AMS

Atomic Mining Services, occasionally called just AMS or erroneously named Automated Mining Services, was a pre-War mining company that mainly operated in the Appalachia region. Atomic Mining Services skyrocketed to fame with the use of atomic charges to mine ore, and would later partner with both Hornwright Industrial and Garrahan Mining Company. AMS would also participate in the construction of Watoga with RobCo Industries.

Background
When AMS first came to West Virginia, they were lauded as saviors to the region, bringing a new method of digging even deeper into the old mines. The fact that these methods included detonating atomic charges didn't phase the hardened mining communities, who were used to the kind of risks common in coal country. AMS was attempting to perfect its process of creating ultracite, but after numerous failures with underground detonations - and severe environmental damage around Mount Blair - AMS pulled out, pushing the coal towns into economic free fall. AMS refocused on Watoga and the Cranberry Bog, where it could finally reliably generate ultracite using subterranean nuclear detonations.

Atomic Mining Services concealed it as "alternative drilling operations", becoming the industry leader in mining using atomic bombs. AMS was able to mine more of the rich resources deeper underground than ever before, and more importantly, obtain a supply of the incredibly powerful ultracite ore. By leveraging its supply of the ore, AMS was able to secure an incredibly powerful position in Appalachia, partnering with RobCo Industries and Hornwright Industrial to create Watoga and auto-miners respectively, ushering in an automated future.

Corporate affairs
Naturally, AMS was utterly unscrupulous when it came to cornering the market. Apart from abusing the coal towns economically, when Welch suffered an eruption of ultracite veins from AMS' test site 9, formerly abandoned, AMS goons stepped in to evict the townsfolk and seize the town. The ill-advised move caused an uprising among Welch denizens and touched off a wave of worker riots and regular battles across Appalachia, causing even AMS' pet politicians to question their operations. The National Guard and Strikebreaker robots were more than happy to do let AMS goons do their dirty work and handed jurisdiction over Welch to the company.

AMS cooperated closely with RobCo Industries and Hornwright Industrial. The partnership with RobCo was invaluable when dealing with politicians and helped them deflect attention away from other operations, and focused on the town of Watoga, where the two corporations attempted to create an elite town of the future. The Hornwrights, leading the automation revolution in Appalachia, provided AMS with a never-ending stream of Auto-Miners. Although AMS board members expressed reservations about the lack of investment in a proprietary device, the CEO convinced them by pointing out that Hornwright's experience with drilling applications proved to be the key lynchpin. They were just cheaper and faster to make than AMS could be capable of doing on its own. Another advantage was the history: Penelope Hornwright, Daniel Hornwright's daughter and company's COO, was an AMS intern in the past and it was her insistence that made the deal possible in the first place.

Projects

 * Ultracite: A mysterious, radioactive glass-like ore that had the potential to become the future fuel of the entire United States. AMS held exclusive rights to its excavation and exploitation.
 * Excavator power armor: AMS sold ultracite reactors to Garrahan Mining Company in exchange for a ten year commitment to AMS tech.
 * Watoga: A fully-automated city of the future, developed thanks to a lucrative partnership with RobCo.

Known employees

 * Billy Braxton - Glassed cavern miner
 * Carmen - AMS corporate headquarters employee
 * E. Uttley - AMS corporate headquarters supervisor
 * Grayson - Glassed cavern supervisor
 * Harvey Brock - Research & development fellow
 * Judy - AMS testing site employee
 * K. Nakamura - AMS corporate headquarters employee
 * Kilson - CEO
 * Michael - AMS corporate headquarters financier
 * N. Loper - AMS corporate headquarters scientist
 * Riley Mustafa - AMS corporate headquarters employee
 * Roy Kerwood - Kerwood mine fire boss
 * Sally - Glassed cavern scientist
 * Sam Bailey - Kerwood mine foreman

Appearances
Atomic Mining Services appears only in Fallout 76.

Behind the scenes

 * The automated voice in the lobby of the AMS corporate headquarters erroneously refers to the company as "Automated Mining Services."
 * The use of nuclear warheads to access underground resources was attempted by the Atomic Energy Commission with Project Plowshare from the 1960s to the 70s. The purpose was to loosen earth to gain access to resources deep underground, particularly natural gas. The project was a failure and saw strong public blowback.