The state of South Dakota is a Tier-1 jurisdiction in the United States with a long history of gold mining that has operated continuously for 145 years from 1876 to the current day. At present Coeur Mining operates the Wharf mine, an open pit heap leach operation 26 km north of MMV’s Rochford Project, producing 93,056 ounces of gold in 2020.
The former Homestake Mine near Lead, SD was North America’s largest and deepest gold mine prior to its acquisition and closure by Barrick in 2002. During its 125-yr mine life, Homestake produced >42 million ounces of gold with a further 20 million ounces in resources written off at the time of mine closure. The Homestake remains the second-largest producing district in the United States after the Carlin Trend in Nevada and rivals the Carlin Trend in richness for number of gold ounces contained per square kilometer.