[2] Humboldt County comprises the Winnemucca, NV Micropolitan Statistical Area and serves as an important crossroads in the national transportation network.

Interstate 80 travels through the southeastern corner of the county, meeting US 95 in Winnemucca that serves as a primary freight corridor between Northern Nevada and Boise, Idaho and the Interstate 84 freight corridor that links much of the Pacific Northwest.

The original transcontinental railway, constructed by the Central Pacific Railroad, reached Humboldt County on September 16, 1868.

[3] The Western Pacific Railroad would reach Humboldt County by November 1909,[4] providing two mainline rail links to California and the Eastern United States.

The county contains several areas of land belonging to regionally significant Native American communities including the Fort McDermitt Paiute and Shoshone Tribe and the Winnemucca Indian Colony of Nevada.

Largely a region with ranchers and farmers, the county came under increased attention after the 2017 proposal of the Thacker Pass Lithium Mine.

Unionville was the first county seat in 1861 until the mining boom died there and it was moved to Winnemucca on the transcontinental railroad line in 1873.

The Fort McDermitt Indian Reservation spans the distance of the Nevada–Oregon border, in Humboldt County, Nevada and Malheur County, Oregon,[11] near the Quinn River, which runs east to west through the Tribe's Nevada lands.

The Fort McDermitt Military Reservation was established 14 August 1865 at the former site of Quinn River Camp No.

33 and a stagecoach stop, Quinn River Station, in what was a traditional seasonal homeland of the Paiute, Shoshone and Bannock peoples.

The Bureau of Land Management issued a Record of Decision approving development of the mine in January 2021.

In late January 2023, car giant General Motors announced it would invest $650M in the mine project, giving GM exclusive access to the first phase of production.

[43][44] In February 2023, when the initial $320 million investment was completed, GM became Lithium Americas largest shareholder and offtake partner.

[45][46] At full capacity the mine would produce 66,000 tons annually,[47][41][33] equivalent to 25% of the current (2021) demand for lithium globally, which is expected to triple over the next five years.

Development of the mine is driven by increasing demand for lithium used in electric vehicle batteries and grid storage of intermittently generated electricity from sources such as solar power or wind power.