Nevada is famous for the Las Vegas Strip, full of bright lights, dice rolling, and vibrant nightlife, set amid vast desert landscapes.
While some head to Nevada for a weekend in Sin City, others head to the state for its gold-rich geology, which led US gold production in 2021, according to the State of Nevada Commission on Mineral Resources.
The state alone produced 4.5 million troy ounces of gold in 2021, accounting for 74% of gold produced in the US.
Outside the poker capital of the world, the dice are still rolling for explorers pursuing projects rich in gold resources.
Evident in the company’s name, one explorer centred on the state’s resources is Nevada Sunrise Metals (TSX-V:NEV).
For Nevada Sunrise CEO Warren Stanyer, the company’s decision to hone in on Nevada is rooted in the state’s historical mineral wealth.
“Nevada has one of the richest endowments on earth of gold, silver, and other metals,” Stanyer tells Mining.com.au.
“Nevada’s mining history is evidence of the success of historical exploration — with AI (artificial intelligence) and modern geophysical and geochemical methods, the potential for new discoveries seems limitless.”
And for investors looking to buy into gold assets in North America, it is worth knowing the state reclaimed the number one spot as the “most attractive jurisdiction for investment” in the Fraser Institute’s 2025 Investment Attractiveness Index.
A royal flush of gold
Looking closer into Nevada’s geological features and gold resources, you may stumble across the Carlin Trend.
The Carlin Trend is a geological feature that runs along northeastern Nevada, extending over 60km of predominantly sedimentary-rock-hosted gold deposits.
The trend is described as the largest and most productive gold mining district in North America, with a cumulative production of 98.4 million ounces of gold by the end of 2022, according to The Nevada Mineral Industry 2022.
Just 70km southwest of the town of Tonopah, Athena Gold (CSE:ATHA) has its sights on the Excelsior Springs Project in the Walker Lane district.
Athena CEO Koby Kushner notes that the district is prolific for its range of deposit styles.
“Walker Lane is famous for epithermal silver and gold,” Kushner tells Mining.com.au.
“Carlin gold deposits are also famous here and make up some of the most profitable mines globally. Excelsior has flavours of both.”
The Excelsior Springs Project is under an option agreement with Mammoth Minerals (ASX:M79), which will be able to earn up to 80% interest.
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“Nevada is a passive way to add value for our shareholders, Mammoth is earning their 80% interest, putting out solid drill results and newsflow that we can piggyback off of, without additional capital outlay from us,” Kushner says.
“Once mammoth earns 80%, Athena gets a 20% free carried interest.”
For Athena, the Walker Lane district can be considered underexplored, regardless of its historical exploration.
“Even though it has been mined since the 1800s, [Walker Lane] has seen little modern exploration using modern, systematic geoscience — hence why we can see world-class discoveries such as Silicon, Arthur, [and] Merlin, now owned by AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU), and Blackrock Silver‘s (TSX-V:BRC) Tonopah West,” he adds.
Athena was initially attracted to Nevada’s gold resources following a new discovery next to a historic mine, which Kushner says has already returned “world class hits close to surface”, Kushner says.
The agreement between Athena and Mammoth aims to deliver a maiden resource to the Buster prospect within the Excelsior Springs Project in the next 12 months while Mammoth resumes drilling at the Blue Dick prospect, and also conducts drilling and wider targeting around the historical Imperial Mine.
Speaking to Mining.com.au, Mammoth Minerals Managing Director Glenn Poole says the company’s focus will remain on Excelsior Springs as a cornerstone asset for the foreseeable future that has a “robust pipeline of targets built out”.
“Excelsior Springs also has the potential to host significant silver and critical minerals, these targets will also be in focus moving forward,” Poole tells this news service.
“The opportunity lies in the unknown, we identified significant areas of unstaked mineral claims adjacent to the acquired project.
“This allowed us to establish a district-scale land position and potentially capture an entire mineral system rich in gold, silver, and critical minerals.”
