White Elephant Mine

Past Producer in Custer county in South Dakota, United States with commodities Feldspar, Beryllium, Tantalum
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 10055785
MRDS ID SD02538
Record type Site
Current site name White Elephant Mine

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -103.58334, 43.65607 (WGS84)
Elevation 1646
Relative position 8 MI SOUTH OF CUSTER, SOUTH DAKOTA

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Custer(county)

South Dakota(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Cicero Peak(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 004S 004E 36 NE OF SE South Dakota

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Feldspar Primary
Beryllium Critical Primary
Tantalum Critical Secondary

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Beryl Ore
Feldspar Ore
Mica Gangue
Triphylite Gangue

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Plutonic Rock > Pegmatite
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Neoproterozoic
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Neoproterozoic
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Plutonic Rock > Pegmatite

Nearby scientific data

(1) -103.58334, 43.65607

Economic information

Ore body information

  • General form ELLIPTICAL

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Both
Deposit size Small
Significant No

Mining district

District name Pringle District

Land status

Ownership category National Forest
Area name Black Hills

Ownership information

  • Type Operator
    Owner Briggs Manufacturing Co.
    First year 1963

Workings at the site

  • Type of workings Surface
    Overall depth 27.43M

Comments on the workings information

  • OPEN PIT 60 TO 90 FT DEEP, 30 TO 80 FT WIDE AND SEVERAL HUNDRED FT LONG. BENCHES 10 FT HIGH ARE CARRIED ACROSS THE ADVANCING FACES.

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, P. 166-167

  • Deposit

    AM MIN, VOL 59, P. 48-59.

  • Deposit

    ENCYCLOPEDIA OF MINERALS

  • Production

    USBM INFO CIRC 7707, P. 166-167; SDGS MR 10, P. 5; SDGS MR 11, P. 5.

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit THE FELDSPAR BODY INSIDE THE PEGMATITE IS FROM 30-80 FT WIDE

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-NOV-1982 Barari, Rachel A. U.S. Geological Survey

Beyond USGS

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

Current status (per MSHA)

StatusAbandoned since 02/19/2016
MSHA mine ID3901603
Mine name (MSHA)White Elephant
Current operatorMiller Mining
Current controller (parent)Robert D Miller; Cody J Miller
Mine typeSurface (Metal / non-metal)

Inferred by coordinate + name similarity (1618 m, 1.00 match). Confirm against MSHA if precision matters — non-USGS-curated cross-references may occasionally point at a neighbouring mine.

Open MSHA's Mine Data Retrieval System for inspections, accidents, and violations for this mine.

External references