The Bureau of Land Management, Carson City District is hosting a mobile exhibit highlighting the history surrounding the 1920s United Comstock Merger Mill at American Flat (also known as the American Flat Mill).
Capable of processing 2,000 tons of ore per day, the mill was reputed to be the largest cyanide mill in the world. Its concrete and steel construction was designed to be solid and permanent. Over the years, the concrete structures gave in to decay and the underground voids filled with water posing a serious risk to the public. The BLM contracted demolition of the American Flat Mill for public safety reasons in 2015.
The exhibit includes a diorama of the historic mill along with descriptions, photographs and maps documenting the mill’s history. The exhibit allows the viewer to imagine the scale and scope of the operation and the mining activities conducted at each of the eight mill buildings.
The exhibit can be seen from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the BLM Carson City office, 5665 Morgan Mill Road. A virtual reality tour of the mill buildings as they were prior to demolition is at http://www.allaroundnevada.com/americanflat/.