White Bull ( Lakota : Tȟatȟáŋka Ská ; April 1849 – June 21, 1947) later known as Joseph White Bull was the nephew of Sitting Bull , and a famous warrior in his own right. White Bull participated in the Battle of the Little Bighorn on June 25, 1876.
105-622: Born in the Black Hills in South Dakota , his original name was Bull-Standing-with-Cow. He came from a prominent Sioux family, being the son of Good Feather, Sitting Bull's sister, and Makes Room, a respected Miniconjou chief. His brother was One Bull . At just 16 years old, White Bull became a skilled warrior, earning recognition for his bravery by unseating three scouts from their horses and claiming 10 horses for his tribe. In honor of his achievements, his uncle Black Moon then gave him
210-516: A laboratory or factory. Ores recovered by mining include metals , coal , oil shale , gemstones , limestone , chalk , dimension stone , rock salt , potash , gravel , and clay . The ore must be a rock or mineral that contains valuable constituent, can be extracted or mined and sold for profit. Mining in a wider sense includes extraction of any non-renewable resource such as petroleum , natural gas , or even water . Modern mining processes involve prospecting for ore bodies, analysis of
315-519: A dry pine savannah , with stands of mountain mahogany and Rocky Mountain juniper . Wildlife is both diverse and plentiful. Black Hills creeks are known for their trout, while the forests and grasslands offer good habitat for American bison , white-tailed and mule deer , pronghorn , bighorn sheep , mountain lions , and a variety of smaller animals, like prairie dogs , American martens , American red squirrels , Northern flying squirrels , yellow-bellied marmots , and fox squirrels . Biologically,
420-636: A hopper and a shaking screen or trommel which frees the desired minerals from the waste gravel. The minerals are then concentrated using sluices or jigs. Large drills are used to sink shafts, excavate stopes, and obtain samples for analysis. Trams are used to transport miners, minerals and waste. Lifts carry miners into and out of mines, and move rock and ore out, and machinery in and out, of underground mines. Huge trucks, shovels and cranes are employed in surface mining to move large quantities of overburden and ore. Processing plants use large crushers, mills, reactors, roasters and other equipment to consolidate
525-765: A joint effort by the Rosebud, Shakopee Mdewakanton, Crow Creek, and Standing Rock Sioux Tribes. In March 2017, Pennington County agreed to abandon its claim to the Pe' Sla area and recognize its Federal Indian trust status. In 2016, the Southern Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribe of Oklahoma, the Northern Cheyenne Tribe of Montana and the Rosebud Sioux Tribe of South Dakota bought land near the sacred Bear Butte site for $ 1.1 million. In 2018,
630-859: A long history in the Black Hills and consider it a sacred site. After conquering the Cheyenne in 1776, the Lakota took the territory of the Black Hills, which became central to their culture. In 1868, the federal US government signed the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868 , establishing the Great Sioux Reservation west of the Missouri River, and exempting the Black Hills from all non-indigenous settlement “forever”; however, when American settlers discovered gold here as
735-883: A mass of actual rock. Both types of ore deposit, placer or lode, are mined by both surface and underground methods. Some mining, including much of the rare earth elements and uranium mining , is done by less-common methods, such as in-situ leaching : this technique involves digging neither at the surface nor underground. The extraction of target minerals by this technique requires that they be soluble, e.g., potash , potassium chloride , sodium chloride , sodium sulfate , which dissolve in water. Some minerals, such as copper minerals and uranium oxide , require acid or carbonate solutions to dissolve. Explosives in Mining Explosives have been used in surface mining and sub-surface mining to blast out rock and ore intended for processing. The most common explosive used in mining
840-560: A metropolitan population of 145,000. It serves a market area covering much of five states: North and South Dakota , Nebraska , Wyoming , and Montana . In addition to tourism and mining (including coal, specialty minerals, and the now declining gold mining), the Black Hills economy includes ranching (sheep and cattle, primarily, with bison and ratites becoming more common), timber (lumber), Ellsworth Air Force Base , and some manufacturing, including Black Hills gold jewelry , cement, electronics, cabinetry, guns and ammunition. In many ways,
945-426: A mining operation. Once the analysis determines a given ore body is worth recovering, development begins to create access to the ore body. The mine buildings and processing plants are built, and any necessary equipment is obtained. The operation of the mine to recover the ore begins and continues as long as the company operating the mine finds it economical to do so. Once all the ore that the mine can produce profitably
1050-503: A more sustainable future, the demand for metals is set to skyrocket. Between 2022 and 2050, an estimated 7 billion metric tons of metals will need to be extracted. Steel will account for the largest portion of this total at 5 billion tons, followed by aluminum at 950 million tons, copper at 650 million tons, graphite at 170 million tons, nickel at 100 million tons, and other metals. Notably, the energy expenditure required to extract these metals will soon surpass that of coal mining, highlighting
1155-763: A negative environmental impact, both during the mining activity and after the mine has closed. Hence, most of the world's nations have passed regulations to decrease the impact; however, the outsized role of mining in generating business for often rural, remote or economically depressed communities means that governments often fail to fully enforce such regulations. Work safety has long been a concern as well, and where enforced, modern practices have significantly improved safety in mines. Unregulated, poorly regulated or illegal mining , especially in developing economies , frequently contributes to local human rights violations and environmental conflicts . Mining can also perpetuate political instability through resource conflicts . Since
