The Homestake lode, which became the basis for the Homestake Mining Company, was discovered by Moses Manuel, who had come to the Black Hills with his brother Fred in 1875. Moses and Fred Manuel, together with Hank Harney, officially located the claim on April 9, 1876. The claims were later sold to a San Francisco syndicate made up of Senator George Hearst, Lloyd Tevis, and J.B. Haggin. The Homestake Mining Company was incorporated on November 5, 1877, with $10,000,000 capital, and with the completion of an 80-stamp mill in July 1878 it was ready to begin full-scale production, the first step in the development of one of the world's great gold mining enterprises. The site of the original discovery of the Homestake ledge later disappeared into Lead's Open Cut. About 40 million tons of rock were taken from this once-solid mountain between 1876 and 1945, most of it from underground operations. The Cut then stood idle for many years until mining resumed in 1983, although most mining has been and remains underground, and the mine is now 8,000 feet deep, more than a mile and a half below the surface.