Mystic mine in South Dakota

[Cable]

does anyone have any experience witth the Mystic mining setup in South Dakota. I know the the ground is pretty highly mineralized, but beyond that I know not. Anyone have any info on this mine or area--I thank you greatly in advance for any information. Thanks---Cable

 

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[mrs.oroblanco]

What would you like to know about the Mystic area?

Been there a few times this year, and there are some current active mining claims (including one that "they" - the un-informed neighbors) are trying boot the mine owner off of, because he has an "old camper" there.

There are some remains of the old mining years - equipment, tailings, etc. There is also a couple of areas that are currently under the Federal Clean-up Sites domain. (DEA).

It's highly mineralized, and is dotted with some older adits and diggings - in some areas there is decent walk-in access - in some, there is none, because of some previous land-swaps here and there.

Let me know what particulars you are looking to find out.

B

 

[goldpandan]

lew wight is the old geezer in the motor home,,, takes advantage of gullible tourists...its my fault though... I sold him a claim years ago and that was a big mistake ....just a blight on the landscape..never give him any money to work his claim,,though you may get lucky on the old lucky beaver or the buckhorn..... he sells dreams that rarely come true..a word to the wise.his camp is at the intersection of mystic road and castle creek road..sorry but I must tell the truth about this before more folks get burned.if you want to pan for some dust,theres miles of rapid creek, from pactola res down to rapid city,, and you can get there from the bottom of the dam and walk the old flume grade past the old depression era working on the higher (south )side of the creek.....use your eyes and your wits.... South Dakota is a wide open country for anyone who is willing to rough it a little and work a bit more on their own....you dont have to pay anyone for a permit or get permission from from anyone to pan on unclaimed placer ground...its always been free and should remain so despite shyster s who fleece unsuspecting tourists...its a real shame....but its the truth.

 

[Tashonka]

On behalf of the officers of the large Black Hills Prospecting Club: Let me state that Lew Wight is an honorary member of the club. As such, he has often allowed our club members to use his claims all day at no charge. We have also dealt with him on individual bases and very much enjoyed the experience. We have also often referred tourists, gold panners, etc., to him, and without a single exception they have reported having a wonderful time.
Lew does charge people to teach them his techniques of prospecting, sluicing, and panning, but no one to my knowledge has complained he was overcharging them. Remember: this is his living - he is the last full-time prospector in the Black Hills.
If we felt Lew was being dishonest with others, we would have kicked him off the club and we would no longer recommend his services.
Wallace Slattery
Vice President, Black Hills Prospecting Club

 

[B H Prospector]

My wife and I have met Lew Wight a few times and visited with him at his home for hours at a time. He sells his expertise on the subject of mining to tourist who want the real experience of mining and panning rather than going to a tourist trap to pan in a salted trough. Lew is as honest a man as I know and I am proud to call him my friend. My wife has become very fond of Lew and has a pet name for him. She calls him the Gold Guru. He has helped us in many ways including information that led to us putting in our own claim. He put us on one of his claims for a day and asked if we mind doing a little pioneering for him. We didn't mind at all. He took us to a spot, kicked a few rocks and brushed aside some rotting forest material and said dig here. This is where the gold be. We found some wonderful gold. While Lew can't guarantee you will find gold or how much (it's why they call it prospecting) he will never knowingly put anyone on dead ground. It sounds to me like this person who sold Lew the claim has sour grapes because Lew found gold and he didn't on the claim. Get over it and do your homework and maybe you will find some gold also. Keep you head up Lew, you're a wonderful and honest person.

Jim Van Hout
BHP club member

 

[Oroblanco]

HOLA amigos,
Check with the BLM office that has records of current mining claims, for while there are indeed miles of placer creeks in the Black Hills which are open and unclaimed, there are some active claims here and there; to go detecting or panning on someone else's claim without their permission is breaking the law. There are also many parcels of privately owned land along the creeks, and you need permission of the owners before going onto their land. Get a Forest Service map (for starters) of the Black Hills National Forest, these don't have good details on topography, but do show what areas are public lands and what are private. <Know where you are on that map too, or mistakes can lead to misunderstandings.> One of the best placer areas in the Black Hills for coarse gold is Rockerville, and almost every foot of it is private ground, the tiny bit that is on public lands is under active claims. Don't assume that since you don't see someone there working on it that it is not under claim either. Just do a little research on where you CAN legally go, and you won't have problems with the law or angry claim-owners, landowners etc.

The Black Hills are not known for being nugget-heaven, nevertheless some nice ones have been found; the "official" record is a 22 and a half ouncer found by Doc Wing back in 1879 but there were much larger ones which were found before the "official" record started, such as $3,500 nugget largest yet found in the Black Hills reported headlines for Deadwood, Jul 01 1876 figuring the value at $16 per ounce, or the 11 lb. nugget found by John W. Allen on No 1 above Discovery (Deadwood) on Jun 13 1878 and some impressive ones are still found today - but people don't talk about them.

Good luck and good hunting, be prepared for plenty of "hot rocks" and high mineralization when nugget shooting in the Black Hills, and DO come and post some photos of the huge nuggets you will find!
Oroblanco

 

[drywasher]

My 2 sons and I met Lew 2 years ago, spent a week prospecting with him, had a great time and best of all we found gold........george

My wife and I have met Lew Wight a few times and visited with him at his home for hours at a time. He sells his expertise on the subject of mining to tourist who want the real experience of mining and panning rather than going to a tourist trap to pan in a salted trough. Lew is as honest a man as I know and I am proud to call him my friend. My wife has become very fond of Lew and has a pet name for him. She calls him the Gold Guru. He has helped us in many ways including information that led to us putting in our own claim. He put us on one of his claims for a day and asked if we mind doing a little pioneering for him. We didn't mind at all. He took us to a spot, kicked a few rocks and brushed aside some rotting forest material and said dig here. This is where the gold be. We found some wonderful gold. While Lew can't guarantee you will find gold or how much (it's why they call it prospecting) he will never knowingly put anyone on dead ground. It sounds to me like this person who sold Lew the claim has sour grapes because Lew found gold and he didn't on the claim. Get over it and do your homework and maybe you will find some gold also. Keep you head up Lew, you're a wonderful and honest person.

Jim Van Hout
BHP club member