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#17327809698051260-587: A result of George Armstrong Custer 's Black Hills Expedition in 1874, a gold rush swept in miners. The US government conquered the Black Hills and forcibly relocated the Lakota, following the Great Sioux War of 1876 , to five smaller reservations in western South Dakota, selling off 9 million acres (36,000 km ) of their former land. Unlike most of South Dakota, the Black Hills were settled primarily by European Americans from population centers to
1365-408: A strong inducement to extract these metals or to lease the deposits and collect royalties from mine operators. English, German , and Dutch capital combined to finance extraction and refining . Hundreds of German technicians and skilled workers were brought over; in 1642 a colony of 4,000 foreigners was mining and smelting copper at Keswick in the northwestern mountains. Use of water power in
1470-482: Is Pahá Sápa . It encompasses the Black Hills National Forest . It formed as a result of an upwarping of ancient rock, after which the removal of the higher portions of the mountain mass by stream erosion produced the present-day topography . The hills are so called because of their dark appearance from a distance, as they are covered in evergreen trees. American Indian tribes have
1575-651: Is ammonium nitrate . Between 1870 and 1920, in Queensland Australia, an increase in mining accidents lead to more safety measures surrounding the use of explosives for mining. In the United States of America, between 1990 and 1999, about 22.3 billion kilograms of explosives were used in mining quarrying and other industries; Moreover " coal mining used 66.4%, nonmetal mining and quarrying 13.5%, metal mining 10.4%, construction 7.1%, and all other users 2.6%". Artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM)
1680-811: Is a blanket term for a type of subsistence mining involving a miner who may or may not be officially employed by a mining company but works independently, mining minerals using their own resources, usually by hand. While there is no completely coherent definition for ASM, artisanal mining generally includes miners who are not officially employed by a mining company and use their own resources to mine. As such, they are part of an informal economy . ASM also includes, in small-scale mining, enterprises or individuals that employ workers for mining, but who generally still use similar manually-intensive methods as artisanal miners (such as working with hand tools). In addition, ASM can be characterized as distinct from large-scale mining (LSM) by less efficient extraction of pure minerals from
1785-723: Is composed of highly variable sandstones and limestones followed by the Opeche shale and the Minnekahta limestone. The next rock layer, the Spearfish Formation , forms a valley around the hills called the Red Valley and is often referred to as the Race Track. It is mostly red shale with beds of gypsum , and circles much of the Black Hills. These shale and gypsum beds, as well as the nearby limestone beds of
1890-476: Is done by removing surface vegetation, dirt, and bedrock to reach buried ore deposits. Techniques of surface mining include: open-pit mining , which is the recovery of materials from an open pit in the ground; quarrying , identical to open-pit mining except that it refers to sand, stone and clay; strip mining , which consists of stripping surface layers off to reveal ore underneath; and mountaintop removal , commonly associated with coal mining, which involves taking
1995-763: Is home to Mount Rushmore National Memorial , Wind Cave National Park , Jewel Cave National Monument , Black Elk Peak (the highest point in the United States east of the Rockies), Custer State Park (the largest state park in South Dakota), the Crazy Horse Memorial , and The Mammoth Site in Hot Springs , the world's largest mammoth research facility. Attractions in the Northern Hills include Spearfish Canyon , historic Deadwood , and
2100-613: Is mining upward, creating a sloping underground room, long wall mining , which is grinding a long ore surface underground, and room and pillar mining, which is removing ore from rooms while leaving pillars in place to support the roof of the room. Room and pillar mining often leads to retreat mining , in which supporting pillars are removed as miners retreat, allowing the room to cave in, thereby loosening more ore. Additional sub-surface mining methods include hard rock mining , bore hole mining, drift and fill mining, long hole slope mining, sub level caving, and block caving . Heavy machinery
2205-484: Is much more common, and produces, for example, 85% of minerals (excluding petroleum and natural gas) in the United States, including 98% of metallic ores. Targets are divided into two general categories of materials: placer deposits , consisting of valuable minerals contained within river gravels, beach sands, and other unconsolidated materials ; and lode deposits , where valuable minerals are found in veins, in layers, or in mineral grains generally distributed throughout
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#17327809698052310-413: Is not of immediate interest to the miner. The total movement of ore and waste constitutes the mining process. Often more waste than ore is mined during the life of a mine, depending on the nature and location of the ore body. Waste removal and placement is a major cost to the mining operator, so a detailed characterization of the waste material forms an essential part of the geological exploration program for
2415-584: Is recovered, reclamation can begin, to make the land used by the mine suitable for future use. Technical and economic challenges notwithstanding, successful mine development must also address human factors. Working conditions are paramount to success, especially with regard to exposures to dusts, radiation, noise, explosives hazards, and vibration, as well as illumination standards. Mining today increasingly must address environmental and community impacts, including psychological and sociological dimensions. Thus, mining educator Frank T. M. White (1909–1971), broadened
