The recent tour of South Dakota mining country, sponsored by the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum’s (CIM) Toronto branch, proved to be a huge success although the slot machines and blackjack tables of Deadwood, S.D., showed no mercy.
Led by organizer Dale Hendrick, the 21 participants visited five mines, one underground and four open pit, in the course of a week. Peter Hubacheck, who studied geology at the South Dakota School of Mines in the 1970s, was a constant source of background information on the area’s history and geology. The Homestake gold mine proved to be the highlight of the tour. Although 115 years old and more than two kilometres deep in the underground portion, the operation still churns out more than 300,000 oz. gold per year. And at the open pits — Richmond Hill, Gilt Edge, Golden Reward and Foley Ridge — heap leachers provided an inside look at the technicalities of making money from exceptionally low-grade ore.
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