Carlin trend produces 50-millionth oz.

The Carlin trend in Nevada has joined such venerable gold camps as Timmins, Ont., South Africa’s Witwatersrand and Uzbekistan’s Muruntan as the latest in the world to produce 50 million oz. gold.

The trend, which extends northwest and southeast from the original Carlin mine, 15 km south of the town of the same name, contains more than 20 active gold operations. The disseminated gold deposits that make up Carlin were discovered in 1962. At present, the region produces nearly 4 million oz. annually.

The long-term economic benefit of mining for Nevada is in the billions of dollars and ranges from tax revenue to education and community programs, says Russ Fields, president of the Nevada Mining Association, based in Reno.

According to John Dobra, an economics professor at the University of Nevada, the US$20 billion worth of gold mined from the Carlin trend annually translates into US$34 billion when economic spinoffs are factored in.