Widening the base

When it comes to mining, Nevada is best known for gold and silver.

But more than a dozen other resources are produced in the state, and although they're dwarfed by the economic impact of precious metals, they glimmer with potential.

Exploration and development are moving ahead for new lithium and molybdenum projects, new applications are developing for resources such as diatomite and nearby availability of lime and gypsum continue to play an important role in keeping regional construction costs down.

Sure, these lesser-known minerals aren't as sexy as gold we'll probably never hear cries of "there's molybdenum in them thar' hills." But, says Nevada Mining Association President Tim Crowley, they're an essential and even exciting part of the industry.

Betting on an electric vehicle boom, Western Lithium Corp. is developing its Kings Valley property in Humboldt County to supply lithium carbonate for the automotive industry. The company, headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia, with an operations office in Reno, wants to produce 25,000 tons of lithium bicarbonate equivalent annually starting in 2013.

The Kings Valley property is the largest known lithium deposit in the United States and one of the largest in the world, behind those in Bolivia and Chile. For a long time, lithium, the lightest of all metals, was used primarily in ceramics, glass and aluminum production, but the fastest growing use is in rechargeable batteries.

While a cell phone battery contains a gram of lithium carbonate, a car battery contains 25 pounds, says Dennis Bryan, vice president of development. With the growing domestic emphasis on fuel efficiency and countries such as China eyeing the electric car market, he adds, "We're betting on demand not just doubling, but tripling or quadrupling over the next several years," Bryan says.

Chevron Resources found lithium at Kings Valley in the late 1970s when the company was looking for uranium. It later sold its claims. Western Energy Development Corp., the U.S. subsidiary of Western Uranium, staked federal lode claims over the area in 2005, then spun off Western Lithium.

The company is completing scoping studies to gauge the project's economic viability.

"We know we can produce it," Bryan says. "It's just tying down the economics so it's favorable to the current market."

There are a couple of challenges. The northern Nevada lithium deposit is in clay. Extracting lithium from clay will probably be more expensive than extracting it from brine, Bryan says. The company will also have to raise capital to build a $200 million to $300 million plant.

Once in production, the company, which now has six workers, could employ more than 100.

Another lesser-known mineral seeing growing potential is molybdenum, also known as "moly." (Try saying molybdenum and you'll know why the industry gave it a nickname.)

General Moly Inc., headquartered in Lakewood, Colo., is raising capital and applying for permits to develop a mine to produce molybdenum at Mount Hope, 22 miles northwest of Eureka, and it's studying development of a molybdenum mine on its Liberty property 22 miles northwest of Tonopah.

Once those two projects are in production, the company expects to be the world's largest primary moly producer. General Moly owns 80 percent of the Mount Hope project through a joint venture with Korean-based steelmaker Posco, and 100 percent of the Liberty project.

General Moly spokesman Zach Spencer says the company is three years into a seven-year permitting process to develop Mount Hope. Once that project is in production, it will focus on the Liberty property. So far the company has raised about $250 million of the $1 billion it will take to build Mount Hope, he says, with a targeted production start in 2012.

Moly, a metallic element, is used mostly in steel manufacturing. Moly is incredibly tough resistant to both heat and corrosion and when added to steel makes the material stronger. Although the recession has slowed construction worldwide, industry experts project steel demand will rebound starting next year, particularly with massive infrastructure development in India and China. Moly has other applications as well. It can be used to liquefy coal and remove sulfur from liquid fuels in petroleum refining, for instance.

Building the Mount Hope mine would employ about 600 people, Spencer says, and the mine would employ about 400 during production. Mount Hope has a mine life of about 44 years, compared to seven to 10 years of most mines, he adds.

"In theory someone could start with the company and retire with the company," he says.

Meanwhile, new applications are being developed for other minerals, such as diatomite, a soft porous sedimentary rock used mostly for filtration for beverages, such as beer and wine, and other liquids.

EP Minerals LLC, headquartered in Reno with plants in Lovelock and Sparks, for instance, produces a slew of products, including filter aids, absorbents, natural insecticides and additives for coatings, plastic film and many other products, from cleaning waxes to seed coatings. The company developed a patented media for removing arsenic from water, and it also produces soil amendments that help conserve water.

"Diatomite mines have been in production in Nevada for decades, but now the applications of the mineral are expanding," Crowley says.

Yet another growing resource in Nevada's mining industry: geothermal energy. Nevada is second only to California in geothermal production, Crowley says, and the industry is poised for growth with the increasing emphasis on renewable power.