On the Nevada Dept of Environmental Protection website, Thacker pass is listed on the interactive mining map as an active and operating mine. The layer symbology they have is listed as "operating, active, and active exploration."  It is the same layer symbology that it used for the active gold mine Getchell. Maybe thats how it has been listed and mapped ever since it was approved by the BLM, but it is the first time I have ever looked at the map. This is pure speculation on my part, but it looks like a good sign to me.

Web.gis.ndep.nv.gov