2520-656: Is the largest producer of diamonds in Africa, with an estimated 12 million carats in 2019. Other types of mining reserves in Africa include cobalt , bauxite , iron ore , coal, and copper . Gold and coal mining started in Australia and New Zealand in the 19th century. Nickel has become important in the economy of New Caledonia . In Fiji , in 1934, the Emperor Gold Mining Company Ltd. established operations at Vatukoula , followed in 1935 by
2625-423: Is to conduct a feasibility study to evaluate the financial viability, the technical and financial risks, and the robustness of the project. This is when the mining company makes the decision whether to develop the mine or to walk away from the project. This includes mine planning to evaluate the economically recoverable portion of the deposit, the metallurgy and ore recoverability, marketability and payability of
2730-419: Is used in mining to explore and develop sites, to remove and stockpile overburden, to break and remove rocks of various hardness and toughness, to process the ore, and to carry out reclamation projects after the mine is closed. Bulldozers, drills, explosives and trucks are all necessary for excavating the land. In the case of placer mining , unconsolidated gravel, or alluvium , is fed into machinery consisting of
2835-601: The Cheyenne , Crow , Kiowa , and Arapaho . The Lakota (also known as Sioux ) arrived from Minnesota in the 18th century and displaced the other tribes that lived there, who eventually moved to what became known as the Western United States . They claimed the land, which they called Ȟe Sápa (Black Mountains). The mountains commonly became known as the Black Hills ( Pahá Sápa in Lakota). François and Louis de La Vérendrye probably traveled near
2940-521: The Greek author Diodorus Siculus , who mentions fire-setting as one method used to break down the hard rock holding the gold . One of the complexes is shown in one of the earliest known mining maps. The miners crushed the ore and ground it to a fine powder before washing the powder for the gold dust known as the dry and wet attachment processes. Mining in Europe has a very long history. Examples include
3045-614: The Sturgis Motorcycle Rally , held each August. The first Rally was held on August 14, 1938, and the 75th Rally in 2015 saw more than one million bikers visit the Black Hills. Devils Tower National Monument , located in the Wyoming Black Hills, is an important nearby attraction and was the United States' first national monument. Although the written history of the region begins with the Sioux domination of
3150-525: The Trans-Hudson orogeny and contains abundant pegmatite. The core of the Black Hills has been dated to 1.8 billion years. Other localized deposits have been dated to around 2.2 to 2.8 billion years. One of these is located in the northern hills. It is called French Creek Granite although it has been metamorphosed into gneiss . The other is called the Bear Mountain complex, and it is located in
3255-517: The argentiferous galena in the mines of Cartagena ( Cartago Nova ), Linares ( Castulo ), Plasenzuela and Azuaga , among many others. Spain was one of the most important mining regions, but all regions of the Roman Empire were exploited. In Great Britain the natives had mined minerals for millennia , but after the Roman conquest , the scale of the operations increased dramatically, as
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3360-836: The greenstone of the Langdale axe industry based in the English Lake District . The oldest-known mine on archaeological record is the Ngwenya Mine in Eswatini (Swaziland) , which radiocarbon dating shows to be about 43,000 years old. At this site Paleolithic humans mined hematite to make the red pigment ochre . Mines of a similar age in Hungary are believed to be sites where Neanderthals may have mined flint for weapons and tools. Ancient Egyptians mined malachite at Maadi . At first, Egyptians used
3465-509: The 21st century begins, a globalized mining industry of large multinational corporations has arisen. Peak minerals and environmental impacts have also become a concern. Different elements, particularly rare-earth minerals , have begun to increase in demand as a result of new technologies. In 2023, 8.5 billion metric tons of coal were extracted from the Earth's crust. However, as the global economy transitions away from fossil fuels and toward
3570-680: The 7th century to the 14th century. Gold was often traded to Mediterranean economies that demanded gold and could supply salt , even though much of Africa was abundant with salt due to the mines and resources in the Sahara desert . The trading of gold for salt was mostly used to promote trade between the different economies. Since the Great Trek in the 19th century, after, gold and diamond mining in Southern Africa has had major political and economic impacts. The Democratic Republic of Congo
3675-621: The Black Hill basins occurs at a probability rate of 0.01, making such floods occur on average once in every 100 years. During The Medieval Climate Anomaly, or the Medieval Warm Period , flooding increased in the basins. A stratigraphic record of the area shows that during these 400 years, thirteen 100-year floods occurred in four of the region's basins, while the same four basins from the previous 800 years only experienced nine floods. The Arikara arrived by AD 1500, followed by
3780-496: The Black Hills functions as a very spread-out urban area with a population (not counting tourists) of 250,000. Other important Black Hills cities and towns include: Bibliography Mining Mining is the extraction of valuable geological materials and minerals from the surface of the Earth . Mining is required to obtain most materials that cannot be grown through agricultural processes , or feasibly created artificially in
3885-540: The Black Hills in 1743. Fur trappers and traders also had some dealings with the American Indians that lived there. Americans settlers increasingly encroached on Lakota territory. In order to secure safe passage of settlers on the Oregon Trail , and to end intertribal warfare, the United States government proposed the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868, which established the Great Sioux Reservation west of
