Newmont Mining is reportedly receiving a massive response to its hiring notice for the Long Canyon Mine.
N full page ads published this week Newmont mining announced about 200 positions for the new mine located 29 miles west of Wendover and 30 miles east of Wells.
Expected to take two years to build the initial project mine construction is expected to employ between 300 and 500 workers.
Three weeks ago Long Canyon Mine project cleared its final hurdle to begin construction with Bureau of Land Management issuing its Record of Decision. The decision allows the mining operator to construct and operate a new heap leach gold mine that would consist of one open pit, one heap leach pad, a waste rock storage facility, a tailings storage facility, a natural gas pipeline from the existing Ruby Pipeline, on-site power generation plant and other ancillary facilities. The associated disturbance would be approximately 1, 707 acres of public land, including 480 acres of split estate lands of federal surface and private subsurface.
According to a Newmont press release the first phase of development consists of an open pit mine and heap leach operation with expected gold production of between 100,000 and 150,000 ounces per year over an eight year mine life at an estimated all-in sustaining cost of between $500 and $600 per ounce. At current gold prices, the project is expected to generate around $100 million in EBITDAii annually, beginning in 2017.
And while Newmont gears up to begin construction other local businesses are bracing for a worker shortage.
It is a question of math for many particularly unskilled workers. The absolute lowest hourly wages in the mining industry are estimated to be over $20 an hour or about three times the minimum wage offered by casinos or other service industry businesses.
Wendover and to a lessor extent Wells could see an increase in the average hourly wage as businesses compete for a much more in demand worker. In addition to increased wages there also might be inflation as the cost of goods and services increase to meet demand.
Those conditions could lead to organized labor taking a second look at organizing the local casino workers. An earlier attempt made over 10 years ago failed by a razor’s thin margin and while several casinos have been picketed by outside construction workers that has really been the extent of private sector union activity in Wendover.