NYE county is the 3rd largest in the USA, it is covered in old historical mines and little ghost towns. The county seat is Tonopaugh and was 150 miles from where I lived. One high sheriff to cover all that territory, small offices here and there. I stumbled over this drone footage of an area that appears to have had a lot of small independent claims. Even when nothing is found there are still people interested with exploring and finding gold or silver. It isn't hard to find a rock that contains gold and silver together, the problem is separating the two from the rock and large mines don't waste money which is why they measure very carefully the content and how much work or man hours is involved. Very good quality footage, the music gets a bit old but very interesting scenery.
Have you watched any of the many podcasts on Youtube about people going into these mines? I've been watching a bunch of them lately and it's hard to understand how people can go into some of the places they go into, but its fascinating.
Watched quite a few several years ago. Most of these mines are in almost uninhabited areas so it is hard to find them. I would say there are places in Nevada that humans have never walked. It was over 30 years ago they found an Indian Head Dress in a cave that was dated at 800 years old. You can drive for miles in Nevada and never see another car. I loved Tonopaugh, the town sits on top of the mine that was producing when it first started. I liked it so well I was thinking about opening an auto repair shop but my boss at the time had a lot of experience and he talked me out of it by just saying it would take you forever to just get the parts you needed to repair anything. I think the elevation of Tonopaugh was 6000 foot, they have an Air Force radar station just on the southern entrance to the city and it sits high up on a mesa on the left side of the highway. Area 51 is nearby so it has always been a stubborn little place that wouldn't die. The first casino there is still open and it is underground due to the weather. I wish I had known the last of my family would be living in Las Vegas today or I would have stayed, I was always able to make a nice living and not worry about work. I have good memories and still a couple friends living there.