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Groom Mine

Coordinates: 37°20′46″N 115°46′09″W / 37.3462°N 115.7692°W / 37.3462; -115.7692
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Groom Mine
United States Geological Survey map depicting the location of Groom Mine
Location
Lincoln County, Nevada[1]
Coordinates37°20′46″N 115°46′09″W / 37.3462°N 115.7692°W / 37.3462; -115.7692
Production
ProductsSilver[2]
TypeOpen-pit & underground[3]
Greatest depth210 feet (64 m)[4]
History
Opened1866 (1866)[5]
Active1872[6]–1954[7]
Closed2015 (2015)[8]
Owner
CompanyUnited States Government[8]
Year of acquisition2015[8]

Groom Mine, located in Lincoln County, Nevada, first opened in the 1870s.[7] Most mining in the area, mostly of silver chloride ores, had finished by 1874.[6] Groom Mine continued to operate, finally ceasing operations in 1954.[7] By 1956, official recordings of products of the Groom Mining District, which includes Groom Mine, shows that lead was the bulk of minerals harvested, which also included 145,000 troy ounces (4,500 kg) of silver and about 45 troy ounces (1.4 kg) of gold.[9] During World War II, Groom Mine became surrounded by military activity, which continued into the 21st century.[10] In the 1950s, the mine was exposed to fallout from nuclear testing that was being carried out at the Nevada Test Site.[10] During the late 20th century, military activities, including the destruction of a mill and the restriction of access to the mine, continued to affect work there.[11] The United States Government seized the mine under eminent domain from its previous owners in 2015.[8] Just compensation was set at $1.204 million by the United States District Court, District of Nevada (Las Vegas), Judge Miranda Du presiding.

Background

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The rocks in the range date back to the Paleozoic era; the site is also covered by Tertiary rocks on its east and north sides.[12] Prior to European exploration, the region was inhabited by Southern Paiute Native Americans.[13] Following the discovery of minerals in the Comstock Lode in 1859, prospecting of other areas in Nevada began.[14][15] Mining in the area began in the late 1860s, after minerals were discovered in the Groom Range in 1864.[6] A mining district to organize claims, called Groom District, was formed in 1869.[14] In 1871, the area was documented in the Wheeler Survey.[13]

History

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Mining

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Human habitation at the Groom Mine site may have begun as early as 1866.[5] A patent for the Groom Mine was issued in 1872 and in 1885, the Sheahan family acquired the property.[6][16] The mine was three days' travel from Indian Springs and 5,250 feet (1,600 m) above sea level, making it very isolated.[13] According to Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology in 1998, the property claim, which is commonly referred to as Groom, is officially named "Conception".[17]

In addition to the Conception claim, other claims in Groom District were made and held by the Sheahan family.[13] From 1915 until 1917, the mine was leased to Tom McCormick, who worked the mine.[13] In September 1917, a miner from Austria-Hungary who was employed by Groom Mining Company died at the mine.[18] In the mid-to-late 1910s the mine produced silver worth about $250,000.[19] The shipping of mined products became difficult with the closing of the Las Vegas and Tonopah Railroad at the end of that decade,[20] which caused the mine to become temporarily idle.[21] By 1922, the mine had two shafts, the longest being 200 feet (61 m) deep.[22]

a dirt road leading off towards the horizon
Groom Road, built by the Sheahan family and Lincoln County

In 1942, construction of a mill that used a gravity and flotation method began;[13] a source later referred to this mill as a concentration mill.[11] By 1951, four people were living at the mine and the concentration mill had been completed.[11] Ore from Groom Mine, from which lead and silver were extracted, was found to contain cerussite and galena.[1] Beginning in 1950, roads approaching the mine from the west were closed due to military activities, leading to the Sheahan family and Lincoln County to build a road from the east;[10] this is referred to as Groom Road in a 1986 report.[23] During the 1950s, mining operations paused due to nearby nuclear tests.[24] In 1954, production from the mine ended due to the destruction of a mill at the mine.[25]

