A good place to dig

The macro: A Canadian think tank says Nevada's combination of mineral resources and attractive regulatory environment make it the best place in the world for mining investments.

The micro: The number of mining claims filed with county clerks in Nevada last year totaled nearly 146,000, up by 25 percent from the previous year's figures.

Either way, the developments last week reinforced northern Nevada's position as one of the strongest mining regions in the world.

The Fraser Institute, a Vancouver think tank that conducts an annual survey of mining executives, once again asked them to rank all the gold-mining regions in the world every place from Alaska to Zimbabwe on the basis of the regions' mineral resources and political environments.

Nevada ranked second in mineral resources it trailed only Tasmania in mining executives' estimation and the state's political and regulatory environment ranked first for the fifth consecutive year.

The mix of resources and regulation is important to miners, says Fred McMahon, director of trade and globalization studies for The Fraser Institute.

Typically, he said in an interview, mining companies report that the availability of mineral resources counts for about 60 percent of their decisions about new investment.

The other 40 percent reflects their beliefs about the political and regulatory environment.

When the two factors are combined, Nevada gets the highest marks in the world, followed by Chile, Quebec and Mexico.

The worst spots in the world? Zimbabwe, where mining companies face problems ranging from political instability to outright terrorism, and California are among the poorest locations for new investment, the mining executives said.

None of this came as news to Russ Fields, president of the Nevada Mining Association.

"It's very good news," Fields said."But it's also something we need to work to protect."

He noted that Nevada's political leaders, both in Carson City and Washington, D.C., have been strong supporters of the mining industry for many years.

The state's gold resources it ranks third in the world in production of the precious metal by themselves serve to draw exploration dollars into Nevada, Fields said.

Miners have learned to hunt for elephants in elephant country, and the fact that much of the state's land is owned by the federal government means it's available for exploration and for development, once a rigorous and sometimes slow permitting process is completed.

"You can find a deposit in Nevada.After going through the full process, you can develop your minerals here.

That's not true everywhere in the world," Fields said.

The data about mining claim filings last year demonstrates the continued enthusiasm about the state's potential.

In 2004, the state Division of Minerals reported, 145,492 claims were filed with county clerks compared with 116,318 a year earlier.

A big part of the jump in activity came in Eureka County, where exploration geologists and prospectors filed 30,881 claims in 2004 compared with 18,318 a year earlier.

Not coincidentally, Eureka County is the location of the Cortez Hills discovery by Placer Dome Inc.

that may be one of the largest in recent history in Nevada.

Doug Driesner, director of mining services for the state's Division of Minerals, says the flurry of activity around Cortez Hills also drove an increase in claims in neighboring Lander County.

There, the number of claims stands at 19,367 compared with 17,022 a year earlier.

In fact, Lander and Eureka counties combined accounted for more than 34 percent of the outstanding mining claims in the state last year.

(Miners are required to file their claims with county clerks once a year.) Driesner said increased claims activity statewide appears to have the direct result of higher prices for gold, which was above $400 an ounce through 2004.

Other counties with extensive claims activity include Elko, with 14.8 percent of the state's claims, Nye with 11.2 percent and Humboldt with 10.1 percent.

Washoe County had 1,666 mining claims at the end of the year, while Carson City had 38.