horseshoe mine.
Various estimates have been made,
but it is safe to say that ten years of
ore are ready to be mined, with a
daily capacity mill of 900 tons. This
company has been recognized quite
thoroughly and the old mill at Puma
is now being repaired and remodeled
for a 300-ton cyanide plant. This
company is destined to be one Of the
heavy producers and dividend payers
of Lawrence county.