Homestake Mining Company was one of the largest

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...

mining businesses in the United States and the owner of the Homestake Mine in

Lead, South Dakota Lead ( ) is a city in Lawrence County, South Dakota, Lawrence County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 2,982 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. Lead is located in western South Dakota, in the Black Hills near the Wyomi ...

. Founded in 1877, it was acquired by

Barrick Gold Barrick Gold Corporation is a mining company that produces gold and copper with 16 operating sites in 13 countries. It is headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It has mining operations in Argentina, Canada, Chile, Côte d'Ivoire, Democrati ...

in December 2001. Homestake was the longest-listed stock in the history of the

New York Stock Exchange The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE, nicknamed "The Big Board") is an American stock exchange in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is by far the world's largest stock exchange by market capitalization of its listed c ...

History

On April 9, 1876 Moses and Fred Manuel established the Homestake Mine near Bobtail Gultch in South Dakota in the

Black Hills The Black Hills ( lkt, Ȟe Sápa; chy, Moʼȯhta-voʼhonáaeva; hid, awaxaawi shiibisha) is an isolated mountain range rising from the Great Plains of North America in western South Dakota and extending into Wyoming, United States. Black Elk P ...

George Hearst George Hearst (September 3, 1820 – February 28, 1891) was an American businessman, miner, and politician. After growing up on a small farm in Missouri, he founded many mining operations, and is known for developing and expanding the Hom ...

(father of

William Randolph Hearst William Randolph Hearst Sr. (; April 29, 1863 – August 14, 1951) was an American businessman, newspaper publisher, and politician known for developing the nation's largest newspaper chain and media company, Hearst Communications. His flamboya ...

Lloyd Tevis Lloyd Tevis (March 20, 1824 – July 24, 1899) was a banker and capitalist who served as president of Wells Fargo & Company from 1872 to 1892. Early life Lloyd Tevis was born in Shelbyville, Kentucky, the son of Samuel and Sarah (née Greathouse) ...

, and his brother-in-law James Ben Ali Haggin bought the 10-acre Homestake Mine from its discoverer, Moses Manuel, for $70,000, and incorporated the Homestake Mining Company on November 5, 1877. On January 25, 1879, the company became a

public company A public company is a company whose ownership is organized via shares of stock which are intended to be freely traded on a stock exchange or in over-the-counter markets. A public (publicly traded) company can be listed on a stock exchange (l ...

via an

initial public offering An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investment ...

on the

, the first mining stock ever listed. It grew to be the largest gold mine in the United States. In 1910 and 1917, the company established

hydroelectricity Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is Electricity generation, electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other Renewabl ...

plants. They were sold to the city of

Spearfish, South Dakota Spearfish (Lakota: ''Hočhápȟe'') is a city in Lawrence County, South Dakota. The population was 12,193 at the time of the 2020 census. History Before the Black Hills Gold Rush of 1876, the area was used by Native Americans (primarily bands ...

in 2004. Between 1970 and 1977, Paul C. Henshaw was President of the company. In 1981, the company bought out its partner in its uranium joint venture, United Nuclear Corporation, for $23 million and assumed operation of four uranium mines and one mill. In March 1996, the company exercised its option to buy 34% more of a mine in Bulgaria. In 1997, the company agreed to acquire a majority interest in the Troilus mine from

Inmet Mining Inmet Mining Corporation was a mining company headquartered in Toronto. In 2013, the company was acquired by First Quantum Minerals. The company held an 18% stake in Ok Tedi Mining Limited. The company had mines in Çayeli, Turkey; Las Cruces, Spa ...

but backed out of the deal, leading to a lawsuit. In April 1998, the company acquired Plutonic Resources Limited for $640 million, adding mines in Australia. In December 1998, the company acquired the 49.4% of Prime Resources Group that it did not already own. In September 2000, the company announced plans to close the Homestake Mine by January 2002. In December 2001,

acquired the company.

References

External Links

Homestake Mining Company Records
at

University of Wyoming The University of Wyoming (UW) is a public land-grant research university in Laramie, Wyoming. It was founded in March 1886, four years before the territory was admitted as the 44th state, and opened in September 1887. The University of Wyoming ...

American Heritage Center The American Heritage Center is the University of Wyoming's repository of manuscripts, rare books, and the university archives. Its collections focus on Wyoming and the Rocky Mountain West (including politics, settlement, and western trails) and ...

{{Authority control Gold mining in the United States Defunct companies based in South Dakota Superfund sites in New Mexico 2001 mergers and acquisitions Companies formerly listed on the New York Stock Exchange