Summary of Mining Plans of Operation in Nevada.
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Currently on file with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) are 1,466 mining plans and notices filed by 237 companies and 84 individuals, encompassing a total estimated area of 36,560 acres of BLM-managed public land in Nevada. These plans and notices are filed on public land laden with gold, silver, copper and other precious metals and minerals worth billions of dollars. And these operations are only those on BLM lands, not on Forest Service lands, for which mining plans and notices are not entered into the government's LR2000 database that forms the backbone of this site. But whether the mines are on BLM or Forest Service land, none of the corporate revenue is reimbursed to the public. Instead, companies leave behind unfathomable amounts of waste. In 2001 alone, the industry dumped enough mercury nationally to fill a billion thermometers and arsenic in quantities that would pollute all public drinking water supplies for 350 years. In 2001, mines generated 45 percent of all pollution reported in the U.S. while accounting for just 0.36 percent of all industrial facilities.
| Quick facts about mining plans on BLM land in Nevada |
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• Acres of U.S. public land (BLM land only) under mining plans and notices, estimated: 36,560 • Foreign-owned corporations among top BLM land mine operators: 5 of 10 • Pollution from all US mining operations, ranking among all U.S. industries: : #1 in total toxic releases • Pollution from top 89 mines in US: 5 times pollution from entire U.S. chemical industry (3,600 plants) • Western water polluted by mine waste: 40 percent of Western headwaters • Proposed mining operations that have been blocked by the Department of Interior because they posed a risk to public health or the environment: None • Other land uses that supercede rights of mining companies to operate on public lands: None |
EWG analysis of data compiled by the Bureau of Land Management. |
Top Mining Plan/Notice Companies/Individuals on BLM land in Nevada Ranked by Acres Affected
Companies have been consolidated to account for subsidiaries. View this table without consolidation.
| Company/Individual | Headquarters | Number of Mining Plans & Notices on BLM land | Estimated Acreage | Plan Date(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Placer Dome Inc | World HQ in Canada | 43 | 13,183 | 1981 to 2003 |
| 2 | Rio Tinto Limited | World HQ in Australia | 35 | 11,905 | 1981 to 2003 |
| 3 | Newmont Mining Corp | Denver, CO | 127 | 5,734 | 1981 to 2003 |
| 4 | Barrick Gold Corporation | World HQ in Canada | 42 | 2,590 | 1982 to 2003 |
| 5 | Apollo Gold Inc | Spokane, WA | 1 | 1,898 | 1985 |
| 6 | Coeur D'Alene Mines | Coeur D'alene, ID | 3 | 1,693 | 1986 to 2002 |
| 7 | Nevada Gold Mining | Winnemucca, NV | 2 | 1,650 | 1985 to 2002 |
| 8 | Kinross | World HQ in Canada | 30 | 1,631 | 1981 to 2003 |
| 9 | Glamis Gold LTD | World HQ in Canada | 9 | 1,149 | 1983 to 1999 |
| 10 | Susan R Decker | Spring Creek, NV | 1 | 1,149 | 1988 |
| See all plan/notice holders in Nevada | |||||
Counties in Nevada Ranked by Acres Affected by Plans and Notices
| County | Number of Mining Plans & Notices on BLM land | Estimated Acreage | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Humboldt County | 83 | 10,106 | details | map |
| 2 | Lander County | 84 | 9,074 | details | map |
| 3 | Eureka County | 136 | 4,929 | details | map |
| 4 | Pershing County | 62 | 4,517 | details | map |
| 5 | Nye County | 138 | 2,069 | details | map |
| 6 | Elko County | 239 | 1,988 | details | map |
| 7 | Washoe County | 50 | 1,092 | details | map |
| 8 | White Pine County | 52 | 725 | details | map |
| 9 | Esmeralda County | 160 | 563 | details | map |
| 10 | Clark County | 61 | 535 | details | map |
| See all counties | |||||
Examples of Mines in Nevada
| Name of Mine | Location of Mine | Mine Status | Metal Mined | Owner or Parent Company of Owner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ruby Hill Gold Mine | Eureka County, NV | Closed | Gold | Barrick Gold Corporation |
| Mccoy Cove Gold Mine | Lander County, NV | Open | Silver ores | Kinross Gold Corporation |
| Equatorial Tonopah | Nye County, NV | Closed | Copper Ore | Equitorial Mining Limited |
| Mineral Ridge | Esmeralda County, NV | Open | Gold | Golden Phoenix Minerals, Inc. |
| Hycroft | Humboldt County, NV | Open | Gold | Hycroft Resources & Dev. Inc. |
| Golden Phoenix Mineral Ridge | Esmeralda County, NV | Suspended | Gold | Golden Phoenix Minerals, Inc |
| Dee Gold | Humboldt County, NV | Closed | Gold | Glamis Gold Ltd. |
| Mule Canyon | Lander County, NV | Closed | Gold | Newmont Mining Corp |
| Denton Rawhide | Mineral County, NV | Closed | Gold | Rio Tinto Limited |
| Daisy Gold | Nye County, NV | Closed | Gold | Glamis Gold, Ltd. |
| See more mines in Nevada | ||||
Source: EWG analysis.