Silver City, along with Virginia City and Gold Hill, were the three urban centers of the nineteenth century Comstock mining boom. The area prospered after the discovery of silver and gold lode deposits in 1859, and during the “Big Bonanza” of the 1870s. Bonanza times ended in the 1880s, and decades of boom and bust followed, typical of a mining economy. At times in the twentieth century, Silver City resembled a ghost town, only to come back to life—on a modest scale—as the economy dictated. In the second half of the twentieth century, tourism replaced mining as the Comstock’s economic driver, and Silver City became a residential community.
Today, gold prices have reached $1,400 per ounce and silver prices are also at historic highs. This means previously uneconomical deposits can now be mined profitably, and it has stimulated the search for new deposits throughout the Comstock.
In December, 2010, Comstock Mining, Inc. began their current exploratory drilling program within Silver City and adjacent the southern town limits. The drilling has disrupted life in our town, and is clearly intended as preparation for open pit mining in Silver City.
