Custer weekly chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, S.D.) 1890-1931, 1909-03-06
should Stimulate wolfram mining.

Recent and persistent inquiries
which are being made by the Krupp
Steel company Of Germany. relative to
the possibility Of wolfram production
in this country, are lending stimulus
to the mine owners in the Black Hills
whoes ground has shown the existence
of indications of this variety of mineral.
1t is from the wolfram ore that tungsten
acid is extracted, which latter is used
for the purpose Of toughening steel and
rendering it more servicable in the
manufacturing of guns, armor plate
aud such other articles as must be
of a highly impenetrable character.
Judging from the inquiries being made,
it would appear that the Krupp peopl
have an almost unlimited demand for
this mineral and afford market which
should encourage the promotion of the
industry wherever there is possibility
of mining the ore in considerable
quantities.
That the Black Bills region presents
splendid opportunities for the working
up of an important industry in this line,
is not doubted by those who have in
yestigated the deposits of the mineral
thus far opened up here. In some
sections the ore has been developed 70
an extent which PERMITTED of regular
shipments being made while work was
in progress on the ground, but there
are numerous other localities where
prospects exist which have never been
worked to any noticeable extent. These
latter localities are widely scattered
throughout this section and many Of
them give promise Of resulting in i'm
portant mining ventures if given the
development the indications seem to
warrant.
One of the first and most extensive
shipments was made about eleven years
ago from the Harrison mine near Lead,
where considerable deposit of wolfram
had been made by the owners during
the course of their prospecting and
development of the gold bearing ore
bodies. From this mine a number of
shipments in car loads were made DUR
ing the succeeding year and it is under
stood that good return was received
from the work. The ore is said to
have contained about seventy per cent
wolfram and brought from $3.50 to $500
per ton. The original deposit which
lay in broken formation, was mined
out and future prospecting was
never carried far enough to determine
whether or not there exists other
similar deposits on the property. In
the same locality, wolfram ore was
found on the Hidden Fortune ground
which was then owned by Otto Grantz
and although the indications were
favorable to opening up a substantial
deposit of the minerals the work was
not carried to an entirely successful
termination,
In the southern Hills, six miles east
of Hill City, John Truax undertook the
development of wolfram mine and
succeeded in carrying his plans to a
point that appeared to be within sight
of big thing. He erected mill there
and commenced the separation of the
wolfram from the gangue by concentrat-
ing, but financial trouble arose, after
they had proceeded far enough to make
success more than probable, and it was
found necessary to suspend operations.
In several other localities in the south
ern Hills wolfram prospects have been
encountered, but none of them haye
been sufficiently developed to warrant
any definite opinion as to their extent
-Pioneer-Time