Big Thunder Gold Mine

The Black Hills are of course known for gold so we toured an old gold mine as part of our vacation. We learned that miners have very dangerous jobs and must be very short.

What I can't believe is how much work miners had to do in order to get ounces of gold. At the time of this mine, gold was 20 dollars an ounce which was a lot back then, but still the amount of intense work that was required I don't know if it was worth it.

The kids in our tour group especially enjoyed panning for gold. This company actually lets you keep what you pan, which for the most part is just flakes of gold, but they did have some rubies and a huge emerald discovered earlier this year. Talk about a lucky strike!