|
Silver
State Mining Company
Head
Quartered in: Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
Nevada
is the leading U.S. producer of gold, silver, and barite; the
second largest producer of diatomite and lithium and the sole
producer of mined magnesite and mercury. Nonfuel mineral
production of the more than 100 active mines in Nevada in 1989 is
summarized in the table below. Lithium and magnesite are not
listed in the table to avoid disclosure of company proprietary
data. According to the U.S. Bureau of Mines, Nevada ranked third
in the nation in the value of nonfuel minerals production.
Gold
production reached a new high of five million ounces in 1989,
despite drop in average gold prices from $438 per ounce in 1988 to
$385 per ounce in 1989. Average silver prices also dropped, from
$6.54 to $5.54 per ounce, yet production increased slightly above
1988 levels. Newmont Gold Company was once again the largest
producer of gold in the state, at 1.47 million ounces, or 29% of
the total. According to the Metals Economics Group, Newmont is the
first U.S. gold producer to pass the one million ounce mark in
annual production.
Major
expansion programs took place at a number of gold operations in
1989. Newmont Gold Company successfully started its new # 4 mill.
American Barrick Resource Corporation is developing the Betze
deposit at its Goldstrike property as an open-pit mine. Freeport-
McMoRan Gold Company completed a major expansion program at its
Jerritt Canyon milling complex and new processing facilities at
the nearby Big Springs project. Both operations received new
fluid-bed roasters, designed to treat highly refractory ore. The
new mill at Echo Bay's McCoy/Cove mine began commercial production
in mid-1989. The company is expanding Cove to mine deep ore,
building a ramp for access. Echo Bay merged the Manhattan mine and
mill with the Round Mountain gold mine in January 1989. Alta Bay
Venture's Robinson mine began mining the Ada Hill deposit.
Construction of a new mine and mill was completed in February at
the Getchell mine of FirstMiss Gold Inc. By fall of 1989, two of
three autoclave trains for processing sulfide ore were
successfully started. The Ren property, a small satellite
heap-leach operation at the Dee mine, was placed into production
in July. Cortez mines, Placer Dome Inc., shifted to mining the
oxide reserves on the fringes of the London Extension pit at Gold
Acres. The mill was remodeled to treat carbonaceous ores. A number
of new operations were brought on-stream in 1989. U.S. Nevada Gold
Search, a joint venture of Gexa Gold Corporation, U.S. Precious
Metals, Inc., and N. A. Degerstrom, began constructing pads and
facilities at the Mother Lode deposit in July, and started
producing in November. First gold was poured in July at the Bond
International Gold Inc. Bullfrog mine. Amax Gold, Inc. began
production mid- year at Wind Mountain, shipping gold-silver
precipitate to the Sleeper mine for smelting. Alta Bay Venture's
Golden Butte heap-leach operation started in July; their second
new operation, Easy junior, opened in late 1989. The Marigold mine
heap-leach operation (Rayrock Yellowknife Resources, Santa Fe
Pacific Minerals, and Placer Dome) started production in September
after one year of stripping. The Alta Gold Company and Nerco
Minerals Elder Creek mine was placed on-stream late in 1989. The
Willard deposit of Western States Minerals Corporation was placed
into production in May. USSRAM Exploration Company started
operations in the Eureka district in January at Project Glister.
Mining will be open-pit and will include processing of old mine
dumps.
Three
new mines are expected to open in 1990: the Denton-Rawhide mine
(Kiewit Mining Group, Inc.), the Rabbit Creek mine (Santa Fe
Pacific Minerals), and the Fondaway mine (Tenneco Minerals).
Several
mines were closed or placed on standby in 1989. The Tonkin Springs
project of U.S. Gold Corporation suspended operations during a $20
million expansion program, including a bioleaching operation and a
carbon-in-leach mill. Nevada Goldfields' Kingston mine was placed
on standby in November. The mine had been operating at a loss for
several quarters. Reserves at the Preble mine were expected to be
mined out in 1989. Facilities will be used to process ore from the
Kramer Hill deposit in 1990 and 1991. Reserves at the Alligator
Ridge mine were exhausted in December. Heap- leaching at the
Illipah mine was completed in the summer of 1989 and the mine
closed late in the year. Coral Gold Corporation's Robertson
project halted mining operations in the fall of 1989 after
intermittent production for less than one year. AMAX Gold Company
signed a letter of intent with Coral Gold for further exploration
and development in 1990. Reserves at the Trinity silver mine were
exhausted in 1989 and the operation closed in August.
