Mineral exploration company looks for gold in Black Hills

SPEARFISH, S.D. (AP) — A junior mineral exploration company is making a new push to find gold in the Black Hills. Solitario Zinc Corp. arrived in Spearfish in July. Todd Christensen is a geologist with Solitario. He says the company was invited to evaluate some claims from a group of investors and Solitario saw it as a way to evaluate exploration potential in the area. The company will be combing through 580 mining claims that make up about 11,600 acres of land in Lawrence County. Christensen says the company intends to look for deposits like the Homestake deposit, which are covered by younger rocks. The company is currently collecting samples to get an understanding of the geology.