Dakota

627. Dakota. Custer. Custer City. Willow Creek Mining Co, 1902. Lot of 2 different prospectuses Incorporated in South Dakota, promoted from Iowa. Company owned the Lizzie claim group outside of Custer City that had ore values from $1.50 to $44 gold per ton and of course in free milling form perfect for concentrating and treating with cyanide. The company was being promoted from Le Mars, Iowa. 4 photographs of the different claim developments, which was just getting underway, with the most productive only 9 feet deep. 12 pages, original purple cover, 4 x 8". The second item is the Articles of Incorporation, 1902, for the Willow Creek MC. 12 pages, original pink cover, 4 x 6". Both items printed by Globe-Post Print, Le Mars. Both extremely fine to near mint condition. $100

628. Dakota. Lawrence. Castle Rock. Castle Rock Gold Mining & Milling Co, c.1902. Prospectus. Incorporated in South Dakota. Owned property 8 miles from Spearfish in the Castle Rock district. Ore was gold running at around $5 per ton. A mill was planned and ore to be treated with cyanide. The company incorporated in South Dakota, 1901. Printed by Queen City Mail Print. 8 pages, original green cover with dark green print, 3.5 x 6". Extremely fine. $75

629. Dakota. Lawrence. Deadwood(?). Gold Magnet & Mining Co, c.1900-1905. This prospectus is outlining the new Green Reduction Process that Charles Greene invented. The text pages do an excellent job outlining the basic innovations and process of ore extraction using the Greene process. Being that I am not a metallurgist, I am not able to validate or refute is the process would have worked, or was even accepted. There were 2 locations offered where the Greene mills were emplaced, Black Hills and at Boulder, Colorado. 6 photographs of what Greene's mills looked like. 18 pages, original blue cover, 4 x 8". Very fine. $75

630. Dakota. Lawrence. Deadwood. Crown Hill Cons Mining Co, c.1905. Prospectus. Incorporated in South Dakota, promoted from Chicago. This company is a reorganization of the Crown Hill Mining Co due to the need to increase capitalization. The company owned the Crown Hill gold mine located about 6 miles from Deadwood with ore that assayed from $10-20 gold per ton and had shipped about 300 tons. The company acquired the Spokane Lead and Silver mine in Custer County, located about 5 miles from Keystone. Ore carried 30-50% lead, 15-30 silver ounces with occasional gold at $5-$17 per ton. Over 500 car loads of ore had been shipped from a 200 foot shaft and able to work the ore on site. The last property acquired was 20 acres, located in Deadwood Gulch about 3.5 miles from Deadwood. Carried gold ore without any further specifics offered. 6 pages, original tan cover with black print, 7 x 9.5". Printed by Brown & Saenger, Sioux Falls. Fold crease at middle from top to bottom edge. Extremely fine. $75

631. Dakota. Lawrence. Deadwood. Magnolia Mining & Milling Co, c.1900. Prospectus. The company does not specify where its property is located and only has plans of building a cyanide plant to treat its $4 to $27.50 gold per ton ore and custom ore. 4 pages, 4 x 8.5". Printed on blue paper. Fred Gantz was the president. There was a Gantz mine in the Deadwood area (I read it in one of these Dakota prospectuses - vp). Extremely fine. $75

632. Dakota. Lawrence. Deadwood. Manila Gold Mining & Milling Co, 1904. Prospectus. According to the prospectus, the management of this company changed hands around 1902. The original company had 80 acres, adding another 500 acres by 1904, located 7 miles southwest of Deadwood. Ore values were listed at around $2.50 gold per ton and the company wanted to build a mill and cyanide plant. 5 photographs showing the property. On the last page is a diagrammatic cross section of the tunnel, and drift, with ore speculated ore shown. 8 pages, original drab green cover with dark green print. 6.5 x 9.5". Minor discoloration around the edges. Very fine. $75

633. Dakota. Lawrence. Deadwood. Rex Gold Mining Co, c.1902. Prospectus. The company had property that it claimed was an ground with extensions of the Homestake and Hidden Fortune. Developed by a 300 foot tunnel and a 70 foot shaft. No ore assays offered. 4 pages, 3.5 x 6", printed on green paper. Extremely fine. $75