Until 1956, the mine product totaled almost a million dollars in several minerals, including copper, silver, and gold;[6] In 1977, the United States Bureau of Mines valued the output of Groom mine products at $3.75 million[4] ($18.9 million in 2023). It was the most productive mine in the Groom Mining District[6] and had been worked on by three generations of the Sheahan family.[13] Based on panning samples near Groom Mine, the area may also contain deposits of antimony, barium, lead, mercury, and zinc.[26] By 1959, the Sheahan family moved away from the mine but visited their property regularly.[10] In 1984, the Sheahan family, who still owned the Groom Mine, also had the legal rights to most of the other 22 patented mining claims nearby.[27] According to the Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology, it was estimated in 1963 that there is 30,000 tonnes (30,000,000 kg) of material that can be mined at Groom Mine.[28] A 1990 Bureau of Land Management report stated that due to restricted access to the mine, it would lead to "potential loss of income through inability to expand or further develop the claims".[29] Until late 2015, the Sheahan family periodically blasted for minerals at the mine;[7] by this time the family had owned the mine for 130 years.[30]

Military interaction

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In 1941, Groom Mine was visited by individuals who stayed at the mine with the Sheahan family while surveying the area for a gunnery and bombing range to be used during World War II.[10] The outhouse and bunkhouse at the mine were accidentally strafed during the war by aircraft using the Las Vegas Bombing and Gunnery Range.[13] Beginning in the 1950s, Groom Mine began to be impacted by nuclear tests at the Nevada Test Site;[10] Groom Mine was 38 miles (61 km) away.[31] In 1951, the Atomic Energy Commission informed the Sheahan family of the planned detonations and set up instrumentation at the mine.[24][32] The instrumentation was monitored by an employee of the United States Public Health Service, who lived at the mine along with the Sheahan family.[33] The first mention of a nuclear tests impacting operations at Groom Mine was the Operation Tumbler–Snapper Easy Test, which led to the mine being evacuated due to its proximity to the detonation.[34] Following the detonation, measurements of radiation at the mine reached 0.19 roentgen per hour.[35] It caused some structural damage, breaking the front door of the Sheahan's home.[24] Further away, fallout impacted nearby Tempiute.[34] Returning to the mine had to be done using a different route; the normal route was too radioactive to travel on.[36] The following Fox test in late May 1952 led to fallout falling on the mine;[34] the highest-recorded radiation was 0.32 roentgen per hour.[37] It was, however, the view of the Atomic Energy Commission that the nuclear detonations "had not subjected Groom Mine personnel to any real danger from fallout".[38]

By May 1952, most of the Sheahan family had evacuated the mine and moved to Las Vegas.[24] In July 1952, Martha, a member of the family who had been exposed to fallout, was diagnosed with cancer.[13] Following Operation Upshot–Knothole, the Sheahan family attempted to sell their claim to the Atomic Energy Commission but it refused, fearing it would set a precedent; instead the family received $1,100 for losses and damages resulting from the Operation Tumbler-Snapper tests.[39] Following the adverse environmental impact observed by the two remaining family members at the mine caused by Upshot-Knothole Harry, the Atomic Energy Commission said the blasts were designed to produce winds from the testing area towards Groom rather than towards Las Vegas.[24]

During 1953, the property was strafed and during the summer a bomb destroyed the mine's mill;[40] no specific claim was made by the Sheahan family against the United States Air Force (USAF) for the event.[41] In 1954, the mining buildings were strafed by aircraft using Nellis Air Force Gunnery and Bombing Range.[24] In 1956, the Sheahan family and others filed lawsuits against the Atomic Energy Commission because of damage caused by nuclear testing.[42] In 1959, the lawsuit was withdrawn when the Sheahan family ran out of funds to continue legal action.[43] The property on which the mine is located has a view of an airfield known as Area 51.[8][10] In the 1970s and 1980s, armed personnel arrived when the Sheahan family came onto their property, sometimes locking them into their own buildings.[10]

A map with an overlay of restricted areas.
Groom Mine is depicted on a chart of the Nevada Test and Training Range made in 2008.

