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.
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37 has been superseded by NBMG Report 47, Mining Districts of Nevada,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 See Map of Mining Districts in Nevada, dated 1946, for a more historical reference on Nevada mining district locations.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 .
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. To access a georeferenced
version of this map in tifw format click here for a zip compressed file.
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.
Geology of Nevada, bedrock geologic map by Stewart, J.H. and Carlson, J.E., 1978, U.S.
Geological Survey, 1:500,000. To access a georeferenced version of this
map in tifw format click here for a zip compressed file.
Gold and Silver Resources of Nevada, 2006, Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology, Map 149, 1:1,000,000.
Industrial Mineral Deposits in Nevada, introduction with references, and the full map, 2003, Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology, Map 142, 1:1,000,000.
Nevada Mineral Trends, 2003, Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology, Open-File Report 03-2, 1:1,000,000.
Mining Districts of Nevada, 1998 version, Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology, Report 47. Plate one of Report 47, 1:1,000,000-scale map, showing the outlines of Nevada mining districts.
Nevada Abandoned Mines Database Compilation Update, 2001, Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology Open-File Report 01-3, listing of directory contents. To access the files listed in the directory click here for a zip compressed file containing the entire dataset.
Compilation of the USGS MRDS and USBM MILS mine and prospect data bases,
with selected fields, into a single table. Mine name and location
accuracy are dependent on the original MRDS and MILS data and can vary
significantly from the existing property name and actual location. Site
locations are in UTM, zone 11, meters, NAD27 projection. This table is
also available as a compressed dBase file.
The Nevada Mineral Industry 2006. A summary of mining industry activities in Nevada during 2006.
The Nevada Mineral Industry 2007. A summary of mining industry activities in Nevada during 2007.
The Nevada Mineral Industry 2008. A summary of mining industry activities in Nevada during 2008.
Nevada Active Mines and Energy Producers, 2010, Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology, Map 170, 1:1,000,000. To access the GIS files that were used to create this map click here for a zip compressed file of this dataset.
Nevada Active Mines and Energy Producers with Mining District Names, 2010, Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology, Open-File Report 10-5, 1:1,000,000.
Preliminary Assessment of the Potential for Carbon Dioxide Disposal by Sequestration in Geological Settings in Nevada,
2005, Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology, Report 51. This report
contains a variety of GIS data sets including the 1:500,000 scale Nevada
State Geologic Map (1984), a draft updated version of NBMG Gold and
Silver Resouces in Nevada, Map 120, (1999), Mining District Map of Nevada, and a USGS Quaternary faults data set for Nevada. To access the full set of Report 51 GIS data files click here to down load the dataset in a zip compressed file format.
Petroleum data map of Nevada,
2007, Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology, Map 162. This report contains
a variety of GIS data sets including data from a State-wide geologic
map compilation by A.E.J. Crafford, 2007, U.S. Geological Survey Data
Series DS-249, scale 1:250,000, and a conodont database of Nevada by
A.G. Harris and A.E.J. Crafford, 2007, U.S. Geological Survey Data
Series DS-249. To access the full set of Map 162 GIS data files click here.
Digital Raster Graphic Files of USGS 30x60-Minute, 1:100,000 scale, Topographic Maps in Nevada.
County Digital Geologic Mapping Project - 1997 is a large zip compressed file of all of the geologic map layers contained in the project. The purpose of this project was to create quality digital county geologic maps, for all of the counties in Nevada, from existing
1:250,000-scale geologic maps contained in the county geologic and
mineral resource bulletins published by the Nevada Bureau of Mines and
Geology. Minor file edits in 2001.
Nevada Oil and Gas Exploration and Production Data. This includes well listings, NBMG Bulletin 104, oil and geothermal production reports, and other data.
Thermal Waters of Nevada,
NBMG Bulletin 91 and Geothermal Resources in Nevada (second edition),
and Geothermal Resources in Nevada (second edition), NBMG Map 141.
Historic Aerial Photography of the Reno and Carson City Area, Nevada, late 1930s to 1990s.
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 .
Ronald H. Hess 12/28/2023