08/31/2026
Happy and welcome to the start of the week! It is time to research another abandoned mine!
Over the weekend we were busy chasing down ghost towns, documenting mines, and even collaborating with Black Hills Paranormal on an upcoming episode. It was a big weekend for us!
**Before we go on we need to place a disclaimer:
This mine is STRICTLY private property. As everything we post on this platform is. We had exclusive permission to be on property and we were in the presence of the landowner the entire time we were on site doing our documentation. No one is allowed onto this property without the owner's approval. Trespassers will be held to the highest charges. For this reason going forward in today's article we will be changing names and or only using first names to protect history and to protect the privacy of the landowner. Remember, this is someones backyard. We need to all respect that. We wouldn't want someone in our backyard and they do not want anyone in theirs. So, please do not ask "what mine is this" or "where is this" as we will not answer and promptly delete the comment. This is not out of disrespect or us trying to be cocky. This is us respecting landowners and protecting history for years to come. Thank you.
Back to the article...
One of our days this past weekend was spent documenting an old privately owned abandoned silver and lead mine in the Black Hills. Let's talk about it!
This mine actually went by two names however, in order to protect privacy, history, and legality we are keeping the name out of the post. Unfortunately, these smart devices that we all call cellular devices makes protecting history difficult... This mine was first founded in 1883. The paperwork on it actually shows 4 claims. All 4 of them belonging to this mine. The locators of the mine went by the names James and "Mr.M"(Name shortened to protect history) Now, James had kids and various documents show that it was possibly one of his kids who located the mine. We will have to keep researching that part.
We did find out that James' two sons were hard rock quartz miners and had a lot of background in assaying. So, that would lead one to think that the documents may be correct showing that his son's found the mine instead of him.
James and "Mr. B" operated the mine for a 4 year period. In that period, the mine produced over $125,000.00! Which, in today's money that would equal out to around $4.13 Million Dollars! According to official mine documents... for unknown reasons after those four years of operation, mining was temporarily suspended.
Here is the cool part though, in 1912, the same year that the titanic sunk, the mine was re-incorporated under new directors. Now, the new mine director list was vast however, it had some names most of you would be familiar with to include: Mr. Franklin, Sol Starr, Harris Franklin, and Seth Bullock. Sound familiar!? All big Deadwood names! (On each of there photos we have included their history and such. Please click on their photo to read it.) Please keep in mind these were not all the founders as some were not photographed and the list is long. We just wanted to introduce a few.
Back to the mine history... The mine would end up not making it long... It was shut down only a few years after the re-incorporation took place. Likely the price of silver dropped and that was the main cause however, there is no cause listed. That is only our educational guess.
However, this was not the end for this mine. Now, it is important to note it was worked on and off throughout the years however, the records are not really there for those on and off years. We can tell you that post World War 2 that the mine sold again. Just like 1912 it was sold to a businessman out of Deadwood, South Dakota who went by the name Nels. Now, Nels also had a business partner in this mining venture however, records show that Nels and his partner only owned it for a year with no report on operation. Obviously it was worked we just have no documents on production records.
Nels then sold it to a mining company of which owned many different mines in the Black Hills. This mining company(we will not name for reasons) was known for their failed prospects and abandoning of mines. Nels obviously had to have known he was selling the mine to its demise. However, it lived a long life.
So, what is behind the big metal door and what is the interior like?! Well, due to unseen dangers aka possible deadly gasses we declined the owners offer to explore the mine. However, we can tell you that according to the United States Mineral Atlas that this mine has numerous shallow drifts going for about 600 to 700 feet. However according to a underground survey done in 1949 only two of the drifts were accessible. All others were said ti have caved in at certain points.
Ore from this very mine was assayed in 1949 following the survey. The USGS found that the ore was thoroughly oxidized and little trace of primary minerals is left. The assay showed much lead and very high values of silver. The ore also lays 20 feet above the base of the Deadwood formation. All tunneling followed a northeast direction.
Now, we understand that a lot of you reading this are not geologists or into the USGS terminology lingo so, we broke the paragraph down for you all to make it more simple:
In 1949, US Government Geologists tested rock samples from this mine after mapping the area. They discovered that exposure to air and water over time had broken down the original minerals.
Despite that weathering, the tests revealed rich deposits:
• High amounts of lead
• Surprisingly high values of silver
The miners dug all of their tunnels straight toward the northeast, following a layer of rock located about 20 feet above the bottom of the local stone layer (known as the Deadwood formation).
Wrap Up: All though we did not get to enter this mine it was all still very interesting to document and research. The owner was kind enough to invite us back again here soon to document more of the old site as well, as this mine also had two camps at it and a town later on. The decision to not enter the underground workings was a group decision made by both ourselves and the owner. We have been to hundreds of mines and worked with many landowners. This was not the first mine we chose not to enter. There are many different gasses that can reside in this old drifts and this one in particular is noted as being dangerous. So, we went by documentation, data, and gut feeling on this one. None the less, we hope you all enjoyed this deep dive research on this old mine.
We hope you all have a wonderful week ahead and keep checking back for more Black Hills mining history coming soon!
Thank you all for being here!
-HBP