3990-418: The Black Hills is a meeting and mixing place, with species common to regions to the east, west, north, and south. It supports some endemic taxa, including white-winged junco ( Junco hyemalis aikeni ). Some other endemics are Cooper's Rocky Mountain snail, Black Hills subspecies of red-bellied snake , and a Black Hills subspecies of southern red-backed vole . Some birds that are only in the Black Hills and not
4095-513: The Black Hills that follows the abandoned track of the historic railroad route from Edgemont to Deadwood . The train used to be the only way to bring supplies to the miners in the Hills. The trail is about 110 miles (180 km) in length, and can be used by hikers, cross-country skiers, and cyclists. The cost is $ 4 per day or $ 15 annually. Today, the major city in the Black Hills is Rapid City , with an incorporated population of roughly 75,000 and
4200-450: The Black Hills were illegally seized by the federal U.S. government and ordered remuneration of the initial offering price plus interest, nearly $ 106 million. The Lakota refused the settlement, as they wanted the Black Hills returned to them. The money remains in an interest-bearing account but the Lakota still refuse to take the money. They have declined to accept the money, because acceptance would legally terminate their demands for return of
4305-545: The Black Hills. The money remains in a Bureau of Indian Affairs account accruing compound interest . As of 2011, the Sioux's award plus interest was "about $ 1 billion" or "1.3 billion" (equivalent to $ 1.35 to $ 1.76 billion in 2023). In 2012, United Nations Special Rapporteur James Anaya conducted a 12-day tour of Indigenous lands to determine how the US is following the United Nations Declaration on
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4410-675: The French crown to operate mines in 1733, becoming "the first practical miner on Lake Superior"; seven years later, mining was halted by an outbreak between Sioux and Chippewa tribes. Mining in the United States became widespread in the 19th century, and the United States Congress passed the General Mining Act of 1872 to encourage mining of federal lands. As with the California Gold Rush in
4515-643: The Loloma Gold Mines, N.L., and then by Fiji Mines Development Ltd. (aka Dolphin Mines Ltd.). These developments ushered in a “mining boom”, with gold production rising more than a hundred-fold, from 931.4 oz in 1934 to 107,788.5 oz in 1939, an order of magnitude then comparable to the combined output of New Zealand and Australia's eastern states. During prehistoric times, early Americans mined large amounts of copper along Lake Superior 's Keweenaw Peninsula and in nearby Isle Royale ; metallic copper
4620-796: The Minnekahta, are used in the manufacture of cement at a cement plant in Rapid City . Next is the shale and sandstone Sundance Formation , which is topped by the Morrison Formation and the Unkpapa sandstone. The outermost feature of the dome stands out as a hogback ridge . The ridge is made out of the Lakota Formation and the Fallriver sandstone, which are collectively called the Inyan Kara Group. Above this,
4725-435: The Missouri River and acknowledged indigenous control of the Black Hills. The treaty protected the Black Hills "forever" from American settlers. Both the Sioux and Cheyenne also claimed rights to the land, saying that their cultures considered it the axis mundi , or sacred center of the world. Although rumors of gold in the Black Hills had circulated for decades (see Thoen Stone and Pierre-Jean De Smet ), confirmation of
4830-570: The Northern Cheyenne Tribe of Montana and the Arapahoe Tribe of Oklahoma teamed together to purchase land near Bear Butte for $ 2.3 million. The geology of the Black Hills is complex. A Tertiary mountain-building episode is responsible for the uplift and current topography of the Black Hills region. This uplift was marked by volcanic activity in the northern Black Hills. The southern Black Hills are characterized by Precambrian granite , pegmatite , and metamorphic rocks that comprise
4935-468: The Northern Hills. Oddly, this endemic variety of spruce does not occur in the moist Bear Lodge Mountains , which make up most of the Wyoming portion of the Black Hills. Large open parks (mountain meadows) with lush grassland rather than forest are scattered through the Hills (especially the western portion), and the southern edge of the Hills, due to the rainshadow of the higher elevations, are covered by
5040-577: The Pe' Sla sacred site around November 30, 2012" meaning the Pe' Sla is officially Sioux land. After 2,022 acres of Pe' Sla (Reynolds Prairie) were granted Federal Indian trust status by the Bureau of Indian Affairs in March 2016, the Shakopee Mdewakanton tribe released a statement acknowledging the 2012 land purchase of 1,940 acres of Pe' Sla and also stated that this purchase was the result of
5145-677: The Rights of Indigenous Peoples , endorsed in 2010 by the Obama administration . Anaya met with tribes in seven states on reservations and in urban areas as well as with members of the Obama administration and the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs . In an appeal issued August 21, 2012, Anaya brought a sale of over 1,900 acres of land in Black Hills by the Reynolds family to the attention of
5250-481: The Romans needed Britannia 's resources, especially gold , silver , tin , and lead . Roman techniques were not limited to surface mining. They followed the ore veins underground once opencast mining was no longer feasible. At Dolaucothi they stoped out the veins and drove adits through bare rock to drain the stopes. The same adits were also used to ventilate the workings, especially important when fire-setting
5355-700: The Southern Hills. Railroads were quickly constructed to the previously remote area. From 1880 onward the gold mines yielded about $ 4,000,000 annually, and the silver mines about $ 3,000,000 annually. The conflict over control of the region sparked the Black Hills War (1876), also known as the Great Sioux War, the last major Indian War on the Great Plains. Following the defeat of the Lakota and their Cheyenne and Arapaho allies in 1876,
