Monday, December 27, 2010

South Dakota - Terry Cemetery May Be Moved by Wharf Mine Expansion in Black Hills

Comments at end of article:


See dhsclassmates article how the Wharf Mine has consumed all the buildings in Trojan SD.  Nothing remains except the name of the town.  The price of gold is at an all time high and currently edging towards $1400 and ounce.  Wharf is now planning to extend its operation which may include digging and moving the approximately 244 bodies buried in the Terry Cemetery.  Local historical preservation groups are concerned about total loss of Trojan and now Terry:


Higher gold prices prompt Wharf surface mine expansion

Kevin Woster, Rapid City Journal staff | Posted: Wednesday, December 22, 2010 9:00 am

Wharf Resources (USA) wants to expand its surface-mining operations near Terry Peak in Lawrence County, a proposal that worries some nearby landowners.  The expansion could force the relocation of about 240 graves in the Terry Cemetery.

If the expansion plan were approved -- a probability that is still months away -- it would mine an area just north of the Barefoot Condominiums, close to Terry Peak. It would affect Green Mountain and Bald Mountain to the east. The existing mine operation at Foley Ridge, north of Terry Peak, went “right up to the ridge line. This expansion will go a little farther south, over the ridge line.

Wharf is the last large-scale gold mine continuing to operate in the Black Hills. Last year, it handled 10.4 million tons of waste rock, processed 2.9 million tons of ore and produced 67,700 ounces of gold. It also produced 242,000 ounces of silver.  The price of gold has to be at $600 to $700 per ounce for a mining company to “even consider” a mining expansion in the area with production costs these days. The proposed project could extend the life of the Wharf mining operations to about 2020. Operations were otherwise expected to cease in 2012 or 2013.

If Wharf is permitted to expand, it will need to put up bonds for reclamation, post-closure needs and cyanide spills. Those new bonds could be in addition to Wharf’s existing bond on existing operations -- $15.5 million for reclamation, $9.9 million post closure and spill bond of $537,000.  The bonds are intended to provide resources to pay for cleanup, reclamation and other needs if something goes wrong and the company doesn’t handle it.   The expansion could start late next fall if the application process proceeds and is approved without serious complications.

Contact Kevin Woster at 394-8413 or kevin.woster at rapidcityjournal.com


COMMENTS:


12-27-2010  Larry Miller "What price history? Well, at $1,300+ per ounce for gold, you can obliterate the remains of historic Trojan and set your sights on Terry. The Terry Cemetery can and should be preserved. Thanks for helping call attention to this issue."


2 comments:

Larry Miller said...

What price history? Well, at $1,300+ per ounce for gold, you can obliterate the remains of historic Trojan and set your sights on Terry. The Terry Cemetery can and should be preserved. Thanks for helping call attention to this issue.

Elaine said...

Since witnessing the absence of Trojan and my heritage, I have been researching historical data of the area. Terraville and Trojan are gone and most of Terry as well. There is almost no information on Trojan and little on Terraville & Terry. What about a reunion of inhabitants and/or their descendants to generate some records. I am especially interested in the Swedish (or Scandinavian) immigrants that came to work in the mines. Can we get some grassroots action??

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