EDITORIAL — Oral history keeps mining spirit alive — Telling it like it was

We do something similar in our Odds ‘n’ Sods column every week — now, the University of Nevada is undertaking a statewide oral history project on mining, which should contribute to the public’s understanding of the historical importance of the state’s mining districts.

The idea evolved from a successful oral history project initiated by a group of historians, archeologists, geologists, authors and mining experts on the Mineral Ridge district at Silver Peak.

The University of Nevada Oral History Program (UNOHP) already has 60,000 pages of oral history transcripts, including accounts of the famous Comstock Lode. The color and excitement of those times can still be savored by tourists in gambling halls across the state, and in books, diaries and old newspaper accounts.

Through tape-recorded interviews with people who have significant information and impressions to convey, researchers are building an eyewitness record of historical Nevada.

Now, in an attempt to expand the project to include history in the making, the group wants to document the origin and development of the world-renowned Carlin trend.

It is an excellent idea and, as such, deserves the mining industry’s wholehearted support. The interviewing process ought to begin as soon as possible, while those who were involved in this key mining event are still around to tell the tale.

The Carlin trend project is fascinating on two fronts. For anyone who loves adventure and the thrill of discovery, the story of how the near-surface, low-grade gold deposits were discovered is a compelling tale in and of itself. The second chapter of the story begins with the discovery of deeper, richer ores beneath the oxide deposits first exploited in the 1960s. Indeed, both events are of such economic and scientific importance that several books could, and should, be devoted to the subject.

The Carlin trend is one of the richest mineral districts in the world, and eyewitness accounts of its discovery may prove useful to those who are pursuing the same type of deposit in other parts of the world. These accounts would also enable Americans to appreciate fully the valuable contribution that mining has made — and continues to make — to Nevada and to the country as a whole.

Personal accounts of Nevada’s mining past will bring the industry alive for the public, especially given that the project team has made a special effort to weave the history of mining with that of native, ethnic and minority groups, and local communities. The scope of the project is broad insofar as it examines how the mining industry was affected by government and politics, ranching and the development of the casino gaming industry.

The award-winning collection of oral histories assembled to date is already being put to good use by researchers, students and community historians.

Another interesting aspect of UNOHP’s project is the inclusion of detailed descriptions of the skills required in underground mining — description which will be of interest to future generations. Although underground mining was common in Nevada’s past, the mines currently in operation are predominantly open pits. Only in recent years have some underground gold mines begun production in the state, including some in the Carlin trend.

Mining history is a buried treasure that warrants an exploration program all its own. A little digging here and there, and we have something as precious as gold.