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Company files plan to drill for gold in the Black Hills

This file image shows a drilling rig in the Black Hills.
Mineral Mountain Resources
/
Mineral Mountain Resources
A gold drilling rig in the Black Hills.

Gold exploration continues in the Black Hills with plans for more drilling.

DTRC LLC in Lead has filed a notice with state regulators. The notice says the company will drill up to 85 holes to a maximum depth of 10,000 feet. The holes will be confined to 17 drill pads up to 1 acre apiece. The company will build 1,500 feet of new roads to access the drilling sites.

The project area is a couple of miles north of Lead and Deadwood in the northern Black Hills.

State regulators do not approve or deny drilling notices, but they can place restrictions on the plans to protect the environment.

The plan continues a run of renewed interest in Black Hills gold exploration during the past few years. Several companies are drilling or planning exploratory holes in the central and northern Hills.

Gold mining and exploration has been ongoing in the region since the late 1800s. The Homestake in Lead was one of the world’s most productive gold mines until it closed in 2002.

The state’s only currently active, large-scale gold mine is the Wharf Mine just west of Lead near the Terry Peak Ski Area.