[thackney]

and Nevada the biggest mining state

In 2004 Nevada employed 11,318 in mining. As a employment comparison:

West Virginia - 27,108
Kentucky - 24,300
Virginia - 12,711
Pennsylvania - 20,521
Texas - 20,330
California - 12,840
Arizona - 11,368

2004 STATE MINING STATISTICS
http://www.nma.org/statistics/state_statistics_2004.asp#

[JimSEA]

Empolyment figures today:

Arizona - 11,368

To add just a footnote, the mining industry in the USA has already been drastically reduced by the EPA and other government regulations, cheap foreign competition, fluctuating metals market, labor costs, etc. In Arizona alone, the company I worked for alone, Magma, employed 7,000 in 1982. It is out of business and its mines either closed or with drastically reduced production and employment. All to the delight of the environmentalists.