Mining

First quarter average earnings in the Mining sector slipped to $83,600 per year. Job growth has essentially been flat and currently stands at 16,100. Most of the drop in pay can be traced back to the loss of a few high paying mining specific occupations that were pulling the average up.

Nevada’s great mineral wealth established this unique geographic region as a state nearly 150 years ago and continues to be an essential sector in the state’s economy. Thanks to world-class deposits of gold and silver, mining is Nevada’s largest export industry.

Best known for its gold, silver, and copper production, Nevada is also a significant source of a variety of minerals, such as lithium, iron, and molybdenum, necessary for the manufacturing of consumer and commercial goods so important to our contemporary lifestyles. Other industrial minerals used in construction, such as gypsum, limestone, sand, and gravel, are found in abundance in Nevada. With one of the largest geothermal fields in the world, even geothermal heat is mined for power generation.

Nevada’s mining industry was a vital source of technological advancement in the 19th century and continues to drive innovation in engineering and science. The University of Nevada’s Mackay School of Earth Sciences and Engineering, based in Reno, is one of the foremost mining schools in the world.

More than 12,000 people are directly employed by the Nevada mining industry, predominantly in rural Nevada, and earn some of the highest annual salaries in the state, averaging $83,000. Mining also requires an extensive support system. For every mining job, approximately four other jobs provide goods and services used by the mining industry.

Odds are that many of the items you use every day contain a little bit of Nevada. Found in building materials, computers, batteries, and a host of other products too numerous to list, Nevada’s minerals are essential to daily life around the world. Even the medals at the London Olympics shone a little brighter, thanks to Nevada gold.

Mining In The News

Nevada Business Magazine; Workforce Development In Nevada

In the wake of the recession, with unemployment just under 10 percent, it would seem employers would have no problem filling positions. But though Nevada’s employment base is growing again, it remains...

Elko Daily; Paste backfill plant first of its kind in Nevada

CARLIN — Barrick’s flagship Goldstrike Mine on the Carlin Trend has the first of its kind in Nevada: a paste backfill plant. The plant, which services the Rodeo Underground, began running in March,...