“Black Hills most original mining experience!”
Big Thunder Gold Mine has recaptured the excitement and romance of this bygone era. Find yourself traveling back in time as you tour the authentic 1890's gold mine and learn about the mining experience from knowledgable guides. The mining museum is a replica of the Tykoon Gold Mill (Custom Mill) built in 1895 on the Big Thunder property. The museum is Free and contains the largest collection of mining equipment in the Black Hills. You will see a stamp mill, a bell crusher and jaw crusher, winches, blacksmith equipment and a display of an original assay office. The mill houses original ore bins, elevator equipment and tools that were used in the mines in the Keystone area. Professional guides describe the process that miners used to extract the gold from the gold ore. The mill contains thousands of artifacts that have been found as three working mines in the Black Hills were reclaimed and torn down.
We only did on-site panning. Did not tour the cave or eat at the restaurant.
Price for panning was very reasonable and it kept our teenagers entertained for over an hour! LOL.
Love the fact that show you how to pan for gold before having you do it, and they let you pan for as long as you want. We were never rushed. A great experience overall and the teenagers loved it and still talk about it!
Our Visit: https://nuttyhiker.com/panning-for-gold-big-thunder-gold-mine/
Take the tour and pan for gold! Pretty touristy, but still fun. The tour guides really make it enjoyable. Parts are more authentic than others. I promise, it's not boring!
Had a fun time panning but lunch was awesome!! Big Thunder Company Store had a great grilled bacon cheeseburger lunch and the Buffalo burger was fantastic!
Interesting enough stop, but pricey for what it was...a non-successful gold mine. Tour guide was annoying.
Mine tour was great. Panning was fun (even for my 5 year old)
We only panned for gold and gems. No one really found much of anything, but it was a good time. The gem bags are worthless, just do the gold pans, and even then, you’ll find a few flakes.
We went to the actual mine in Keystone in April and it was open, kids loved the mine tour and the panning for gold and gems. It really is a highlight of the trip, Rich was a great tour guide.
Awesome!! Even my doggy got to go!!
Emily our guide was very good! We enjoyed the info she gave and we can't imagine having to work like that back then! She gave a great demonstration on how to pan for gold and our 4 teens and us had a good time finding our little gold flecks! Gold panning supplies and lots of other souvenirs in the gift shop while you wait for your tour time.
Alyssa was a knowledgeable guide. It was interesting to hear about all the work and little payout the mine took to make versus the return on the work. Panning for gold is harder than it looks. My kids learned a lot. They enjoyed feeling the coolness of the mine shaft.
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Big Thunder Gold Mine
Hours
- Sun - Sat: 8:00 am - 8:00 pm
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Parking
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Pets Allowed
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Restrooms
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Wifi
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Wheelchair Accessible
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Credit Cards Accepted
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