Priest Electric serves Nevada mining industry - Elko Daily Free Press

If a mine pump goes out, motor breaks down or ventilation fan stops, Priest Electric personnel hits the road for a rescue.

“We’re a 24-7 operation,” said Mike Smith, one of two Priest Electric representatives in Nevada. “A lot of times, people are in a pinch. They have to have production. We jump through hoops of fire.”

To help a mine restart production after an equipment emergency, Smith might drive four hours to a customer’s location, load a bad pump or other piece of equipment onto his gooseneck trailer, and call the Priest Electric shop in Caldwell, Idaho, to arrange a fix.

“We switch trailers,” said Smith, who racks up about 100,000 miles a year.

While serving Nevada-based mines, the trailer exchanges often take place at McDermitt in northern Humboldt County at the Oregon border or at Riddle, Idaho, just over the border from Elko County on Mountain City Highway. Priest Electric crews rush to repair the equipment.

Smith also switches trailers for jobs that aren’t emergencies.

Priest Electric focuses on the pumps, motors, gear boxes and ventilation fans necessary to keep mineral production on track. The Idaho-based company specializes in rebuilding pumps, electric motors and ventilation fans used in underground mines.

For a rebuild, Smith talks with the electrical or mechanical planner or supervisor on a mine site then Priest Electric develops a quote.

“Generally speaking, if we rebuild, there will be a savings for them, and we provide the same warranty as a new one comes with,” Smith said, explaining a rebuild can save up to 50 percent.

Priest Electric also sells new equipment and parts, and can find rare motors for mines.

“On a mine site where there is a mill, they could have up to 2,000 motors — or greater,” Smith said. “We do all the rotation equipment,” explaining that motors Priest Electric services can range from 25 horsepower to 5,000-plus horsepower.

Smith, a former Elko Police Department chief, travels from his Elko home to Nevada mines in his role with Priest Electric. He said he has visited Barrick Nevada and Newmont Mining Corp. operations; Jerritt Canyon Mine north of Elko; Kinross Gold Corp.’s Round Mountain Mine; and Klondex Mines Ltd.’s sites, including Midas and Hollister in northern Elko County, Fire Creek in Lander County and Aurora near Hawthorne. He also goes to Albemarle Corp.’s lithium mine near Tonopah and the Scorpion Mine in Nye County.

The other Priest Electric representative in Nevada, Pat Bicandi, also works out of Elko.

Outside of the mining industry, Priest Electric serves farms in Fernley, Ely and Eureka that use pivots for irrigation. The company also serves Idaho and Oregon.

Because the mining business can be volatile, the company does about half of its business with mines and the other half with food-processing plants and agriculture, said Greg Priest, chief financial officer for Priest Electric.

Family business

Priest Electric began working with Nevada mines in the 1980s.

“We’ve always valued our long-term customers in Nevada. We understand that in processing, time is money,” Priest said.

The family-owned business started in Caldwell, Idaho, in 1955. Owner Earl Priest started the business with his late father, Mel, in 1955. Greg Priest is Earl’s son, and another son, David Priest, is the shop manager. The Caldwell location, where the company has been for 35 years, includes a main repair facility and a warehouse.

“It’s a family-run business started by my grandfather. The family actually came out in the gold rush at Idaho City, so my ancestors are miners,” Greg Priest said. “We’ve grown over the years. It’s been steady growth.”

The company has 25 employees, and Greg Priest said some of the employees have been with the company 40 years. Priest Electric, which recently earned a third-party certification for motor repairs from the Electric Apparatus Service Association also is training young people as mechanics, although Greg Priest said not as many younger people are interested in becoming mechanics.

“There isn’t a motor school to send someone to, so we have to train on the job,” he said. “We’ve got three young guys now we work closely with.”

The company had a shop in Reno in 1990, but Greg Priest said he couldn’t sustain it because of the ups and downs of the mining industry. Priest Electric also has considered a shop in Elko, but he said labor costs and construction costs are too high for the company to keep its competitive pricing at this time.

He said usually there are about two truckloads a week to swap from Nevada to bring equipment to Caldwell for repairs and rebuilding.

“We’re relatively close in out-West terms,” Greg Priest said.