Seth Tupper/South Dakota Searchlight
Production at South Dakota’s only active, large-scale gold mine climbed to its highest level in eight years, according to a new 2024 annual report.
The Wharf Mine, owned by Chicago-based Coeur Mining, is near the city of Lead and the Terry Peak Ski Area in the northern Black Hills. The mine produced 98,042 ounces of gold last year — nearly 5,000 ounces more than the prior year.
The mine also produced 232,013 ounces of silver, which is a lesser-value “co-product” of the gold mining process. Silver production was down about 36,000 ounces from an usually high level in 2023.
To extract all of those minerals last year, miners stripped away 12.9 million tons of earth to access 5 million tons of ore.
State regulators issued a warning letter to the mine in 2021 about selenium pollution in False Bottom Creek, which flows within the mine’s boundaries. Selenium is a naturally occurring mineral in soil, but when it’s turned loose in the environment in large amounts, it can pollute water and be harmful to people and fish.
A staff member for the state Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources said Thursday during a meeting of the state Board of Minerals and Environment that the company is building a new water treatment plant to address the problem. The plant is expected to be operational by October.
The annual report says the mine employs 255 people and paid $12.5 million in state precious-metal severance taxes last year, plus nearly $800,000 in state and local sales taxes.
Coeur Mining’s annual report for investors says it sold $227.6 million worth of gold from the Wharf Mine last year, and $6.4 million worth of silver, for a total of $234 million. That was a 25% increase from 2023.
From those proceeds, the company said it made donations to 55 Black Hills-area entities, such as nonprofits and school groups, totaling $220,000.
The company operates additional mines in Nevada, Alaska and Mexico, and reported total 2024 precious-metal sales of more than $1 billion.