Nevada Mining Association Records

The Nevada Mining Association Records are divided into seven series, the largest of which are the records proper of the Association. Among the more important of these records are incorporation papers, minutes of the executive committee, membership lists, correspondence, reports, and position statements. These papers provide details on the formation and governance of the Association, and the close interrelationship between the mining industry and government. They furnish an overview of the industry which is not normally available through records of individual mining companies.

Of particular note are the correspondence series and report files. The correspondence includes many letters from Nevada's leaders, most of whose early careers were in mining, including Tasker L. Oddie, Emmet D. Boyle, Patrick McCarran, Key Pittman, and James S. Scrugham. Subjects discussed include legislation affecting the mining industry, advice on many issues, and more personal matters such as attendance at Association events. Correspondence from individuals contains many letters about membership in the Association which provide clues about the general state of the industry, as, for example, where mine owners either refuse or withdraw their membership because of industry slumps. Other letters responded to inquiries from the executive secretary about their need for commodities such as cyanide. For some time, the Association bought large quantities of commonly used supplies at a discount, passing the savings along to members.

The report files are comprehensive on some subjects which are otherwise not readily available. Files on taxation provide statistics on the amount of money paid in taxes by individual mines, including some material on assessments in particular counties. There are a number of yearly reports of wages paid by the mining industry in Nevada and the west; these document wages at individual mines and for the various positions held by miners. Other topics featured in reports include stream pollution, mineral land withdrawals, depletion rates, and open pit mining. Reports about specific mining companies encompass the Mellan Gold Mines, Round Mountain Gold Dredging Corporation, Kennecott Copper Company, and Nevada Consolidated Copper Company.

Another important series of this collection is Series 2, the Nevada Industrial Commission. The Commission and the Association shared a mutual interest in the implementation and funding of the workmen's compensation fund; the Commission in its administration and the Association in its funding through assessments of employers. These papers explore this interrelationship through printed copies of legislation enabling the Commission, financial statements, correspondence, a file on accidents, and transcripts of court rulings involving the Commission.

The Association's executive secretary was often prominent in the Nevada community as a whole, serving on a number of public boards and commissions. Series 4, the Silver Centennial Committee, and Series 5, the Bicentennial Commission for Nevada were two such boards on which executive secretary Louis D. Gordon served. These series contain bylaws, minutes, correspondence, and financial reports of those two organizations.

The collection includes several small series of note: one on the United Western Miners, circa 1948-1959, and the American Federation of Labor. The former contains mostly correspondence about this "break-away" attempt to form a new miners' union, while the America Federation of Labor series contains reports on two annual meetings in 1921 and 1924.

The collection contains only a few photographs; they consist of images of the Kennecott Copper Company operations at McGill, Nevada; the Consolidated Copper Mines Corporation mines at Kimberly, Nevada; a compressor rotor made from titanium from the Titanium Metals Corporation of America; and an unidentified group of men (possibly NMA officials) at a Nevada mine site, circa 1910s.