Production
of copper and molybdenum in Nevada increased substantially in 1989
with the Cyprus Tonopah mine reaching full capacity after starting
in late 1988. Copper production at the Tonopah mine is expected to
rise in 1990. Mining and stockpiling of ore at Alta Gold
Cornpany's Ward mine, begun in 1989, promises to add to Nevada's
base metal output. The Taylor mill was leased from Nerco Minerals
and converted to process base metal ores; production is scheduled
to begin in spring 1990.
In
1989, domestic gypsum board, the major end use of gypsum, dropped
4% in price. This, combined with a decline in the number of annual
residential housing starts, led to the expectation of a weaker
gypsum market. Despite this pessimistic outlook, Nevada gypsum
producers operated at near capacity, up about 10% over 1988, to
1.7 million tons. The U.S. Bureau of Mines notes that the negative
market factors were offset by a net increase in exports of
wallboard products and continued strength in the remodeling
markets. The strong market for Nevada producers is also attributed
to the healthy Las Vegas construction market. The Nevada lime
industry, partially construction related, also remained strong.
Simplot
Silica Products, Nevada's only producer of silica sand, is one of
the nation's top ten producers. Production at their plant in Clark
County increased 100,000 tons to 706,000 tons in 1989. Sales in
the dominant market for silica sand, the glass industry, remained
buoyant, and the foundry section of the market improved.
Total
production of barite in Nevada, from five producers and two mines,
was less than 10% of the high reached in 1981. The mines operate
intermittently, most production is from stockpiled ore. M-1
Drilling Fluids, Inc. expects to increase production substantially
in 1990 due to a drop in rail freight rates. The company is
shipping crude barite from Beowawe.
The
largest clay producer in Nevada, Industrial Mineral Venture, was
purchased at the end of the year by a subsidiary of U.S. Borax and
Chemical Company. The new operation name is IMV--a division of
Floridin Company. Sales are up and the company is doing well.
The
largest mercury producers in Nevada are the McDermitt and Paradise
Peak mines. Production of mercury increased by about 10% from
1988.
Further
information on the mining industry of Nevada can be found NBMG
Special Publication 10 "Major Mines of Nevada 1989 "
(announced on the back page of this newsletter), and in the
forthcoming NBMG Special Publication MI-1989 "The Nevada
Mineral Industry 1989".
Buying
Gold and Silver is the best way to preserve your wealth and grow
to the future. Buying Gold and Silver has never been easier
before thanks to the innovations of GoldMoney.com the premiere
provider of Gold Buying Services around the world. Now with
Gold Money .com you can buy gold grams digitally and transfer them
to anyone, anywhere in the world with the ease of an email.
Best of all your Gold and
Silver is insured in vaults in England and Switzerland!
Only Gold Money .com provides the guarantee
regarding your gold and silver in insured vaults.
Looking
to reach millions in a few seconds? Voice
Mail Broadcast - Blast bulk automated voice broadcasting to
answering machines with IVR capabilities to live answers. Brought
to you by the folks at FoneAds.com
Voice
Message Broadcasting - Bulk voice mail deliveries to answering
machines and interactive voice response (ivr) to live answers,
drive sales, branding, web site traffic via our automated voice
broadcasting system or auto dialer.
Internet
Law Today - The new site to find all your need to know about
current laws on the internet. Internet
Law is a fascinating area of the law which is constantly
changing everyday. For
more information on Internet Laws and Copyrights
online please feel free to visit Internet Law Today dot com
the only source online for Internet
Law.
Covert
Spy Shop for the best in Cheap
Spy Gear and Equipment found anywhere on the world wide web.
Key
Vip Las Vegas NV, the number VIP Service Company in Sin
City.
|