Mateen Mine History
The Mateen Mine, located approximately one mile south of Hill City, SD was operated by several different operators including the Lithium Corporation of America intermittently throughout the first half of the 20th century. Its peak production occurred in the several years preceding its eventual closure on July 7, 1954.
The Mateen Mine is notable as it was the first site in the Black Hills to host both a froth flotation processing plant and mechanized mining equipment. In 1951 Lithium Corporation of America moved a 3/4 cubic yard P&H shovel from the nearby Edison Mine in Keystone, along with two 1 1/2 cubic yard dump trucks to the mine. Shortly thereafter in 1952, the company opened the Hill City Plant with its new froth flotation circuits.
Lithium Corporation of America operated the Mateen Mine from 1951 to 1955 and produced a total of 37,000 tons of lithium oxide ore during that period.
Historic production
Sources Cited:
L. R. Page et al.; (1953); Pegmatite Investigations 1942-1945. Black Hills. S. D., U.S.A.; U.S.G.S. Professional Paper 247
G.A. Munson & F.F. Clarke; (1955); Mining and Concentrating Spodumene In the Black Hills, South Dakota ; Mining Engineering Magazine, Issue November, 1955
Staff of Minneapolis Branch U.S. Bureau of Mines; (1948); Investigation of the Mateen Spodumene Deposit, Pennington County, South Dakota ; U.S.D.O.I., U.S. Bureau of Mines, Report of Investigations 4339 July, 1948
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