Florence Mining Co., White Sulphur Springs, Montana - Stock Certificate

Stock. Located in White Sulphur Springs, Montana. Unusual colors! Great! Rare!!

The Florence mine is about one quarter of a mile north of the town of Neihart. The claim was located in 1886 by Richard G. Wight, et al. The Florence Mining Company began operations in 1889. A lower adit was driven 420 feet and a winze was sunk 65 feet by 1891. When the mine shut down in 1893, the winze had been sunk to the 100-foot level with drifts started on the 50- and 100-foot level (Robertson 1951). The mine reopened in 1895, and was operated by the Florence Mining and Milling Company nearly continuously until 1910. During this time six adits totalling 3,450 feet were developed, including one adit that stretched 1,000 feet. In 1910, the lower part of the mine was allowed to fill with water. After 1910, all production was made from the adit levels or from a resorting of the dumps. From 1916 to 1931, about $80,000 worth of ore was produced. The mine again fell idle in 1931, and was operated from 1935 to 1943 by the Florence Company, with processing of ore being done at the M&I Mining Company's 60-ton flotation mill. The mine and mill were sold to the Bennet Mining Company which allowed the mine to become inactive (Robertson 1951). Production of the Florence mine from 1901 to 1943 is reported to have been 105,189 tons, from which 98.39 ounces of gold, 2,015,666 ounces of silver, 11,166 pounds of copper, 4,323,319 pounds of lead, and 4,724 pounds of zinc were recovered. Early shipments of ore to the smelters are reported to have contained 50 to 200 ounces of silver per ton, 4 to 10 percent lead and up to 10 percent zinc (Sahinen 1935; Robertson 1951).

Sulfur (in nontechnical British English: sulphur) is a chemical element with the symbol S and atomic number 16. It is abundant, multivalent and nonmetallic. Under normal conditions, sulfur atoms form cyclic octatomic molecules with a chemical formula S₈. Elemental sulfur is a bright yellow, crystalline solid at room temperature.

Sulfur is the tenth most common element by mass in the universe, and the fifth most common on Earth. Though sometimes found in pure, native form, sulfur on Earth usually occurs as sulfide and sulfate minerals. Being abundant in native form, sulfur was known in ancient times, being mentioned for its uses in ancient India, ancient Greece, China, and Egypt. Historically and in literature sulfur is also called brimstone, which means "burning stone". Today, almost all elemental sulfur is produced as a byproduct of removing sulfur-containing contaminants from natural gas and petroleum. The greatest commercial use of the element is the production of sulfuric acid for sulfate and phosphate fertilizers, and other chemical processes. Sulfur is used in matches, insecticides, and fungicides. Many sulfur compounds are odoriferous, and the smells of odorized natural gas, skunk scent, grapefruit, and garlic are due to organosulfur compounds. Hydrogen sulfide gives the characteristic odor to rotting eggs and other biological processes.

Sulfur is an essential element for all life, but almost always in the form of organosulfur compounds or metal sulfides. Three amino acids (cysteine, cystine, and methionine) and two vitamins (biotin and thiamine) are organosulfur compounds. Many cofactors also contain sulfur, including glutathione, thioredoxin, and iron–sulfur proteins. Disulfides, S–S bonds, confer mechanical strength and insolubility of the protein keratin, found in outer skin, hair, and feathers. Sulfur is one of the core chemical elements needed for biochemical functioning and is an elemental macronutrient for all living organisms.

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