This is most likely a mining area in Nevada. There are a few shacks in the background, and what appears to be a car in the front right hand side of the photograph.
Square set stope, Mohawk Mine, Goldfield, Nevada, 1907. There is an inscription on the back of the image "Rich Ore is being hand sorted and shipped. The deputy is watching for highgrading." There is date stamp July 1978.
Midway Mine, an underground minerals site in Tonopah, Nevada, is the potential location for silver to be mined. Black smoke rises from the smokestack with the site sitting atop a dirt surface. Written lightly in the center of the photograph reads "Midway Mine, Tonopah Nev." Site Name: Tonopah Midway Mine