Sunday, April 26, 2015

The History of Wharf Mine

The program topic for the Spearfish Area Historical Society for April 2015 was "The History of Wharf Mine" presented by Meg Manke, HR Generalist from Wharf Resources (USA) Inc.   Of the about 80 people who attended the meeting at the Spearfish Area Senior Citizens Center on April 7, 
many had worked in mines in the Black Hills.

Meg Manke introduced herself and we were off and running through a description and a presentation of the various corporate owners of the Wharf Mine since start in 1980s to the current owner, Coure Mining.  To-date the mine, located just north of Terry Peak, has secured 2.4 mil oz. of processed gold.  Two hundred people are employed on four shifts, 24/7.  They utilize 14-15 haul trucks at a time.  

Safety is a major focus evidenced by a 'fit for work program' where they work only if they are ready and fit.   Workers also perform exercises at the start of every shift. Wharf Mine also has a helipad that is shared with Terry Peak.

Blasting in the open cut mine is done attempting perfect "fluff" blasts where the rock is blasted upward so that it will drop exactly where it came from.   This allows the engineers to properly evaluate how good their pre-estimates were on the quality of the gold in the rock.

Wharf has set up a Sustainable Prosperity Fund to give back to the local communities through qualified non-profits.