Sitting in the Walker Lane trend, the Excelsior Springs Project is located in Esmeralda County — one of Nevada’s many mining-heavy counties.
Operations in Esmeralda County primarily target gold mineralisation, reflecting the area’s significance in gold exploration, with a gold rush history dating back to 1902.
With Goldfield as its county seat, Esmeralda County is located in the southwestern portion of Nevada and is fundamentally a mining jurisdiction with a population of about 730 residents compared with Nevada’s broader population of 3.4 million.
“The Walker Lane trend runs right through the county, and with multiple active gold mines operating and others going into production,” Mammoth’s Poole says.
“Esmeralda County is extremely supportive of mining activities and proactively supports the local industry.
“Excelsior Springs sits on the south-western side of the county in limestone sequences that host abundant historic workings. The lithology is favourable to host multiple deposit types, [including] gold [and] critical minerals.”
Gold jackpot
Northeast of Esmeralda County, miners will uncover the renowned Elko County.
Between 1903 and 1959, Elko County produced 561,187 ounces of gold, with the majority of production sourced from the northern and western areas of the county.
Union Star Metals (ASX:USM) is another precious metals explorer centred on assets in Nevada and Idaho — where its Cobb Creek Project is located in Elko County within the Independence Gold Trend.
CEO Lucas Stanfield describes the mining region as hosting multiple producing mines, along with “world-class gold systems and ongoing exploration activity from both majors and juniors”.
“Elko County sits within one of the most important gold-producing regions in North America and combines world-class geology with established infrastructure, a highly skilled mining workforce, and a regulatory environment that understands mining,” Stanfield tells this news service.
“For Australian investors, Elko County occupies a similar position in the US gold industry to what Kalgoorlie does in Australia.
“Importantly, the region has a proven track record of supporting projects from exploration through to development and production, which significantly reduces execution risk compared to many emerging mining jurisdictions.”
With its “clear, target-driven” exploration strategy in place, Stanfield describes Nevada as central to the company’s focus on precious metals exploration in the US, with Cobb Creek emerging as its flagship project.
“Cobb Creek stood out because it already hosts proven gold mineralisation at the historical McCall deposit, yet much of the broader project area remains underexplored,” Stanfield adds.
“Historical drilling was generally shallow and focused on near-surface mineralisation, while the broader structural system and concealed targets beneath volcanic cover had not been systematically tested.
“We saw an opportunity to apply modern exploration techniques to a project with demonstrated gold endowment and significant untapped potential.”
Union Star’s current workstreams at Cobb Creek include integrating gravity, geochemistry, structural interpretation, and permitting to systematically progress the project from a geological concept to drill-ready targets.
What happens in Nevada
In all of its bright lights and desert landscapes, Nevada is the seventh-largest state in the US, covering 286,380km2.
The state is reported to have brought in $10.1 billion in total mineral production value in 2024 according to the Nevada Division of Minerals, acting as a powerhouse for the country’s gold industry.
Total mineral production value increased by 5.7% in 2024, attributed to steadily rising gold prices.
As of today (16 June), Trading Economics reports gold prices at US$4,311 ($6,099.71) per ounce, representing a 27.43% year-on-year increase.
“Nevada is highly competitive, but that is also part of its attraction,” Stanfield tells Mining.com.au.
“The presence of major producers, established developers, and active juniors shows the jurisdiction remains highly prospective. The key for juniors is to have a clear geological thesis, disciplined targeting, and a pathway to drilling.
“Nevada offers access to skilled labour, established service providers, roads, power, processing knowledge, and a regulatory environment that understands mining. Those factors do not remove cost pressure, but they do reduce execution risk compared with more frontier jurisdictions.”
Nevada currently hosts more than 40 active gold operations and large-scale exploration projects. It accounts for 70% of all gold produced in the US, the Nevada Division of Minerals reports.
Write to Maddison Elliott at Mining.com.au
Images: Mining.com.au, Athena Gold & iStock
