Friday, March 7, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.
The state surpassed the 7 million ounce plateau for the first time last year, producing 7,007,469 troy ounces.
Despite a dramatic drop in gold prices at the end of the year, an ounce of the metal averaged $388, the state minerals division reported on Friday, making gold a $2.7 billion Nevada industry.
Gold was languishing at about $350 an ounce on Friday.
Nevada produced two-thirds of the United States' gold in 1996. The U.S. was the No. 2 country in gold output behind South Africa.
archive
