WINNEMUCCA — The first shovels to hit the dirt at the Buena Vista Mine did so in the late 1890's. In the 50's approximately 1 million ton of iron ore was mined and shipped overseas. While many companies since then have given the mine some consideration, actual operations ceased long ago.

Those in the know, however, have long known there were additional magnetite deposits at Buena Vista.

Nevada Iron LLC recently announced their intention to reopen Buena Vista mine and hope to be mining iron ore there again within two years.

Howard Dawson, chairman of Richmond Mining Limited, of Perth, Australia, the parent company of Nevada Iron, commented, “Mining saved Australia from the recession. If we can get this going we'll help move the local economy forward.”

The mine is located in Churchill County, but operators will most likely pull their workforce from Pershing County as the existing infrastructure makes doing business in Lovelock the most feasible.

According to figures released by Nevada Iron, the company anticipates hiring 15-20 full time employees for the ore processing facility; the contract miner will employ another 20-30 full-time employees; the company anticipates it will need 30-40 qualified commercial drivers and 3-5 qualified mechanics at its Lovelock-based maintenance facility.

The company will establish a transportation system for employees to get back and forth from the mine site.

Even though the feasibility studies are not yet complete, Dawson spoke confidently of the positive future of the Buena Vista Mine. He added it was possible more iron ore would be found in the vicinity of the current deposit.

The company's feasibility studies have been helped along by work US Steel did in the area in the late 1970's. While US Steel never commenced operations, their exploration and metallurgy work has been instrumental in Nevada Iron's decision to pursue re-opening the Buena Vista Mine.

According to information released by Nevada Iron, the mine is expected to produce about 1 million tons of iron ore annually for about ten years. However, there is the potential mining could extend another ten years after that depending on the results of additional exploration.

While the mine is located entirely on private property, the company will be working with the BLM on right-of-way issues.

An electrical transmission line designed and constructed by NV Energy will be located within the existing right-of-way along Coal Canyon Road. The ore processing facility will be run on electrical power .

Nevada Iron anticipates the ore will be transported by over-the-road trucks along Coal Canyon Rd. to a railroad siding at Colado Junction. The company is working with a northern Nevada trucking company to run all trucking services.

The ore will then be transported to a west coast port for export. The company anticipates all the ore will be shipped overseas.

The mine land will be reclaimed as high desert habitat when operations cease.