The Homestake Mine was a deep underground gold mine located in Lead, South Dakota. Until it closed in 2002, it was the largest and deepest gold mine in the Western Hemisphere. The mine produced more t
The Homestake Mine pit in Lead, South Dakota
Typical auriferous (gold-bearing) greenschist gold ore from the Homestake Mine. Two small masses of native gold (Au) are visible near the bottom margin.
The Homestake Mine in 1889
Share of the Homestake Mining Company, issued 5. November 1879
George Hearst
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George Hearst was an American businessman, politician, and patriarch of the Hearst business dynasty. After growing up on a small farm in Missouri, he founded many mining operations and is known for de
Homestake Mine (South Dakota)
…Black Hills had been guaranteed to the Lakota Nation by the Fort Laramie Treaty, but the land was stolen for its gold. A trio of mining entrepreneurs, George Hearst, Lloyd Tevis, and James Ben Ali Haggin, bought the claim from Manuel, Manuel, Engh, and Harney for $70,000 in 1877 (~$1.9 million in 2024). George…
George Hearst
Ophir Mill ruins, Comstock Lode. The Ophir Mine is where Hearst made his first fortune, in 1859.
Phoebe Apperson Hearst in 1895