Star Lode

Keystone, South Dakota

43.8763°N 103.3488°W

Mine Overview

The Star Lode is near Keystone, South Dakota. Historically the site has been associated with the Keystone Mining District which is now part of the Black Hills National Forest. The Star Lode was closed at the time of data entry with no known plans to re-open. Production size when active was considered to be small. Mine operations consist of surface and underground workings. There is one known shaft. Subsurface depth reaches a maximum of 20 meters (65 feet). The ore mined is composed of lepidolite, mica and beryl. The ore body extends 6 meters (20 feet) in width. Associated rock in this area is pegmatite from the Neoproterozoic era 1.00 to 0.54 billion years ago. The Black Hills of the Interior Plains characterize the geomorphology of the surrounding area.

Site identification and general characteristics. Learn about USGS mines.

Beryllium and Lithium Primary Commodity
Mica and Talc-Soapstone Secondary Commodity
Feldspar and Tantalum Secondary Commodity
Site Record Type^?
Mine Development Status^?
Small Production Size^?
Metallic Site Commodity Type^?
Small Mine Size^?

Mine Names

Name^? Status^?
Star Lode Current
Star Lithia Mine Previous

Owner Name and Address

Henry Michels

Type: Owner

Vincent Cordes

Type: Operator

Commodities

Additional textual information about a site or mine.

Commodity Type Importance
Beryllium Metallic Primary
Lithium Metallic Primary
Mica Non-Metallic Secondary
Talc-Soapstone Non-Metallic Secondary
Feldspar Non-Metallic Tertiary
Tantalum Metallic Tertiary

Location Info

Pennington , South Dakota County / State

Continent Country State County
North America The United States South Dakota Pennington

Notes

NEAR CENTER OF SECTION 13

Meridian / Township / Range Description

Meridian^? Township^? Section^? Aliquot^?
Black Hills Meridian T.2S R.6E Sec. 13 NE

Land Status

Land status information.

Land Status^? Admin Area^?
National Forest Black Hills National Forest

Mining Districts

Formal or informal mining district names.

District
Keystone Mining District

Workings

Workings at the site.

Workings #1

Type: Surface and Underground
Surface Length: 30.48 Meters
Sub Surface Depth: 19.81 Meters

Workings

DEVELOPMENT INCLUDES AN INCLINED SHAFT, AN OPENCUT, A SMALL DRIFT AND A STOPE.

Materials

Minerals or other materials present in the mine.

Role^? Material^?
Ore Amblygonite
Ore Beryl
Ore Lepidolite
Ore Mica
Ore Talc

Orebody

Characteristics of the ore body.

Width: 6.10 meters (20.01 feet)

Rocks

Geological materials at the site.

Class^? 1st Order Name^? 2nd Order Name^? 3rd Order Name^? 4th Order Name^? Most Specific Name^? Begin Time End Time Description^?
Associated Rock Pegmatite Plutonic Rock Pegmatite - Pegmatite Neoproterozoic Neoproterozoic -
Host Rock Schist Metamorphic Rock Schist - Schist - - -
Mineralization - - - - - Neoproterozoic Neoproterozoic -

Physiography

Physiographic area where the resource is found.

Division Province^? Section
Interior Plains Great Plains Province Black Hills

Nearby Deposits

Other deposits in the same region.

Nearby Places

Keystone (3.69 miles away)
Rockerville (5.66 miles away)
Hermosa (8.26 miles away)
Colonial Pine Hills (9.23 miles away)
Hill City (11.91 miles away)
Custer (14.58 miles away)
Fairburn (14.82 miles away)
Johnson Siding (15.06 miles away)
Rapid City (15.27 miles away)
Green Valley (16.14 miles away)
Rapid Valley (16.33 miles away)
Silver City (17.91 miles away)
Blackhawk (19.09 miles away)
Ashland Heights (20.73 miles away)
Summerset (21.67 miles away)
Nemo (23.28 miles away)
Piedmont (24.63 miles away)

Nearby Mining Districts

Keystone Mining District (0 miles away)
Spokane Mining District (1.66 miles away)
Spring Creek Area (5.68 miles away)

Nearby Lands

Black Hills National Forest (0 miles away)
Black Elk Wilderness (3.38 miles away)
Mount Rushmore National Memorial (4.06 miles away)

Footnotes

* Mine bounds on map indicate the general area that a mine occupies. For an detailed map, refer to the overseeing BLM field office.

** The mine central point is based on an average of the mine's bounding box(es) and does not necessarily fall on the claim itself.

¹ World-class significance is determined by total endowment of the contained commodity. This includes all past production and remaining reserves. Each commodity is considered separately and commodities cannot be combined to arrive at a significant size. The tonnage thresholds are from the mine model grade-tonnage studies. As of June 2008, many entries were classified as significant under less strict rules.

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