634. Dakota. Lawrence. Deadwood. Rio Tinto Copper Mining Co, 1900. Prospectus. Incorporated in New Jersey, promoted from New York. No, this is not the famous Rio Tinto. But whether this company has any relation to the Rio Tinto Copper Co that was out of business located at Encampment, Wyoming is not clear. The company was pushing $10 per share stock, discounted in this prospectus to $5, very expensive compared to other companies selling stock between 5 and 25 cents. Property was located about 30 miles southeast Deadwood and only four miles from Nemo. In the middle of the claim group was a 90 foot shaft. Ore was reported to run between 9% & 20% copper with $4 gold (sounds to good to be true - vp). 8 pages, original tan cover with dark blue print, 5 x 8". Small dirt smudge at center of top edge. Very fine. $75

635. Dakota. Lawrence(?). Iron Mountain. Niagara Tin Smelting Co, c.1900. Lot of 2 different prospectuses. Incorporated in South Dakota, with the major smelter to be located at Niagara Falls, NY, utilizing the water power. The company did own property that was located 7 miles from Iron Mountain Station with ore that ran 2% tin. The 2 prospectuses are identical on the inside but have different styles of covers. One is yellow with 3 torches. The other has a red cover with a coat of arms design. 12 pages, 4.5 x 6". Extremely fine. $100

636. Dakota. Lawrence. Lead. Columbus Cons Gold Mining Co, c.1905. Prospectus and market letters. The company owned 600 acres that adjoined the property of the Homestake mine. Ore ran at about $4 per ton gold with a reported 80 million tons in sight. Very few other details are offered in this 4 page prospectus, 8.5 x 11", that has 2 photographs on the front page and one on the back page. Promoted by Herbert Shaw of Denver. Tear along fold creases. Discoloration along the bottom edge. Includes a stock subscription blank and a 1 page letter to the stockholders dated 1905. VF. $100

637. Dakota. Lawrence. Lead. Gladiator Gold Mining & Milling Co, c.1905. Lot of 2 different prospectuses. Incorporated in South Dakota, promoted from Iowa. The earlier prospectus appears to be published right after incorporation around 1900. The property consisted of the Murray group, but no ore values are offered and there seems to be very limited development. The 2nd prospectus announces the consolidation of 3 companies, Gladiator GM&MC, Red Cloud MC & Gold Fish MC, under the same Gladiator company name in 1902, and the election of new officers. The properties are discussed in detail, but still lacks much information about ore values or assays. It is also interesting to note that the consolidation of the 3 companies did not alter the name. We have seen stock certificates for the Gladiator Consolidated GM&MC, but these were issued around 1925. 11 x 13.5". 8 pages. Apparently the front cover sheet is missing, but the reverse sheet is present and printed on glossy paper. Both very fine to extremely fine. $100

638. Dakota. Lawrence. Lead. Glover Gold Mining Co, 1902. Prospectus. Incorporated in South Dakota, promoted from Iowa. Owned 56 acres located 1 mile west of Lead. 10 pages, original royal blue cover with gilt lettering, 3.5 x 5.5". There is no specifics regarding ore values other than having free milling gold. One testimonial from the Mayor of Lead. Printed by Rees Printing Co, Omaha. Extremely fine to near mint condition. $100

639. Dakota. Lawrence. Ruby Basin. Ruby Bell Gold & Silver Mining Co. Cert #189. Incorporated in Dakota. Issued to John Gray for 2500 shares in 1888. Signed by Seth Bullock president and M. O. Shields secretary. Vignette in blue underprint of a miner with a pickaxe. Blue and brown border with blue underprint. Location of mines: Ruby Basin, Dakota. Place of Business, Deadwood, Dakota. Cancelled by red pen of same written over signatures. Printer - Times Steam Printing House, Deadwood. 6 x 9. Seth Bullock (1847-1919) was first sheriff of Deadwood, having been appointed by the governor. When he ceased being sheriff in 1878, he became involved in mining ventures. In 1884, when President Roosevelt visited the Dakotas, Bullock established a life-long friendship with him (Thrapp, 1988). Trimmed tight at left edge. Fold creases. Very fine. $190

640. Dakota. Lawrence. Whitewood. Shawmut Cons Gold Mining Co, c.1903-04. Prospectus. Company organized as a consolidation of the Esmeralda, Fairview and Great Western mines located in the Whitewood district, Blacktail Gulch, Deadwood. There was a 100 ton crusher and 50 ton cyanide plant with a total historical production of $18,000. The prospectus does not offer any assays. A property examination indicates there are 5 tunnels that were probably pre-existing. A Boston promotion. 2 photographs, one at the front showing the mill building and another at the end showing the Esmeralda workings. 12 pages, original burgundy cover, 5 x 6.5". 2 orthogonal fold creases. Extremely fine. $75

