Comstock Lode History
The Comstock lode district is profoundly historic in that over 400 companies were once involved in a booming mining supply chain, with over 230 mills operating in the district. The area produced almost 200 million ounces of silver and over 8 million ounces of gold in the late 1800s and early 1900s. It was cosmopolitan in a very big way, with the establishment of Virginia City, Silver City and Gold Hill. Nevada and the Comstock played a meaningful role in the Union winning the Civil War, and that facilitated statehood for the Nevada territory.
The boom turned to bust when the old timers stopped mining, and because the claims were so fragmented it was difficult for modern techniques to get traction. There has been some form of mining on the Comstock lode every decade since then, but it wasn’t until we started consolidating the claims in the district that a true, sustainable return to modern mining proved possible.
Since 2003, we have consolidated over 8,000 acres of land, all under one company, representing over 10 square miles. I think that’s what’s most unique — that we are the first company to truly consolidate substantially all of the Comstock under one roof.
Coincidently, we started consolidating all of the available historic data. There’s been so much history and so much previous activity, but it was never effectively consolidated or coordinated. We were able to build on that, combining the history with additional modern techniques like geophysical data analysis, metallurgical analysis, current surface mapping data and prior drill data all into one three-dimensional, geostatistical model. Those efforts resulted in a significantly longer definition of the district, at least for the mineralized strike, from over to 2 miles to almost 6 miles in length, and ultimately, to new discoveries in the center and the southern parts of the district.