In 1984, the USAF seized lands around Groom Mine,[27] restricting access to the mine for the Sheahan family.[40][44] Some of the Sheahan family were issued with security clearances after 1984.[24] In 1986, the 1953 mill-destruction event was entered into the record of a subcommittee of the United States House Committee on Natural Resources.[45] In 1987, the position of the United States Air Force was, "we don't want to go in and tell them to get the hell out".[46] In 1989, although it was within the Nevada Test and Training Range, the United States Air Force allowed claimants access to their claims within the Groom Mining District, including Groom Mine.[47]

Government ownership

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Beginning in late 2014, the United States Department of Defense attempted to purchase the property from the Sheahan family, originally offering $1.5 million.[7] By August 2015, the USAF had raised the offer to $5.2 million; the family continued rejecting the offers.[10][48] In August 2015, a government press release described the mine as a "safety and security risk", even though the Sheahan family had not disclosed any activities of the Groom Lake facility.[49] In September 2015, the commander of the Nevada Test and Training Range stated that the existence of the mine within the range led to "tremendous expense" due to "canceling missions when they came out";[43] secret operations at the base could not proceed when civilians were present on the Sheahan's property within easy view of the installation. On 16 September 2015, the property was condemned under eminent domain and given to the United States Government by a court order signed by federal Judge Miranda Du.[8]