641. Dakota. Pennington(?). Black Hills. Cheyenne Cons Mining Co. Cert. #294. Incorporated in New York, 1880. Issued to F. V. Welling for 100 shares in 1881. Signed by G. M. Jetten president and R. M. Wright secretary. Vignette of two men operating a hand crank hoist over a shaft. Black border. Uncancelled. Printer - John S. Hudin, NY. 7 x 11. Two pin holes near left edge. Very fine. $200

642. Dakota. Pennington. Hill City. Gertie Mining & Milling Co, c.1900-1905. Prospectus. Incorporated in South Dakota, promoted from Chicago. The company owned the Gertie mine located almost within the town of Hill City. There were 2 ore types: gold, $8, and tin, $18. Much of the prospectus contains write-ups on the advantages of investing in mining rather than other industries. On the front cover is a photograph of "Typical Mining Prospector, G. R. Medbury." On the inside back cover is a small photographs showing Hill City. The 2nd page has a map of claims around Hill City. 16 pages, original orange cover, 8 x 9". Fold crease at middle from top to bottom. Very fine. $100

643. Dakota. Pennington. Keystone. Elmendorf Gold Mining Co, 1902. Prospectus, cabinet card and blank subscription. Incorporated in South Dakota, promoted in Indianapolis. Owned several acres located about 12 miles northeast of Hill City, 13 miles southwest of Rapid City and 7 miles north of Keystone, on the banks of Spring Creek. Ore was claimed to run at $20 per ton with gold and copper minerals. 20 pages, original cover, 3 x 6". Cover is in poor condition with tape repairs along left and top edge. Included is a cabinet card photograph that is identified as Mr. Elmendorf, photographed by H. F. Quiggle, Rapid City. The note on the reverse states "Mr. Elmendorf of Elmendorf MC, 15 miles up in the Black Hills from Rapid city. He and Mr. Balser lived together there on Spring creek in the house we took down and replaced by our cabin which we named Elmendorf several years after his farm had been abandoned. Mr. Balser said Mr. E. had been 3 times sheriff of Know County, Indiana." Photo and matte board has water damage, but not severe. Fine to very fine. $150

644. Dakota. Pennington. Keystone. Tykoon Mining Co of Keystone, South Dakota. Cert.#526. Incorporated in South Dakota. Issued to Miss Lucia Holuces for 325 shares in 1902. Signed by president E. J. Bealer. Vignette of Abraham Lincoln in masthead. Green border and underprint. This company was so obscure that it is not listed in any of our classic references. The Keystone district is on Battle Creek, 23 miles southwest of Rapid City. In more modern times it has been the site of fantastic mineral collecting in the pegmatites. The district was discovered in 1875, around the time of the Homestake. Gold and tin were mined there through the 1880's, however, the Tykoon was most active around the turn of the century. In 1902, Sanford stated "The Tykoon mine is rapidly being developed under wise management." It had a ten stamp mill that was "soon to be greatly enlarged." The mine may have been purchased by the Homestake. (Ref: Sanford, Connolly & O'Harra). Xf, folds. $200

645. Dakota. Pennington. Tigerville. Redfern Gold Mining & Milling Co, 1903. Prospectus. Incorporated in South Dakota. Owned and leased several claims in the Tigerville district located 2 miles south of Redfern and 5 miles from Hill City. Only 3 claims were had an substantial development work. The King Solomon claim had 2 shafts, 220 feet and 60 feet, both of which were sunk in 1877. The other claims had minor open cuts and shallow shafts, but all had assays from $4 to $10 free milling gold ore. One always has to be leery of a "Guarantee" on an investment which this company offers. There is a paragraph outlining how the company has a $100,000 bond with the Pacific Underwriting Co guaranteeing the stock and is redeemable at any time through this company for the amount of investment (sounds to good to be true). 4 photographs of the property, none of the actual workings. The mill had not yet been built. Attached on the last page is a plat map of the property. 12 pages, original gray cover, 6 x 9". Discoloration on front cover. Center 2 pages are detached from the staples. Very fine. $75