Safe Mines Receive Awards
The Nevada Mining Association honored Nevada’s safest mining operations and employees at its annual convention held in September at Lake Tahoe. A total of 27 mines were recognized for their safety efforts. The first place winners in the Mining Safety Awards included:
•Small Open Pit Mines: Ruby Hill Mine – Barrick Gold Corporation
•Medium Open Pit Mines: Coeur Rochester, Inc. – Coeur d’Alene Mines Corporation
•Large Open Pit Mines: Goldstrike Mine – Barrick Goldstrike Mines, Inc.
•Non-Metal Open Pit Mines: Pilot Peak Lime Plant – Graymont Western US, Inc.
•Metal Underground: Lee Smith Mine – AngloGold (Jerritt Canyon) Corp.
•Mary Going Memorial Award for Most Improved: Deep Star – Newmont Mining Corp.
“Safety is the first priority among our member mines,” said Russ Fields, president of the Nevada Mining Association. “These awards recognize those responsible for ensuring a safe environment for employees and the surrounding communities.”
BLM Auctions Geothermal Leases
The federal Bureau of Land Management (BLM) recently sold geothermal leases on 16 tracts of land in north-central Nevada totaling 31,094 acres. The auction, held on Sept. 24, included 67 tracts totaling over 130,000 acres in six Known Geothermal Resource Areas (KGRA). High bids on the 16 tracts sold totaled $311,159. A Nevada law passed by the 2001 Legislature requires major utilities selling power in Nevada to obtain 5 percent of that power from renewable sources by 2003. Fifteen percent of Nevada’s power should come from renewable sources, including geothermal, by 2013. Nine power plants are currently using federal geothermal resources in the Silver State, generating 165 megawatts of electricity. Geothermal energy is also used directly in vegetable dehydration plants and in the leaching process at Nevada mines. So far during fiscal year 2002, BLM Nevada has issued 47 leases covering 112,000 acres.
Nevada Manufacturers Achieve Success
Three Nevada manufacturers recently revealed indicators of their success. Milgard Windows, Las Vegas has broken ground on a new 149,000-square-foot facility scheduled for completion in January 2003. Specializing in aluminum, vinyl and woodclad windows and doors, Milgard expects to add another 40 to 50 employees during its first year at the new location in Henderson. The facility, located near Warm Springs Road and Gibson, will consist of 109,000 square feet of manufacturing space, a 15,000-square-foot mezzanine and 25,000 square feet for office use. Potlatch Corp. is expanding its North Las Vegas facility, adding additional machinery and 135,000 square feet to its existing 450,000-square-foot plant, which makes paper tissue products for private-label customers. The company, which currently employs 130, will be able to add 66 jobs after the expansion, for an annual payroll of $3.1 million. Tsuda Surface Technologies of Henderson was recently honored for receiving the prestigious International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 9001-2000 Award. Management Assistance Partnership, the industrial extension program of Nevada’s university system, assisted Tsuda in getting the certification. Tsuda, whose parent company is located in Japan, provides decorative and functional coatings for plastic injection-molded parts for such items as cell phones, cameras and cosmetic cases.
Names Change for Nevada Law Firms
Several Nevada law firms have decided to change their names as the result of a recent ruling by the Nevada Supreme Court. The amended Supreme Court Ruling 199 allows law firms based out-of-state to use their previously established names within Nevada, a practice that had formerly been illegal. Law firms within Nevada had only been permitted to practice under the name of a licensed Nevada attorney, or that of a deceased or retired Nevada attorney. For example, when Murchison & Cumming, one of California’s oldest civil litigation defense firms, established an office in Nevada in 2000, it had to adopt the name, “Carraway & Ryan, an affiliate of Murchison & Cumming.” The amended ruling has allowed it to adopt the more well known name of Murchison & Cumming. Other Nevada law firms with nationally or regionally recognized names are expected to follow suit.