South Dakota Mining History

Mining History Association
Annual Conference, June 6-10,2018
Deadwood-Lead, South Dakota

The 2018 Annual Conference of the Mining History Association (MHA) was held in the towns of Deadwood and Lead, South Dakota, June 6-10, 2018. The venues for conference program sessions were the Homestake Adams Research and Cultural Center (HARCC) and The Lodge at Deadwood. The Organizing Committee prepared a very full schedule with several excellent tours, meals, and receptions. The Deadwood-Lead area had much to offer and the conference presents many opportunities to experience it.

Introduction to the Deadwood-Lead Area

Located in the beautiful Black Hills, Deadwood and Lead are among the most famous frontier gold mining towns. The historic Homestake Mine, closed in 2001, was the largest gold mine in the US for many years. The mine is now the location of Sanford Underground Research Facility, an underground physics research laboratory for studying neutrinos and deep-space science. While many of the Homestake facilities have been reclaimed since the 1993 MHA Conference, the Homestake legacy is preserved in the area’s excellent museums and, of course, the Homestake Open Cut. Black Hills gold is still produced by Coeur Mining at its Wharf Mine. CLICK HERE for “A Brief History of Black Hills Gold Mining.”

The mineral wealth of the Black Hills was not limited to gold. South Dakota is also famous for other mineral resources including those found in the pegmatite deposits near Custer and Keystone. Overlooked by the early gold prospectors, the pegmatites were mined sporadically from the 1880s through World War II for mica, tin, lithium, beryllium, tantalum, and feldspar to name a few of the more “exotic,” critical, and strategic mineral products. Both surface and underground mining were used to extract the ore from the pegmatite dikes and podiform deposits.

Another mining activity of historic proportions is the development of the Powder River Coal Basin located just west of the Black Hills in Wyoming and Montana. In the 1920s, the mines initially supplied the Homestake operations. By the 1980s, the demand for low sulfur coal had greatly expanded production. Powder River Basin coal is shipped via rail to customers in the Midwest and used by local power plants to generate electrical power transmitted by wire to consumers in nearby states.

Conference tours and field trips visited historic and active sites in the Deadwood-Lead area, the pegmatite mining area, and the Powder River Coal Basin.

Accommodations

The principle accommodations for the conference will be The Lodge at Deadwood.

It is a modern, full-service hotel that advertises “Midwestern hospitality and million dollar views…of the majestic Black Hills.” Guests can enjoy a range of amenities including a fitness center, water playland, two restaurants, trolley service to the Deadwood attractions, a Las Vegas-style casino, and free parking.

Less expensive lodging is available at the Travelodge Deadwood Hotel. They have promised a block of rooms at $68 plus tax. Please call 605-717-7181 by May 7. This facility sits about ½ mile down hill from The Lodge on U.S. 85 at 250 Main St., Deadwood.

Deadwood has many other motels. Black Hills Central Reservations is a good source for planning and booking reservations at 605-578-7702.

Other Deadwood motels include:

Bullock Hotel, 633 Main St., (downtown in a historic building). 605-578-1745

Cadillac Jacks, 360 Main St. (many newer rooms). 605-722-3719

Gold Dust, 25 Lee St. (downtown in a historic building). 605-559-1400

Franklin Hotel, 709 Main St. (downtown, “vintage” lodging). 605-578-3670

Martin & Mason, 33 Deadwood St. (restored historic building). 605-722-3456

Super 8, 196 Cliff St. (a distance from The Lodge). 605-578-2535

Deadwood Mountain Grand—Holiday Inn Resort (connected to the former Homestake Slime Plant) 605-559-0386

Several motels with some less expensive options are also available in Spearfish, about 10 miles from The Lodge. These include:

Baymont Inn (at Exit 14 on I-90). 866-238-4218

Fairfield Inn (at Exit 14 on I-90). 605-642-3500

Hampton Inn (at Exit 14 on I-90). 605-642-3003

Holiday Inn (at Exit 14 on I-90). 605-642-4683

Super 8 (near Exit 14 on I-90). 605-642-4721

Camping

The closest US Forest Service campgrounds, Strawberry and Roubaix Lake, are several miles south of Deadwood off of US 385. There are several commercial campgrounds around Deadwood, including:

Days of ’76 Campground (about one-half mile from The Lodge). 605-578-2872

Elkhorn Ridge RV Resort (at Exit 17 on I-90). 605-722-1800

KOA Deadwood Kampground (on Highway 14A, Central City). 605-578-3830

Whistler Gulch Campground (off US-85, 3 miles from The Lodge). 605-578-2092

Air and Rental Car Travel to Deadwood

The main gateway city for the Black Hills is Rapid City, SD which is about 45 miles southeast of Deadwood. It is served by American, Delta, and United airlines out of Chicago, Dallas-Fort Worth, Denver, and Minneapolis. Major car rental companies serve the Rapid City airport, including Enterprise, Avis, Budget, and Hertz. Shuttle bus services to Deadwood are also available, such as Discovery Tours at 605-920-1020.

Some of the most popular tourist destinations accessed through Rapid City include Mount Rushmore National Memorial, Badlands National Park, Wind Cave National Park, Jewel Cave National Monument, and Custer State Park. The Devil’s Tower National Monument is located northwest of Deadwood. Many visitors to the Black Hills choose to make them part of a much longer “loop” that includes Denver, CO, Salt Lake City, UT, Yellowstone, Grand Teton, and Rocky Mountain National Parks, and the countless other historic and scenic locations along the way.

CLICK ON IMAGES TO ENLARGE

Mt. Rushmore is the iconic symbol of South Dakota. Although not an actual mining operation, 450,000 tons of granite were drilled, blasted, and otherwise removed during its construction.

Deadwood and Delaware Smelter operated from 1891 to 1903. It became the Golden Reward Smelter.

View of Lower Deadwood, ca1901. (Left to right) Golden Reward Smelter, Golden Reward Cyanide Plant, and Imperial Cyanide Mill. The Fremont, Elkhorn, and Missouri Railroad tracks in the foreground.

The historic Adams House in Lead.

The Wharf Mine open pit is operated by Coeur Mining.

The Wyodak Coal Mine in the Powder River Basin near Gillette, WY, supplies the nearby power plants.

Coal from mines in Wyoming’s Powder River Basin fuels the Wygen Power Plant.

White Spar Pegmatite Mine near Custer, SD, ca1923.

The Yates Shaft of the famous Homestake Mine now provides access to the Sanford Underground Research Facility.

(Photos courtesy of David Wolff, the Homestake Adams Research and Cultural Center, USGS, Black Hills Energy, and the Library of Congress unless otherwise attributed)