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#17327809698055460-598: The Spanish to pulverize ore after being mined. This device was powered by animals and used the same principles used for grain threshing . Much of the knowledge of medieval mining techniques comes from books such as Biringuccio 's De la pirotechnia and probably most importantly from Georg Agricola 's De re metallica (1556). These books detail many different mining methods used in German and Saxon mines. A prime issue in medieval mines, which Agricola explains in detail,
5565-533: The US government and asked that it disclose measures taken by federal or state governments to address Sioux concerns over the sale of the land within Reynolds Prairie. These acres consist of five land tracts, including the sacred Pe' Sla site for Dakota, Lakota, and Nakota peoples; natives to the Black Hills fundraised to buy the land during the Reynolds' sale. On January 15, 2013, the US responded, telling Anaya that it "understands several tribes purchased
5670-756: The Umm el-Sawwan site; gypsum was used to make funerary items for private tombs. Other minerals mined in Egypt from the Old Kingdom (2649-2134 BC) until the Roman Period (30 BC-AD 395) including granite , sandstone , limestone , basalt , travertine , gneiss , galena , and amethyst . Mining in Egypt occurred in the earliest dynasties. The gold mines of Nubia were among the largest and most extensive of any in Ancient Egypt. These mines are described by
5775-536: The United States occupied the Black Hills in disregard of past treaties. Despite their forced relocations, the Lakota never accepted the validity of the US appropriation. They have continued to try to reclaim the property, and had also filed a lawsuit against the U.S. federal government . On July 23, 1980, in United States v. Sioux Nation of Indians , the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that
5880-624: The beginning of civilization, people have used stone , clay and, later, metals found close to the Earth's surface. These were used to make early tools and weapons; for example, high quality flint found in northern France , southern England and Poland was used to create flint tools . Flint mines have been found in chalk areas where seams of the stone were followed underground by shafts and galleries. The mines at Grimes Graves and Krzemionki are especially famous, and like most other flint mines, are Neolithic in origin (c. 4000–3000 BC). Other hard rocks mined or collected for axes included
5985-528: The bright green malachite stones for ornamentations and pottery . Later, between 2613 and 2494 BC, large building projects required expeditions abroad to the area of Wadi Maghareh in order to secure minerals and other resources not available in Egypt itself. Quarries for turquoise and copper were also found at Wadi Hammamat , Tura , Aswan and various other Nubian sites on the Sinai Peninsula and at Timna . Quarries for gypsum were found at
6090-419: The core of the entire Black Hills uplift. This core is rimmed by Paleozoic , Mesozoic , and Cenozoic sedimentary rocks. The stratigraphy of the Black Hills is laid out like a target, as it is an oval dome , with rings of different rock types dipping away from the center. The 'bull's eye' of this target is called the granite core. The granite of the Black Hills was emplaced by magma generated during
6195-417: The cutter-head is progressively launched further into the coal seam. High wall mining can produce thousands of tons of coal in contour-strip operations with narrow benches, previously mined areas, trench mine applications and steep-dip seams. Sub-surface mining consists of digging tunnels or shafts into the earth to reach buried ore deposits. Ore, for processing, and waste rock, for disposal, are brought to
6300-564: The deposits came first in 1874, when Brevet Major General George Armstrong Custer of the 7th US Cavalry led an expedition there and discovered gold in French Creek . An official announcement of gold was made by the newspaper reporters accompanying the expedition. The following year, the Newton-Jenney Party conducted the first detailed survey of the Black Hills. The surveyor for the party, Valentine McGillycuddy , became
6405-522: The first European American to ascend to the top of Black Elk Peak . This highest point in the Black Hills is 7,242 feet (2,207 m) above sea level. During the 1875–1878 gold rush thousands of miners went to the Black Hills; in 1880, the area was the most densely populated part of the Dakota Territory . Three large towns developed in the Northern Hills: Deadwood , Central City , and Lead . Around these clustered groups of smaller gold camps, towns, and villages. Hill City and Custer City sprang up in
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#17327809698056510-406: The flattest parts of the Great Plains . It took a period of uplift to bring them to their present topographical levels in the Black Hills. This uplift called the Laramide orogeny , began around the beginning of the Cenozoic and left a line of igneous rocks through the northern hills superimposed on the rocks already discussed. This line extends from Bear Butte in the east to Devils Tower in
6615-698: The focus to the “total environment of mining”, including reference to community development around mining, and how mining is portrayed to an urban society, which depends on the industry, although seemingly unaware of this dependency. He stated, “[I]n the past, mining engineers have not been called upon to study the psychological, sociological and personal problems of their own industry – aspects that nowadays are assuming tremendous importance. The mining engineer must rapidly expand his knowledge and his influence into these newer fields.” Mining techniques can be divided into two common excavation types: surface mining and sub-surface (underground) mining . Today, surface mining
