Mining for Non-Geologists – Exploration to Reclamation

This three-day field trip for the Geological Society of Nevada 2015 Reno Symposium in Reno grew
out of the change the exploration business has seen during the last 15 years. In 2010 the field trip
was designed to help people new to the mining business, and new to Nevada, understand the
Nevada gold business and mining industry. That trip focused on the “typical” exploration to closure
life cycle for Carlin-type Gold deposits in Nevada. From that we discovered a great educational tool
in the mines, exploration projects, and people to simply and succinctly show how one of society’s
basic industries functions in the real world. In this 2015 trip, we have worked to open the trip to a
wider cross-section of society.
On our tour, we plan to show the exploration to reclamation processes but also highlight the
remarkable mineral endowment of Nevada. Nevada is one of the top ten gold producers (the U.S. is
4th) in the world but we also rank 12th for silver (U.S. is 10th), 15th for copper (U.S. is 5th), and 4th for
diatomite (U.S. is 1st). We will follow US Highway 50 across the state from Reno to Ely and back
again. We will see historic examples of all these minerals and modern mines for everything but silver.
The trip will review projects and properties that represent the three major milestones encountered
during the cradle to grave – exploration to reclamation life cycle in a world-class mining district.
These milestones are:
 Exploration-Discovery
 Mining-Production
 Reclamation