South Dakota has found itself in a modern-day gold rush.

In recent months, the Black Hills in South Dakota have had miners flock to the mountains as miners hope to cash in on gold.

The move by the miners comes after settlers originally flocked to the region after gold was disocvered on the mountain range over 150 years ago.

CBC News reported more details on the gold rush in the Black Hills:

A gold rush brought settlers to South Dakota’s Black Hills roughly 150 years ago, chasing the dream of wealth and displacing Native Americans in the process.

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Now, a new crop of miners driven by gold prices at more than $3,000 an ounce are seeking to return to the treasured landscape, promising an economic boost while raising fears of how modern gold extraction could forever change the region.

“These impacts can be long term and make it so that tourism and outdoor recreation is negatively impacted,” said Lilias Jarding, executive director of the Black Hills Clean Water Alliance. “Our enjoyment of the Black Hills as a peaceful place, a sacred place, is disturbed.”

The Black Hills encompass over 1.2 million acres, rising up from the Great Plains in southwest South Dakota and extending into Wyoming. The jagged peaks are smaller than those of the Rocky Mountains, but the lush pine-covered hills are sacred to the Lakota Sioux people and serve as a destination for millions of tourists who visit Mount Rushmore and state parks.

One gold mine now operates in the Black Hills, but companies have proposals before state and federal agencies for another one, plus exploratory drilling sites that they hope will lead to full-fledged mines. That has prompted opposition by Native American tribes and environmentalists who argue the projects are close to sacred sites, will contaminate waterways and permanently scar the landscape.

Gold extraction has changed dramatically in the decades since prospectors first began panning for gold in the Black Hills. The industry now typically relies on massive trucks and diggers that create deep, multitiered pits and use chemicals like cyanide to extract the gold.

ABC News provided more details on he gold rush:

Gold extraction has changed dramatically in the decades since prospectors first began panning for gold in the Black Hills. The industry now typically relies on massive trucks and diggers that create deep, multitiered pits and use chemicals like cyanide to extract the gold.

The land can never return to its original state. The Homestake mine, once the largest and deepest gold mine in the Western Hemisphere, now sits barren in Lead, South Dakota, and is used for scientific research.

Interest in Black Hills gold mining has soared along with the price of the metal. When the Homestake mine closed in 2002, gold sold for about $300 an ounce. Now it goes for about 10 times as much.

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Joseph Cavatoni, senior market strategist at the World Gold Council, attributes the price spike to global economic uncertainty.

“Gold tends to be a stable asset,” he said. “That actually performs well in inflationary times, and holds its value in recessionary times. That’s why gold as an asset in investment.”

Timbering underground at the Homestake Mine – Lead, South Dakota, 1908…

Deep beneath the Black Hills, miners reinforced the earth with heavy timbers, bracing dark tunnels carved inch by inch into gold-rich rock. The Homestake Mine—America’s largest and longest-operating gold mine—was a world of shadows, sweat, and silent danger.

Timbering was essential. Without it, the mine could collapse under its own weight. These men worked by lantern light, surrounded by creaking beams and the ever-present threat of cave-ins. Their labor supported an industry that built fortunes far above ground—but for them, each day was a gamble with fate.

This image, captured over a century ago, offers a rare glimpse into the bone and backbone of early American mining—where wealth began in darkness, and survival relied on timber and tenacity.

This is a Guest Post from our friends over at WLTReport. View the original article here.
 

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