Highland Mine

Past Producer in Custer county in South Dakota, United States with commodities Feldspar, Beryllium, Mica, Tantalum, Lithium
Sections on this page
  1. Identification information
  2. Geographic coordinates
  3. Site location context
  4. Geographic areas
  5. Public Land Survey System information
  6. Commodities
  7. Materials information
  8. Host and associated rocks
  9. Nearby scientific data
  10. Ore body information
  11. Economic information about the deposit and operations
  12. Mining district
  13. Land status
  14. Ownership information
  15. Workings at the site
  16. Links to other databases
  17. Bibliographic references
  18. General comments
  19. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10055707
MRDS ID SD02328
Record type Site
Current site name Highland Mine
Alternate or previous names Ross Mine, John Ross Lode

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -103.67863, 43.76635 (WGS84)
Elevation 1707
Relative position 4 MILES WEST OF CUSTER, SOUTH DAKOTA. GO 1.7 MILES WEST OF CUSTER ON U.S. 16, WHERE TURN NORTHWEST AND FOLLOW THE UPPER FRENCH CREEK ROAD 2.8 MILES. HERE JUST BEFORE REACHING THE MINE KEEP TO THE LEFT LEAVING FRENCH CREEK AND GOING UP CROW CREEK.

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Custer(county)

South Dakota(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Berne(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Mount Rushmore(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Hot Springs(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Middle Cheyenne-Spring(hydrologic unit)

Cheyenne(hydrologic accounting unit)

Cheyenne(hydrologic subregion)

Missouri(hydrologic region)

Federal lands

Black Hills National Forest(National Forest)

National Forest FS(Type of land area)

FS(Federal land areas administered by FS)

Geographic areas

Country State County
United States South Dakota Custer

Public Land Survey System information

Meridian Township Range Section Fraction State
Black Hills 003S 004E 30 South Dakota

Comments on the location information

  • NE 1/4, NE 1/4, NE 1/4

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Feldspar Primary
Beryllium Critical Primary
Mica Primary
Tantalum Critical Secondary
Lithium Critical Tertiary

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Albite Ore
Beryl Ore
Lithiophilite Ore
Microcline Ore
Muscovite Ore
Apatite Gangue
Cassiterite Gangue
Garnet Gangue
Pyrite Gangue
Pyrrhotite Gangue
Quartz Gangue
Tourmaline Gangue
Uraninite Gangue
Uranophane Gangue
Vivianite Gangue
Zircon Gangue

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Plutonic Rock > Pegmatite
    Rock unit name Pegmatite
    Rock description Pegmatite
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Neoproterozoic
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Neoproterozoic
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Neoproterozoic
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Neoproterozoic
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Metamorphic Rock > Schist > Mica Schist
    Rock unit name Quartz Two-Mica Schist
    Rock description Quartz Two-Mica Schist

Nearby scientific data

(1) -103.67863, 43.76635

Economic information

Ore body information

  • General form ELLIPTICAL
    Strike N-NW
    Dip 45 SW
    Length 121.92M
    Width 45.72M

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Both
Deposit size Small
Significant No
Discoverer J.L. Mckenna
Year of first production 1907

Mining district

District name Custer District

Land status

Ownership category National Forest
Area name Black Hills National Forest

Ownership information

  • Type Owner
    Owner New York Holding Co.

Workings at the site

  • Type of workings Surface/Underground
    Overall depth 19.81M
    Overall length 36.58M
    Overall width 30.48M

Comments on the workings information

  • A LARGE OPEN PIT, AN INCLINED SHAFT AND STOPE, A 90 FT ADIT AND A SMALL PROSPECT PIT. THE OPEN PIT IS 65 FT DEEP. THE INCLINED SHAFT IS 46 FT DEEP.

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    U.S. BUREAU OF MINES, 1955, BLACK HILLS MINERAL ATLAS, SOUTH DAKOTA: PART 2, BUREAU OF MINES INFORMATION CIRCULAR 7707

  • Deposit

    FISHER, D.J., 1945, PRELIMINARY REPORT OF SOME PEGMATITES NEAR CUSTER, SOUTH DAKOTA GEOLOGICAL SURVEY REPORT OF INVESTIGATIONS 50

  • Deposit

    ROBERTS, W.L., AND RAPP, GEORGE, 1965, MINERALOGY OF THE BLACK HILLS, SOUTH DAKOTA SCHOOL OF MINES AND TECHNOLOGY BULLETIN 18

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit 3 ZONES WITH A POSSIBLE CENTRAL QUARTZ MASS

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-AUG-1980 Barari, Rachel A. U.S. Geological Survey

Beyond USGS

Supplemental information added by qvyshift.com. Not part of the original USGS MRDS record.