Under Trump, hopes for a mining boom in the Nevada desert

TONOPAH, Nev. — A few years ago, while traveling to Las Vegas, Harry Chahal and his wife, like countless drivers before and after, passed through this high desert speck of a town.

Built by the mining industry in the 1900s and depleted as gold, silver, lead and mercury became scarce, Tonopah is a remote station located roughly halfway between Reno and Las Vegas. Signs on either side warn, ominously given the unforgiving expanse ahead, that once you leave, the nearest gas station is not more than 100 miles away.

As he drove through the town, Chahal noticed something was missing: a pizza parlor.

Pizza is not usually associated with Punjab, India, where Chahal (called Harvarinderjit) is originally from. But while working at mini-marts at different gas stations in rural Nevada, he learned how to make pizza and how much customers loved eating pizza.

In this absence, Chahal saw the opportunity.

He and his wife, Ravinder, moved to Tonopah and opened Hometown Pizza in 2015 in a vacant building on U.S. Route 95 through the heart of the city. Ten years later, they purchased the 39-room Dream Inn Motel just up the road.

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Lately, Chahal has been sprucing up the motor hotel: new cabinets, new furniture, new paint every few months. The reason for this is President Trump.

Tonopah and the surrounding desert, stretching beyond what the eye can see, are on the brink of eruption due to vast reserves of lithium, boron and other sought-after materials and the Trump administration’s promise to turn the United States “once again into a mining powerhouse,” in the words of Interior Secretary Doug Burgum.

Chahal, 40, is a repeat Trump voter, and although he has problems with some of the president’s actions (he’s unhappy with the war with Iran and inflation has taken a big bite out of the pizza business), he thinks his faith in Republicans in general and Trump in particular has been rewarded.

Not a registered partisan, Chahal is fairly apolitical. “I’m voting for Republicans because they’re better for business,” he said as a lunchtime crowd of locals and passersby crammed into the $11.99 pizza and salad bar. Here’s proof: Chahal said he’s seen motel occupancy rise significantly in the past year, going from about 15 rooms rented each night to 25 or more rooms.

These new touches to the Dream Inn are an indication of Chahal’s investment in the future and his belief that even better times will come with Trump in office.

Tonopah was built as a mining town around 1900. His chances have increased and mostly decreased.

(Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)

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For much of its existence, Tonopah relied on metals, minerals, and other valuables mined from the earth. Today the biggest employer is the state.

But mining continues to have a firm grip on the town’s imagination.

Part of Tonopah’s logo is the headframe, which is the tower built directly above the underground mine. Mining-related statues line the main street, including statues of Jim and Belle Butler, who claimed the first claim in the silver rush of the 20th century. The high school athletes are called “Muckers” after those who shovel ore into underground wagons.

Tonopah Historic Mining Park is a major tourist attraction, with the Clown Motel and other accommodations allegedly haunted by the ghosts of dead miners and other paranormal events. (Chahal says there are no ghosts in Dream Inn.)

The Clown Motel, which attracts visitors from around the world, is said to be haunted by the ghosts of dead miners.

(Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times)

But lately mining is no longer a part of nostalgic lore. This is again set to be a huge boon to the local economy and the town’s 3,000 residents.

Plans are underway for a new lithium and boron mine at Rhyolite Ridge in Nevada’s Silver Peak Range, about 30 miles southwest of Tonopah. (Lithium, most of which is currently imported, is a vital component in batteries that store solar energy and power electric vehicles; boron is used for bulletproof armor and vests, among other things.)

A new gold mine is set to open in 2028 near the town of Goldfield, about 25 miles south of Tonopah.

Tonopah town manager Joe Westerlund said the new developments and hundreds of new, well-paying jobs are welcome. The median income here is about $37,000 a year, less than half the state average. The hospital in the town closed in 2015. Off US 95, the rolling hills are filled with weathered miners’ cabins and ramshackle homes no longer fit for habitation.

(A three-bedroom, two-bathroom home in a cozy subdivision on the north end of town can be had for about $250,000, but don’t rush to buy; inventory is low and it could weaken further if demand for housing increases.)

Tonopah Historic Mining Park is a major local tourist attraction.

(Mark Z. Barabak / Los Angeles Times)

While some of the groundwork for a mining revival has been laid during the Biden administration, Trump is credited with promoting a much friendlier regulatory environment, promising more opportunities for mining.

“As soon as I took office, things started to loosen up. We had 15 rigs,” said Westerlund, who has lived in Tonopah since 1972. “I’ve never seen this before in my life.”

Of course, there are also environmental concerns such as pollution, water supply, natural habitat, but these concerns have not gained much ground. Nye County, home to Tonopah, isn’t exactly tree country, and that’s not just because most of the land is brush-filled desert. Trump carried Nye County all three times he ran, with landslide support ranging from 68% to 70%.

“This is a pro-Trump town, and I think his policies benefit the town,” Westerlund said.

Chahal is ready to make money because he knows firsthand what good economic times feel like.

Opened in 1908, Mizpah hotel offers the most comfortable accommodation in the city.

(Chris Erskine/Los Angeles Times)

When he moved here in 2014, he and his wife had to stay in a motel for six months because workers completing a $1 billion solar project were taking up most of the living space. This is the kind of long-term guest he’s after, not the tourist beds at the Mizpah Hotel, the most luxurious resort in town with its cut-glass chandeliers, Victorian furniture and photo gallery of celebrities who’ve stayed the night.

“If I can rent 25 rooms overnight, maybe 15 can be done long term, lasting a few weeks,” Chahal said. He did his calculations; queen bed, $82 per night for single occupancy; It’s $89 for a king size — and he likes it penciled.

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Chahal came to the United States in 2006 after marrying Ravinder, who grew up in the Sacramento area. He had family in Punjab and visited India regularly. The two met when they were 10 years old. Chahal became an American citizen in 2020.

Politically, Indian Americans lean heavily towards the Democratic Party. But in the small Nevada communities where the couple lived — Lovelock, Battle Mountain and Ely before Tonopah — there was little or no Native American presence. So Chahal was not party cultured like many others. Rather, he embraced the GOP gospel of lower taxes and fewer regulations.

Chahal, who works seven days a week, doesn’t have much time for politics these days, apart from voting. He is not particularly ideological or a Trump worshiper.

“Every coin has a head and a tail,” he said, twisting his wrist as if he were tossing a quarter into the air. He sees two faces of the president. “Maybe you’re angry about some things,” Chahal said. “Maybe you accept some things.”

He supports the idea of ​​tariffs as a way to bring manufacturing jobs back to the United States. He also complains that pizza boxes made in China once cost him 30 cents and now cost almost 67 cents each.

He supports Trump’s promise to round up and deport violent criminals who are in the country illegally. But he also recognizes the important role immigrants play in sustaining the U.S. economy, especially in fields like farming and construction.

Chahal criticized the harsh practices that resulted in the deaths of two protesters in Minnesota. But he blamed overzealous ICE agents, not Trump, for their deaths.

Living in a town shaped largely by outside forces—swings in commodity prices, changing presidential administrations, changing priorities emanating from Washington—Chahal is familiar with the ups and downs and boom-and-bust business cycles.

Not everything Trump has done has helped the mining industry.

Tariffs and inflation greatly increased construction costs. Cuts to the federal workforce have slowed oversight and approval processes. Its hostility toward green energy has squeezed the electric vehicle market and made solar power less attractive.

But word around town is that Chahal believes a more prosperous future is ahead. He certainly hopes so and trusts the president to make it happen.

Chahal said he would not hesitate to vote for Trump again if the Constitution allows a third term.