It was not determined at the time of transfer of ownership how much the Sheahan family would receive in just compensation for the government acquisition of Groom Mine; the USAF in 2015 estimated the land to be worth $1.2 million.[50] In November 2015, the Sheahan family suggested the mine be protected as a national historic site;[51] this coincides with a suggestion in a 1980s USAF report that recommended nominating Groom Mining District to be listed on the National Register of Historic Places.[13] By 2016, the USAF only valued Groom Mine at under a third of a million dollars;[52] the Sheahan family's legal counsel valued the property as being worth over $100 million.[53] In 2017, the family claimed they were forced to leave millions of dollars worth of property at Groom Mine following the seizure;[54] part of the property which was abandoned includes an antique anvil that was missing when personal property was reviewed in November 2015.[55] In August 2019, it was reported that the family was hoping to have a jury trial to determine the value of the property.[56] The trial was ultimately conducted in front of a three-member Land Commission. Prior to trial, the landowners accepted the Government's valuation of the mineral interests at $104,000 and went to trial only to contest the value of the surface rights.[57] The landowner's experts valued those rights at $50 million based on the property being developed into a commercial tourism enterprise offering views of Area 51. The Government's experts valued it at $254,000 based on continued use as a rural recreation retreat. [58] On May 29, 2020 the Land Commission ruled that just compensation for the taking of the surface rights is $1,100,000 based on the property's continued use for rural recreation, with a premium over the Government's valuation to account for its view of Area 51 and its historic use as a family owned mining operation.[59]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Stephen B. Castor; Gregory C. Ferdock (2004). Minerals of Nevada. University of Nevada Press. p. 139. ISBN 978-0-87417-540-0.
  2. ^ Carpenter, Jay A. (1904). "The Mineral Resources of Southern Nevada". Bulletin of Nevada State Bureau of Mines. Geology and Mining Series, Issues 1-16. University of Nevada: 161. OCLC 1432631.
  3. ^ Donald Zona (October 1985). Draft Environmental Impact Statement Groom Mountain Range (PDF) (Report). United States Air Force. pp. 3–24. Archived (PDF) from the original on 18 February 2017. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
  4. ^ a b John R. Norberg (12 August 1977). Mineral Resources in the Vicinity of the Nellis Air Force Base and the Nellis Bombing and Gunnery Range, Clark, Lincoln, and Nye Counties, Nevada (PDF) (Report). United States Department of the Interior. Archived (PDF) from the original on 14 March 2018. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
  5. ^ a b Pippen, Lonnie C.; Reno, Ronald L.; Durand, Stephen R. (August 1986). Archaeological Reconnaissance: An Archaeological Reconnaissance of the Groom Range Lincoln County, Nevada (Report). Desert Research Institute. p. 62. Retrieved 9 February 2019. A crude smelter may have been on the Groom Mine property in 1866 (Averett 1963:49).
  6. ^ a b c d e f Resource Specialists and Management Staff within the Caliente Resource Area; 554th Range Group Staff, Nellis Air Force Base; Nevada State offices, Bureau of Land Management (24 May 1989). Draft: Nellis Air Force Range Resource Plan and Environmental Impact STatement (Report). Bureau of Land Management, Las Vegas District. p. 162. OCLC 1042984858.{{cite report}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  7. ^ a b c d e Craft, Andrew (13 December 2016). "Family fights government in land dispute near Area 51". Fox News. New York City. Archived from the original on 14 March 2018. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
  8. ^ a b c d e f Meek, Glen (16 September 2015). "Government takes family's land near Area 51". KLAS-TV. Las Vegas. Archived from the original on 10 March 2018. Retrieved 10 March 2018.
  9. ^ OF1998-01: Mineral and energy resource assessment of the Nellis Air Force Range. NV Bureau of Mines & Geology. 1998. p. 136. GGKEY:0JR4J3LY7P1.
  10. ^ a b c d e f g h i Rogoway, Tyler (9 November 2015). "The Unlikely Struggle Of The Family Whose Neighbor Is Area 51". Foxtrot Alpha. Jalopnik. Archived from the original on 15 March 2018. Retrieved 8 March 2018.
  11. ^ a b c Rebecca Solnit (6 June 2014). Savage Dreams: A Journey into the Hidden Wars of the American West. University of California Press. p. 34. ISBN 978-0-520-95792-3.
  12. ^ Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology; J. V. Tingley (1984). OF1984-01: A Mineral Inventory of the Caliente Resource Area, Caliente District, Lincoln County, Nevada. NV Bureau of Mines & Geology. p. 28. OCLC 32899352. GGKEY:7TSA0GECEY0.
