Nevada Senator Catherine Cortez Masto hopes to get state legislators to approve a bill that would provide grant funding to mining schools in her state. The Mackay School of Earth Sciences and Engineering at the University of Nevada, Reno is one institution that would qualify for the financing.
She aims to get the Mining Schools Act of 2025 through the House and Senate during this congressional session or the next one in 2026. The bill was first introduced in 2023 and received approval from the Senate last year, but failed to attain assent in the House of Representatives.
“This legislation will provide needed resources to universities in the ‘Silver State’ to prepare young Nevadans for good-paying jobs that support our state’s economy and promote green energy production,” Masto said in a bulletin on her website Wednesday.
Nevada earned that nickname from its influential role in American silver production, but today, the state is more renowned for gold because of the commodity’s high value and economic impact. Kinross Gold Corp (TSE: K) (NYSE: KGC) (ETR: KIN2), Nevada Gold Mines and Calibre Mining Corp (TSE: CXB) (OTCMKTS: CXBMF) (FRA: WCLA) are some of the gold producers capitalizing on Nevada’s “Carlin-style” mineralization.
Mining schools that potentially receive grants will be required to use the funds for specific purposes. These include student recruitment; programs focused on rare earth element mining, processing and extraction from coal; reclamation technologies; developing new recycling systems; and pioneering new exploration techniques for critical minerals.
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Masto has made notable contributions to Nevada’s industry
One of the most significant was her successful efforts to block cumbersome taxes on hard-rock mining in 2021.
She led opposition to a House proposal to impose the royalties, arguing that it would jeopardize local jobs and the state’s rural economy. Through rallying for support in the Senate, Masto ensured that the provision was not included in the Senate’s final version of the bill.
Her accomplishment received praise from the Nevada Mining Association, labour unions involved with mining and rural community leaders in small cities like Winnemucca and Elko.
Last year, Masto and her fellow Nevada Senator Jacky Rosen secured a US$95-million-dollar grant from the Department of Energy for solar infrastructure at Nevada Gold Mines operations. This was a significant environmental achievement for the state’s gold mining industry.
Nevada’s mining sector directly and indirectly employs approximately 41,000 people.
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