Atlanta

Lincoln County

The Atlanta Mine was first discovered in 1869. It had a long history of production in the late 1800's. This was one of those mines that continued to produce well into the 20th century. It operated off and on for lengthy periods of time, starting in 1870-1871. According to USGS, these periods included: 1870; 1871-1878, 1906-1915, 1934-1938, 1948, 1953-1955 and 1966-1985. The last major run occurred when the Standard Slag Company ventured with Bob Cat Properties to reactive an open pit in 1974. Production began in 1975 and lasted through 1985. I have to interject an interesting personal story. I have a 25-year friend who has been to every little mining camp around. I used to try to stump him with obscure Nevada and California mining sites that I had seen that he hadn't. After my first trip to Atlanta a couple decades ago, I came back and told him that I had been somewhere that I was sure that he hadn't seen. He asked me where it was. I emphatically said, "ATLANTA, NEVADA!". He just laughed and told me that he grew up there... Are you kidding! ... When the mine revived in 1974-1975, he lived in Atlanta with his family during many of his school years. He told me some very cool stories about growing up in a small mining camp in the mountains, 50 miles away from the nearest supplies in Pioche. By the way, I stopped trying to stump him after that! As of 2001, Gold-Chief Resources Inc. was listed as the owner-operator. The USGS states that during the period of operation in the 1970's alone, the mine produced 120,000 ounces of gold. A cyanide plant operated at the mine during the 1970's and 1980's. By 1982, it was capable of processing 570 tons of ore per day. By 1983, the mine still employed 45 people. At the start of the 21st century, gold and silver reserves at this mine were still believed to be very substantial. There have been 21st century plans to revive the mine. I'm not sure if any further operations ever occurred.

Last Trip/ Road Conditions: I've been to Atlanta a few times. My last trip was in 2013. I'm not sure if this event happened in 2013, or on a trip before that. I had my wife and young kids with me. When we drove in, there was a guy in a trailer who was staring at us pretty hard. It appeared that he was living there. I drove over to talk to him. I let him know that we were ghost towners and Nevada history buffs. I figured that this would calm the tension and let him know that we weren't vandals or criminals. It didn't. I got the strong feeling that he didn't want us anywhere near the place. Therefore, I took a few distance photos and left. I also attached a photograph of my friend standing next to a dump truck at the mine in the 1970's. You can get to Atlanta from different routes. I've gone two different ways. The easiest route is by traveling north up Highway 93 from Pioche, or south from Ely. Both of the ways that I've gone included long stretches of dirt road. However, I don't remember running into any major problems or locking in four-wheel drive on my truck. I would bet that the roads can get brutal through here during the winter months. Travel accordingly.