  13. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Paine, Gary (Spring 1996). "A Mine, the Military, and a Dry Lake: National Security and the Groom District, Lincoln County, Nevada" (PDF). Nevada Historical Society Quarterly. 39 (1): 20–42. ISSN 0047-9462. Archived (PDF) from the original on 30 December 2016. Retrieved 14 March 2018.
  14. ^ a b OF1998-01: Mineral and energy resource assessment of the Nellis Air Force Range. NV Bureau of Mines & Geology. 1998. p. 7. GGKEY:0JR4J3LY7P1.
  15. ^ Joseph V. Tingley (2005). SP019: Geologic and Natural History Tours in the Reno Area. NV Bureau of Mines & Geology. p. 54. ISBN 978-1-888035-09-4.
    Hickson, Howard (2003). "What Happened to Manny?". Howard Hickson's Histories. Great Basin College. Retrieved 9 February 2019.
  16. ^ Jack G. Quade (1986). OF1986-09: Mineral Inventory and Geochemical Survey, Groom Mountain Range, Lincoln County, Nevada. NV Bureau of Mines & Geology. pp. 8–. OCLC 32899397. GGKEY:XT9W6WCT82L.
  17. ^ OF1998-01: Mineral and energy resource assessment of the Nellis Air Force Range. NV Bureau of Mines & Geology. 1998. p. 154. GGKEY:0JR4J3LY7P1.
  18. ^ Nevada. Legislature (1919). Appendix to Journals of Senate and Assembly ... of the Legislature. pp. 35–36.
  19. ^ Geology and Mining Series. University of Nevada. 1904. p. 121.
  20. ^ Intermountain Industry and Engineering: Official Publication: Utah Motor Transport Ass'n. The Association. 1920. p. 39.
  21. ^ Intermountain Industry and Engineering: Official Publication: Utah Motor Transport Ass'n. The Association. 1920. p. 34.
  22. ^ The Mines Handbook: An Enlargement of the Copper Hand Book; a Manual of the Mining Industry of North America. Stevens Copper Handbook Company. 1922. p. 1219.
  23. ^ Jack G. Quade (1986). OF1986-09: Mineral Inventory and Geochemical Survey, Groom Mountain Range, Lincoln County, Nevada. NV Bureau of Mines & Geology. p. 2. OCLC 32899397. GGKEY:XT9W6WCT82L.
  24. ^ a b c d e f g Phil Patton (31 October 2012). Dreamland: Travels Inside the Secret World of Roswell and Area 51. Random House Publishing Group. pp. 93–97. ISBN 978-0-307-82860-6.
  25. ^ O'Neill, Marine (17 September 2015). "US air force threatens to destroy property next door to Area 51 after owners refuse to sell". News Corp Australia. Archived from the original on 14 March 2018. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
  26. ^ Resource Specialists and Management Staff within the Caliente Resource Area; 554th Range Group Staff, Nellis Air Force Base; Nevada State offices, Bureau of Land Management (24 May 1989). Draft: Nellis Air Force Range Resource Plan and Environmental Impact STatement (Report). Bureau of Land Management, Las Vegas District. p. 165. OCLC 1042984858.{{cite report}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  27. ^ a b Chrystal, Chris (6 August 1984). "Air Force: 'We had no legal authority'". United Press International. Archived from the original on 14 March 2018. Retrieved 8 March 2018.
  28. ^ Munteen, John L.; Davis, David A.; Ayling, Bridget (2017). The Nevada Mineral Industry 2016 (PDF) (Report). University of Nevada, Reno. OCLC 1061602920. Retrieved 9 February 2019.
  29. ^ Spang, Edward F. (1990). Caliente Resource Area, Nellis Air Force Range Resource Plan: Environmental Impact Statement. Bureau of Land Management. pp. H–8.
  30. ^ Huff, Steve (12 September 2015). "True American Takes Stand Against Mysterious Area 51 Expansion". Maxim. New York City: Biglari Holdings. Archived from the original on 15 March 2018. Retrieved 15 March 2018.
  31. ^ A. Costandina Titus (2001). Bombs in the Backyard: Atomic Testing and American Politics. University of Nevada Press. p. 56. ISBN 978-0-87417-370-3.
  32. ^ Susan Wright (15 August 1998). UFO Headquarters: Investigations On Current Extraterrestrial Activity In Area 51. St. Martin's Press. p. 7. ISBN 978-0-312-20781-6.
  33. ^ Sarah Alisabeth Fox (November 2014). Downwind: A People's History of the Nuclear West. U of Nebraska Press. pp. 59–60. ISBN 978-0-8032-5537-1.
  34. ^ a b c Leisl Carr Childers (9 October 2015). The Size of the Risk: Histories of Multiple Use in the Great Basin. University of Oklahoma Press. pp. 79–80. ISBN 978-0-8061-5253-0.
  35. ^ Barton C. Hacker (1 January 1994). Elements of Controversy: The Atomic Energy Commission and Radiation Safety in Nuclear Weapons Testing, 1947-1974. University of California Press. p. 80. ISBN 978-0-520-08323-3.
  36. ^ Philip L. Fradkin (March 2004). Fallout: An American Nuclear Tragedy. Big Earth Publishing. p. 101. ISBN 978-1-55566-331-5.
  37. ^ Ponton, Jean; Maag, Carl (16 June 1982). Shots Easy, Fox, Grace and How: The Final Tests of the Tumbler-Snapper Series 7 May - 5 June 1952 (PDF) (Report). Defense Nuclear Agency. p. 78. DNA 6021F. Retrieved 6 February 2019.