6720-428: The form of water mills was extensive. The water mills were employed in crushing ore, raising ore from shafts, and ventilating galleries by powering giant bellows . Black powder was first used in mining in Selmecbánya , Kingdom of Hungary (now Banská Štiavnica , Slovakia) in 1627. Black powder allowed blasting of rock and earth to loosen and reveal ore veins. Blasting was much faster than fire-setting and allowed
6825-400: The growing importance of sustainable metal extraction practices. The process of mining from discovery of an ore body through extraction of minerals and finally to returning the land to its natural state consists of several distinct steps. The first is discovery of the ore body, which is carried out through prospecting or exploration to find and then define the extent, location and value of
6930-413: The high elevations, are older, as old as 20 million years, according to camel and rodent fossils found. Some gravels have been found but for the most part, these older beds have been eroded. As with the geology, the biology of the Black Hills is complex. Most of the Hills are a fire-climax ponderosa pine forest, with Black Hills spruce ( Picea glauca var. densata ) occurring in cool moist valleys of
7035-472: The land over the native Arikara tribes, researchers have carbon-dating and stratigraphic records to analyze the early history of the area. Scientists have been able to utilize carbon-dating to evaluate the age of tools found in the area, which indicate a human presence that dates as far back as 11,500 BC with the Clovis culture . Stratigraphic records indicate environmental changes in the land, such as flood and drought patterns. For example, large-scale flooding of
7140-415: The largest in the US), Bear Butte State Park , Devils Tower National Monument , and the Crazy Horse Memorial . The Black Hills also hosts the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally each August. The rally was started in 1940 and the 65th Rally in 2005 saw more than 550,000 bikers visit the Black Hills. It is a key part of the regional economy. The George S. Mickelson Trail is a recently opened multi-use path through
7245-404: The layers of rocks are less distinct and are all mainly grey shale with three exceptions: the Newcastle sandstone; the Greenhorn limestone, which contains many shark teeth fossils ; and the Niobrara Formation, which is composed mainly of chalk . These outer ridges are called cuestas . The preceding layers were deposited horizontally. All of them can be seen in core samples and well logs from
7350-424: The metals due to the difficulties of transporting them, but the copper was eventually traded throughout the continent along major river routes. In the early colonial history of the Americas, "native gold and silver was quickly expropriated and sent back to Spain in fleets of gold- and silver-laden galleons", the gold and silver originating mostly from mines in Central and South America. Turquoise dated at 700 AD
7455-407: The metamorphic layers at a much shallower angle. This rock called the Deadwood Formation is mostly sandstone and was the source of gold found in the Deadwood area. Above the Deadwood Formation lies the Englewood Formation and Pahasapa limestone , which is the source of the more than 200 caves found in the Black Hills, including Jewel Cave and Wind Cave . The Minnelusa Formation is next and
7560-768: The mid-19th century, mining for minerals and precious metals, along with ranching , became a driving factor in the U.S. Westward Expansion to the Pacific coast. With the exploration of the West, mining camps sprang up and "expressed a distinctive spirit, an enduring legacy to the new nation"; Gold Rushers would experience the same problems as the Land Rushers of the transient West that preceded them. Aided by railroads, many people traveled West for work opportunities in mining. Western cities such as Denver and Sacramento originated as mining towns. When new areas were explored, it
7665-497: The mid-sixteenth century. On the continent, mineral deposits belonged to the crown, and this regalian right was stoutly maintained. But in England, royal mining rights were restricted to gold and silver (of which England had virtually no deposits) by a judicial decision of 1568 and a law in 1688. England had iron , zinc , copper , lead , and tin ores. Landlords who owned the base metals and coal under their estates then had
7770-432: The minehead, where the water was stored in large reservoirs and tanks. When a full tank was opened, the flood of water sluiced away the overburden to expose the bedrock underneath and any gold-bearing veins. The rock was then worked by fire-setting to heat the rock, which would be quenched with a stream of water. The resulting thermal shock cracked the rock, enabling it to be removed by further streams of water from
7875-431: The mining of previously impenetrable metals and ores. In 1762, one of the world's first mining academies was established in the same town there. The widespread adoption of agricultural innovations such as the iron plowshare , as well as the growing use of metal as a building material, was also a driving force in the tremendous growth of the iron industry during this period. Inventions like the arrastra were often used by
7980-504: The name White Bull. For years, rumors circulated that White Bull claimed to have killed Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer at the infamous battle. However, those who knew White Bull disputed this, stating that he never made such a boast, but rather acknowledged struggling with Custer. After the battle, White Bull joined his uncle, Hunkpapa Sioux leader Sitting Bull , while fleeing to Canada . Also, young Chief Solomon "Smoke" and Chief No Neck ( Lakota : Tȟahú Waníče ) (these two chiefs were
8085-680: The national forest's Hell Canyon District. Finally, Wyoming's Black Hills follow the Bearlodge District, approximately Weston and Crook Counties. Geologically separate from the Black Hills are the Elk Mountains , a small range forming the southwest portion of the region. The region is home to Mount Rushmore National Memorial , Wind Cave National Park , Jewel Cave National Monument , Black Elk Peak , Custer State Park (the largest state park in South Dakota, and one of
