Elko Mining Expo draws thousands

For the past three decades, the Elko Convention & Visitors Authority has played host to the annual Elko Mining Expo. According to officials, it is one of the oldest and most respected industry events of its kind. This year, it attracted close to 8,000 attendees, nationally and internationally, to its mining industry exhibits and technical seminars.

In terms of business, the two-day event is the largest of its kind in Nevada, filling every hotel room in town as well as lodgings as far away as Wendover and Winnemucca.

The early June expo provides opportunities for suppliers to meet both key buyers and end users, who gather in the Convention Center, which spends nearly $300,000 on the event each year. Nearly 400 vendors were represented at this year’s expo. Many displayed their heavy construction and excavation equipment on the center’s grounds.

With displays ranging from huge trucks and cranes to protective gear for workers, this northeastern Nevada community was the place to be this week for mining industry officials, vendors and just the curious.

The two-day event makes Elko a mining boom town, with an economic impact estimated in the $1 million-plus range.