How did news of the comstock lode affect the west?

The Comstock Lode was the first major U.S. deposit of silver ore, discovered under what is now Virginia City, Nevada, on the eastern slope of Mt. Davidson, a peak in the Virginia range. After the discovery was made public in 1859, prospectors rushed to the area and scrambled to stake their claims. Mining camps soon thrived in the vicinity, which became bustling centers of fabulous wealth.

The excavations were carried to depths of more than 3200 feet (1000 m). Between 1859 and 1878, it yielded about $400 million in silver and gold.

It is notable not just for the immense fortunes it generated and the large role those fortunes had in the growth of Nevada and San Francisco, but also for the advances in mining technology that it spurred. The mines declined after 1874.