  38. ^ Leisl Carr Childers (9 October 2015). The Size of the Risk: Histories of Multiple Use in the Great Basin. University of Oklahoma Press. p. 93. ISBN 978-0-8061-5253-0.
  39. ^ Leisl Carr Childers (9 October 2015). The Size of the Risk: Histories of Multiple Use in the Great Basin. University of Oklahoma Press. p. 246. ISBN 978-0-8061-5253-0.
  40. ^ a b Rebecca Solnit (6 June 2014). Savage Dreams: A Journey into the Hidden Wars of the American West. University of California Press. p. 35. ISBN 978-0-520-95792-3.
  41. ^ Groom Mountain Range, Lincoln County, Renewed Withdrawal from Nellis Air Force Range: Environmental Impact Statement. 1986. pp. 3–13.
  42. ^ Leisl Carr Childers (9 October 2015). The Size of the Risk: Histories of Multiple Use in the Great Basin. University of Oklahoma Press. pp. 100–101. ISBN 978-0-8061-5253-0.
  43. ^ a b Kravarik, Jason; Simon, Dan (12 September 2015). "A battle is on for Area 51 in Nevada, but not the kind you might think". CNN. Atlanta. Archived from the original on 14 March 2018. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
  44. ^ Phil Patton (31 October 2012). Dreamland: Travels Inside the Secret World of Roswell and Area 51. Random House Publishing Group. p. 76. ISBN 978-0-307-82860-6.
  45. ^ United States. Congress. House. Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs. Subcommittee on Public Lands and National Parks (1986). Additions to the National Wilderness Preservation System: Hearings Before the Subcommittee on Public Lands of the Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs, House of Representatives, Ninety-ninth Congress, First Session. U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 215.
  46. ^ Rothberg, Daniel (10 September 2015). "Deadline expires for private land near Area 51". Las Vegas Sun. Archived from the original on 14 March 2018. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
  47. ^ Resource Specialists and Management Staff within the Caliente Resource Area; 554th Range Group Staff, Nellis Air Force Base; Nevada State offices, Bureau of Land Management (24 May 1989). Draft: Nellis Air Force Range Resource Plan and Environmental Impact STatement (Report). Bureau of Land Management, Las Vegas District. p. 166. OCLC 1042984858.{{cite report}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  48. ^ Rogers, Keith (31 August 2015). "Family rejects Air Force's $5.2 million bid for land near Area 51". Las Vegas Review Journal. Retrieved 10 March 2018.
  49. ^ Ritter, Ken (7 September 2015). "Air Force wants owners to give up Nevada bombing range site". Air Force Times. Vienna, Virginia. The Associated Press. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
  50. ^ United States of America v. 400 Acres of Land, more or less, situate in Lincoln County, State of Nevada, Case 2:15-cv-01743-MMD-NJK, Document 1-8 (Nevada District Court September 10, 2015) ("Schedule G Estimate of Just Compensation: The estimated just compensation for the interests being taken is $1,200,000.").
  51. ^ Meek, Glen (10 November 2015). "Family seeks appraisal of Groom Lake property near Area 51". KLAS-TV. Las Vegas. Archived from the original on 14 March 2018. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
  52. ^ Rogers, Keith (2 May 2017). "Family accuses Air Force of lowball price estimate on land it seized near Area 51". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Archived from the original on 14 March 2018. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
  53. ^ Rogoway, Tyler (6 December 2016). "Family Says Land Overlooking Area 51 Is Worth $116M—USAF Says $330k". The War Zone. Time Inc. Archived from the original on 14 March 2018. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
  54. ^ Rogers, Keith (2 May 2017). "Family fighting land seizure accuses US of 'bullying tactics'". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Archived from the original on 14 March 2018. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
  55. ^ Rogoway, Tyler (10 May 2017). "Family Demands To Know How A 200-Pound Antique Anvil Disappeared From Area 51". The Warzone. Time Inc. Archived from the original on 14 March 2018. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
  56. ^ Wade, Carla (22 August 2019). "Family who owned Area 51 land sees planned events as proof in claim against the government". Las Vegas: KTNV-TV. Retrieved 22 January 2020.
  57. ^ United States District Court District of Nevada (Las Vegas) CIVIL DOCKET FOR CASE #: 2:15-cv-01743-MMD-NJK, STIPULATION Regarding Valuation and Trial Presentation of the Mineral Interest.
  58. ^ "Document 656: COMMISSION'S FINDINGS OF FACTS AND CONCLUSIONS OF LAW". District of Nevada - Document Filing System. Retrieved 1 June 2020.
  59. ^ "Document 656: COMMISSION'S FINDINGS OF FACTS AND CONCLUSIONS OF LAW". District of Nevada - Document Filing System. Retrieved 1 June 2020.

Further reading

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