8190-405: The ore body. This leads to a mathematical resource estimation to estimate the size and grade of the deposit. This estimation is used to conduct a pre-feasibility study to determine the theoretical economics of the ore deposit. This identifies, early on, whether further investment in estimation and engineering studies is warranted and identifies key risks and areas for further work. The next step
8295-462: The ore concentrates, engineering concerns, milling and infrastructure costs, finance and equity requirements, and an analysis of the proposed mine from the initial excavation all the way through to reclamation. The proportion of a deposit that is economically recoverable is dependent on the enrichment factor of the ore in the area. To gain access to the mineral deposit within an area it is often necessary to mine through or remove waste material which
8400-442: The ore, lower wages, decreased occupational safety, benefits, and health standards for miners, and a lack of environmental protection measures. Artisanal miners often undertake the activity of mining seasonally. For example, crops are planted in the rainy season , and mining is pursued in the dry season . However, they also frequently travel to mining areas and work year-round. There are four broad types of ASM: Surface mining
8505-424: The original rocks to fold and twist into a vast mountain range. Over millions of years, these tilted rocks, which in many areas are tilted to 90 degrees or more, eroded. Today we see the evidence of this erosion in the Black Hills, where the metamorphic rocks end in an angular unconformity below the younger sedimentary layers. The final layers of the Black Hills consist of sedimentary rocks. The oldest lie on top of
8610-570: The overhead tanks. The Roman miners used similar methods to work cassiterite deposits in Cornwall and lead ore in the Pennines . Sluicing methods were developed by the Romans in Spain in 25 AD to exploit large alluvial gold deposits, the largest site being at Las Medulas , where seven long aqueducts tapped local rivers and sluiced the deposits. The Romans also exploited the silver present in
8715-430: The profit potential of a proposed mine, extraction of the desired materials, and final reclamation or restoration of the land after the mine is closed. Mining materials are often obtained from ore bodies, lodes , veins , seams , reefs , or placer deposits . The exploitation of these deposits for raw materials is dependent on investment, labor, energy, refining, and transportation cost. Mining operations can create
8820-431: The remaining part of a coal seam previously exploited by other surface-mining techniques has too much overburden to be removed but can still be profitably exploited from the side of the artificial cliff made by previous mining. A typical cycle alternates sumping, which undercuts the seam, and shearing, which raises and lowers the cutter-head boom to cut the entire height of the coal seam. As the coal recovery cycle continues,
8925-890: The rest of South Dakota are pinyon jay , Canada jay , three-toed woodpecker , black-backed woodpecker , American dipper , ruffed grouse , and others. The northern Black Hills approximate Lawrence and Meade Counties and are roughly equivalent to the Northern Hills District of the Black Hills National Forest . The central Black Hills (the Mystic District of the Black Hills National Forest) are located in Pennington County west of Rapid City. The southern Black Hills are in Custer and Fall River Counties and are administered in
9030-446: The shafts could no longer be pumped dry with the available technology. Although an increased use of banknotes , credit and copper coins during this period did decrease the value of, and dependence on, precious metals , gold and silver still remained vital to the story of medieval mining. Due to differences in the social structure of society, the increasing extraction of mineral deposits spread from central Europe to England in
9135-567: The silver mines of Laurium , which helped support the Greek city state of Athens . Although they had over 20,000 slaves working them, their technology was essentially identical to their Bronze Age predecessors. At other mines, such as on the island of Thassos , marble was quarried by the Parians after they arrived in the 7th century BC. The marble was shipped away and was later found by archaeologists to have been used in buildings including
9240-620: The sons of the old Chief Smoke 1774–1864), fled with White Bull and Sitting Bull and their bands to Canada. White Bull surrendered to government troops in 1876. He eventually became a chief, replacing his father Chief Makes Room upon his death. He acted as a judge of the Court of Indian Offenses, and was a proponent of Lakota land claims in the Black Hills. White Bull died in South Dakota in 1947. White Bull's relationship to his uncle made him an important contributor to Stanley Vestal 's biography of Sitting Bull. White Bull, played by Sal Mineo ,
9345-474: The surface through the tunnels and shafts. Sub-surface mining can be classified by the type of access shafts used, and the extraction method or the technique used to reach the mineral deposit. Drift mining uses horizontal access tunnels, slope mining uses diagonally sloping access shafts, and shaft mining uses vertical access shafts. Mining in hard and soft rock formations requires different techniques. Other methods include shrinkage stope mining , which
9450-602: The tomb of Amphipolis. Philip II of Macedon , the father of Alexander the Great , captured the gold mines of Mount Pangeo in 357 BC to fund his military campaigns. He also captured gold mines in Thrace for minting coinage, eventually producing 26 tons per year. However, it was the Romans who developed large-scale mining methods, especially the use of large volumes of water brought to the minehead by numerous aqueducts . The water
9555-448: The top of a mountain off to reach ore deposits at depth. Most placer deposits, because they are shallowly buried, are mined by surface methods. Finally, landfill mining involves sites where landfills are excavated and processed. Landfill mining has been thought of as a long-term solution to methane emissions and local pollution. High wall mining, which evolved from auger mining, is another form of surface mining. In high wall mining,
