Lead in Lawrence County, South Dakota — The American Midwest (Upper Plains)

Homestake Slag Buggy

Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, July 12, 2018

1. Homestake Slag Buggy Marker

Inscription. Slag buggies, cast at the Homestake Foundry, were used in two different processes at the Homestake Refinery. One process was receiving slag produced in the blast furnace process. The Homestake blast furnace process utilized a coke-fired furnace to recover gold from waste products produced in the Refinery. Cupel (bone ash container) remains, zinc precipitate slag, broken crucibles, and litharge (lead oxide) were fired in the coke furnace. Products of this furnace were lead, which contained the gold from waste products, and barren slag. This slag was received in the slag buggy where it was allowed to cool and dumped in the form of a slag button. This slag button was then hauled to the Yates Crusher and crushed with the ore. The blast furnace process was discontinued in 1975.

The second process that used the slag buggies was the zinc precipitate reduction process. This process consisted of mixing the zinc precipitate from the cyanide process with sodium nitrate, borax, silica and soda ash and heating to approximately 2000° F in a gas fired furnace. The gold-cyanide compound was reduced to gold metal and the cyanide and zinc were oxidized and reported to the resulting slag. The melt was then poured into a slag buggy which contained a cast iron divider in the bottom. A couple minutes after the pour, the slag buggy was "dumped". The

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slag was still molten and was poured onto a metal plate. The gold was solidified and was recovered as buttons of dore bullion which was processed further.

Erected by Black Hills Mining Museum.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Industry & Commerce • Man-Made Features • Science & Medicine.

Location. 44° 21.125′ N, 103° 45.965′ W. Marker is in Lead, South Dakota, in Lawrence County. Marker is at the intersection of West Main Street (CanAm Highway) (U.S. 85) and Siever Street, on the left when traveling east on West Main Street (CanAm Highway). Marker is located beside the sidewalk, overlooking the west end of City Park on the north side of Main Street. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Lead SD 57754, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Homestake Hospital Site (here, next to this marker); 1912 Lead City Hall / Homestake General Offices (a few steps from this marker); Commonwealth Mine Stamp Mill (a few steps from this marker); Homestake Air Locomotive Number 35 (a few steps from this marker); Homestake One Ton, End Dump Ore Car (a few steps from this marker); Halloran Block (within shouting distance of this

Homestake Slag Buggy Marker (<i>tall view; marker located beside sidewalk</i>) image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, July 12, 2018

2. Homestake Slag Buggy Marker (tall view; marker located beside sidewalk)

marker); The First National (Norwest) Bank (within shouting distance of this marker); The Homestake Opera House & Recreation Building (within shouting distance of this marker). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Lead.

More about this marker. Marker is a metal plaque, mounted horizontally on a waist-high post.

Also see . . . Pouring Gold at Homestake Mine - 1938 -2002. Homestake Mine ingots were poured as very nearly 100 percent pure gold until the late 1990s. For the last three years of its working life, Homestake poured dore' (door-A) gold, an alloy of about 80 percent pure gold mixed with silver. Homestake's dore' gold was sent to a Utah refinery for further purification. This video shot in the late 1990s shows that not much had changed in over forty years in terms of the ore milling and the cyanidation processes. (Submitted on August 13, 2018, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)

Homestake Slag Buggy Marker (<i>wide view</i>) image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, July 12, 2018

3. Homestake Slag Buggy Marker (wide view)

Homestake Slag Buggy image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, July 12, 2018

4. Homestake Slag Buggy

Credits. This page was last revised on August 14, 2018. It was originally submitted on August 11, 2018, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. This page has been viewed 163 times since then and 13 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on August 13, 2018, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.