Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology (NBMG) Open-File Report 10-8
NBMG Mining District File Collection
Modified for online use with Index, Search Engine, and Other Nevada Mineral Related Files
(2nd edition, 2010)
(Additional revisions and edits made in 2014 and 2023 by Ronald H. Hess)
Compiled by Ronald H. Hess, Martha Henson, David A. Davis, Richard O. Meeuwig, Kristen A. Scott, and Karen Boldi.Click here to go directly to the Mining District File Collection Search Engine to search by district, county, title, author, date, property, mine, claim, and/or commodity name.
The Mining District Files consist largely of historical and current maps, reports, articles, photographs, correspondence, assays, production reports, and reserve information on all aspects of mining in Nevada. These have largely been donated to the NBMG over the years from individuals, companies, and other government agencies. The files were originally created, named, and numbered using NBMG Map 37, Metal Mining Districts of Nevada (Schilling, 1976), as an index. In this system, the files are divided alphabetically by county and then alphabetically by district name within each county. Each district has a file, and each county has a general file for things that cannot easily be included in a district file. Map 37 has been superseded by NBMG Report 47, Mining Districts of Nevada, (Tingley, 1998), which is much more complete than Map 37 and is very useful in conjunction with this database. The current mining district naming convention used in this index is based on Report 47. See Map of Mining Districts in Nevada, dated 1946, for a more historical reference on Nevada mining district locations.
Over the last several years NBMG has undertaken the digital conversion of these paper documents into scanned images. The files contained here are in Arcobat PDF file format. To view the scanned images you must have a file viewer such as Acrobat reader or other software that will open and view a PDF file. Some of these files are large (up to 500 megabytes) so you should have a high speed connection if you wish to view the scanned version of the documents
SOME OF THE DOCUMENTS, MAPS, AND WELL LOGS CONTAINED IN THIS PROJECT ARE VERY LARGE AND MAY TAKE A WHILE TO DOWNLOAD AND VIEW. The digital file conversion project at NBMG is ongoing. If you have questions about the files contained in this project contact Ron Hess at rhess@ronhess.info .
Click here to search the Mining District File Collection Index by district, county, title, author, date, property, mine, claim, and/or commodity name.
Make sure that your browser is set to allow JavaScript because it is used in the search script. This is a large script and my take a few moments to load. You can search all fields (including notes) simultaneously by entering a search string in the "All Fields" box. The scanned PDF file is linked to the identification number in the first column of the search results table, and can be viewed in Adobe Reader by clicking this number.
A list of the scanned Mining District Files, in html format, is available by clicking here.
Field Descriptions:
No: Unique number that identifies each item in the collection. Items that have been scanned and converted to Acrobat PDF file format are live linked to this field.
District: Name of the mining district. Many districts have more than one name. These other names are cross referenced in NBMG Report 47. Documents that describe areas outside of an established mining district are assigned as county general files. County general files are identified by having the county name followed by the word “general.”
County: The present name of the county the mining district is in. Some districts span more than one county and are usually included in the county containing the bulk of the district. Also, in old items, some counties did not yet exist. Examples include Clark County, which was split from Lincoln County in 1908, Mineral County, which was split from Esmeralda County in 1911, and Pershing County, which was split from Humboldt County in 1919. Also, some counties have changed names. Examples include Roop County, which became part of Washoe County in 1883, and Ormsby County, which was consolidated with and renamed Carson City in 1969.
Title: Title of the document or map. Many items do not have a formal title, and an informal title was created.
Author: Author(s) name or it may list the name of the agency that prepared the report or map if the authorship was not apparent on the document. If the author and the publishing agency are not known, then the field contains "unknown" or is left blank.
Date: Date the document or map was published. If the date is not known, then the field contains "unknown" or is left blank.
PMC: Includes property, mine, claim, and company names when identified.
Commodity: This field lists commodities and/or minerals that were identified in the document.
Notes: This field includes miscellaneous information not given in other fields and additional information that may not have fit in to other fields because of field length limitations.
Additional maps, reports, and GIS data sets that provide background information on Nevada's mineral resources:
A 1946 Map of Mining Districts in Nevada.
State of Nevada Map, with mining districts, 1914, by U.S. Department of the Interior, General Land Office.
Topographic Map of Nevada, 1984, U.S. Geological Survey, 1:500,000.
Land status map of Nevada, 2nd ed., 1972, Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology, Map 40.
Metal and nonmetal occurrences in Nevada, 1932, Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology, Bulletin 16.
Nevada's common minerals, 1941, Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology, Bulletin 36.
The geology of Nevada ore deposits and The mining districts of Nevada, 1944, Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology, Bulletin 40.
Mineral and water resources of Nevada, 1964, Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology, Bulletin 65.
Card Index File of Nevada Mines, Mining Districts, Minerals, Mine Owners and Operators, and Related References (last entry in 1966) in PDF file format; Compiled by Robert C.Horton.
This information should be considered preliminary. It has not been thoroughly edited or checked for completeness or accuracy.
Questions about this report may be sent to Ron Hess at rhess@ronhess.info .
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