9660-628: The top slats. Many examples of such devices have been found in old Roman mines and some examples are now preserved in the British Museum and the National Museum of Wales . Mining as an industry underwent dramatic changes in medieval Europe . The mining industry in the early Middle Ages was mainly focused on the extraction of copper and iron . Other precious metals were also used, mainly for gilding or coinage. Initially, many metals were obtained through open-pit mining , and ore
9765-494: The west and south of the region, as miners flocked there from earlier gold boom locations in Colorado and Montana. As the economy of the Black Hills has shifted away from natural resources ( mining and timber ) since the late 20th century, the hospitality and tourism industries have grown to take its place. Locals tend to divide the Black Hills into two areas: "The Southern Hills" and "The Northern Hills." The Southern Hills
9870-562: The west-central part of the hills. Making a concentric ring around the core is the metamorphic zone. The rocks in this ring are all very old, as much as 2 billion years and older. This zone is very complex, filled with many diverse rock types. The rocks were originally sedimentary until there was a collision between the North American continent and a terrane . This collision, called the Trans-Hudson Orogeny, caused
9975-444: The west. Evidence of Cenozoic volcanic eruptions, if this happened, has long since been eroded. The Black Hills also has a 'skirt' of gravel covering them in areas, which are called pediments . Formed as the waterways cut down into the uplifting hills, they represent the former locations of today's rivers. These beds are generally around 10,000 years old or younger, judging by the artifacts and fossils found. A few places, mainly in
10080-469: The world's gold, followed by the establishment of large mines such as the Mount Morgan Mine , which ran for nearly a hundred years, Broken Hill ore deposit (one of the largest zinc-lead ore deposits), and the iron ore mines at Iron Knob . After declines in production, another boom in mining occurred in the 1960s. In the early 21st century, Australia remains a major world mineral producer. As
10185-474: The world, which was increasingly demanding copper for electrical and household goods. Canada's mining industry grew more slowly than did the United States due to limitations in transportation, capital, and U.S. competition; Ontario was the major producer of the early 20th century with nickel, copper, and gold. Meanwhile, Australia experienced the Australian gold rushes and by the 1850s was producing 40% of
10290-628: Was mined in pre-Columbian America; in the Cerillos Mining District in New Mexico , an estimate of "about 15,000 tons of rock had been removed from Mt. Chalchihuitl using stone tools before 1700." In 1727 Louis Denys (Denis) (1675–1741), sieur de La Ronde – brother of Simon-Pierre Denys de Bonaventure and the son-in-law of René Chartier – took command of Fort La Pointe at Chequamegon Bay ; where natives informed him of an island of copper. La Ronde obtained permission from
10395-576: Was primarily extracted from shallow depths, rather than through deep mine shafts. Around the 14th century , the growing use of weapons , armour , stirrups , and horseshoes greatly increased the demand for iron. Medieval knights , for example, were often laden with up to 100 pounds (45 kg) of plate or chain link armour in addition to swords , lances and other weapons. The overwhelming dependency on iron for military purposes spurred iron production and extraction processes. The silver crisis of 1465 occurred when all mines had reached depths at which
10500-406: Was still present near the surface in colonial times. Indigenous peoples used Lake Superior copper from at least 5,000 years ago; copper tools, arrowheads, and other artifacts that were part of an extensive native trade-network have been discovered. In addition, obsidian , flint , and other minerals were mined, worked, and traded. Early French explorers who encountered the sites made no use of
10605-411: Was the removal of water from mining shafts. As miners dug deeper to access new veins, flooding became a very real obstacle. The mining industry became dramatically more efficient and prosperous with the invention of mechanically- and animal-driven pumps. Iron metallurgy in Africa dates back over four thousand years. Gold became an important commodity for Africa during the trans-Saharan gold trade from
10710-461: Was used as a character in the 1958 Disney Western adventure film Tonka . Black Hills The Black Hills is an isolated mountain range rising from the Great Plains of North America in western South Dakota and extending into Wyoming , United States. Black Elk Peak , which rises to 7,242 feet (2,207 m), is the range's highest summit. The name of the range in Lakota
10815-403: Was used for a variety of purposes, including removing overburden and rock debris, called hydraulic mining , as well as washing comminuted , or crushed, ores and driving simple machinery. The Romans used hydraulic mining methods on a large scale to prospect for the veins of ore, especially using a now-obsolete form of mining known as hushing . They built numerous aqueducts to supply water to
10920-465: Was used. At other parts of the site, they penetrated the water table and dewatered the mines using several kinds of machines, especially reverse overshot water-wheels . These were used extensively in the copper mines at Rio Tinto in Spain, where one sequence comprised 16 such wheels arranged in pairs, and lifting water about 24 metres (79 ft). They were worked as treadmills with miners standing on
11025-539: Was usually the gold ( placer and then lode ) and then silver that were taken into possession and extracted first. Other metals would often wait for railroads or canals, as coarse gold dust and nuggets do not require smelting and are easy to identify and transport. In the early 20th century, the gold and silver rush to the western United States also stimulated mining for coal as well as base metals such as copper, lead, and iron. Areas in modern Montana, Utah, Arizona, and later Alaska became predominant suppliers of copper to
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