Digging into Nevada Governor Sandoval's budget proposal, Mineweb.com reporter Dorothy Kosich found the following language:
"As part of the State of Nevada's reorganization efforts, the Mineral Resources budget account will be merged into the Division of Environmental Protection within the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources to take advantage of the unique skill sets and synergies that exist between the two agencies".
The Nevada Commission on Mineral Resources s is funded entirely by fees on the mining industry, with a biennial budget for 2009-2011 of $18,297,915. For comparison, the joint budgets for the Arizona Geological Survey, AZ Dept. of Mines & Mineral Resources, and State Mine Inspectors office for the past two years was about $5.8 million, or less than one-third what Nevada spent. In 2010, Nevada's mineral production amounted to $7.55 billion compared to Arizona's value of $6.7 billion. [right, NV mines, and oil and geothermal fields. Credit, NV Bur. Mines & Geology]