Nevada miners set for battle

The state's mining industry will take a defensive stance when the Nevada Legislature convenes next week.

Russ Fields, president of the Nevada Mining Association, said miners aren't looking to support any legislation that would break new ground for the industry that had a $5.9 billion economic impact on the state in 1997.

Instead, the NMA plans to carefully analyze any bill that could potentially increase costs in a time when the industry is continuing to struggle in the face of weak gold prices.

Fields addressed the Associated General Contractors Las Vegas chapter on Tuesday and presented an overview of some of the common goals of the two associations. The mining industry plays an important role to contractors: Concrete and gypsum are among the materials builders use in their construction and infrastructure projects.

The NMA leader, whose association represents many of the 59 mines, 100 wells and 14 geothermal power plants in the state, said simple supply-and-demand economics are at work in keeping the price of gold depressed worldwide.

Meanwhile, "the Asian contagion is affecting us like it is affecting all kinds of other businesses," Fields said.

The end result is that gold mines are scaling back production to avoid heavy losses. It causes a disproportionate dent to Nevada, which, on its own, ranks as the third leading producer of the the mineral worldwide behind South Africa and Australia.

Fields' presentation informed contractors about the mining industry's annual impact on the Nevada employment picture. The 62,700 jobs result in a payroll of $1.81 billion with an average mining salary of nearly $50,000 a year.

In an interview following the presentation, Fields discussed the association's legislative outlook. The NMA plans to keep a close watch on legislation involving workers' compensation, water and "anything that could increase our costs."

The association also is anxiously watching the state's move toward a competitive environment in utilities. Fields said miners want electric restructuring to move forward on schedule because it should result in reduced costs for big power users like mines.

Some legislators have discussed delaying the implementation of competition because of fears that the so-called Y2K computer bug will have a detrimental impact on the process. Critics say the Y2K problem may get the blame for a failure in a competitive arena.

Fields said his group will closely monitor Gov. Kenny Guinn's pledge to avoid implementing any new taxes.

And, the association also plans to review legislation proposed by the Workplace Safety and Community Protection Commission. The commission, formed in the wake of an industrial accident in Northern Nevada last year, is investigating further regulations on the transportation of explosives.

"We use explosives in our work," Fields said. "We're just going to watch to make sure they don't accidentally throw the net over mining in the process."

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