Manhattan dredge... power station


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Anyone know about the old "Jumping Jack" claim that was near the Manhattan Dredge power station?

The dredge was built in 1938 and the largest producer of placer in the district. The

dredge operated until about 1947...The dredge used about $8,000/month in power. It was was

disassembled and moved to Copper Canyon in 1948... As I best remember it was sold as

scrap in the 1960's. (I was passing through Copper Canyon and saw it being cut up).

My question... The power station site was to become part of a larger mining operation. The power

station is gone... I have not been back there since the late 1970's....

Has the "jumping jack" claim been gobbled up in the expansion?

If you happen to have access to any edition of Vol 3, "The Nuggetshooterd Bible;"

there are more details on this: (Ref "Caretakers" pgs 149-150; and the Manhattan Area pgs.168-170).

George Ruby (Pg 150) was well known in Nye County as an "old timer" dry washer operator,

George found the "Jumping Jack" placer field to thin to pay by drywashing (in 1949)..As you know,

the first VLF's were just becoming available in the later 1970's. ... thanks js

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Would not surprise me if it was under a pile of tailings now. Since Round Mountain took over much of the Manhatten area I would guess they just did the same as the Round Mountain mine and just cover anything in their quest to move mountains.

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Thank you Steve for replying to my questions. To add more information: The Jumping Jack claim was about 1/2

south of the Manhattan power station. Back in the 1970's the power station was then owned by Sharon anf Jim Pauley.

Jim among other things manufactured stuff within the pretty nice power station building. In a corner of the station

where there may have once been an office Sharion had a pretty nice shop: The "Nellie Gray Rock and Bottle Shop."

Sharon was very active and had a great "eye" and was finding small "spieci" gold specimens on some of the

mine dumps... Back then she was getting about $20/each.

Jim had a lot of old car stuff...I bought some early Model T parts from him as I was then involved in the yearly

Santa Clara 200 mile Speedster event. (I had a 1914 Model T Ford Speedster/racer.) I also raced it at

at a Calistoga dirt track reactment in 1974... .

I know Jim later sold the power station site and Sharon became the postmaster in Manhattan. (I believe Jim is gone;

But I hope Sharon is doing well)... My interest in the current status of either the "Stray Dog" or the Jumping Jack

is now just academic. I have fond memories of Manhattan as it was there I found my first nugget using a Garrett

ground VLF/TR detector that was introduced in the late 1970's. The "nugget" was small with no associated quartz

and it was found on a mine dump.... Thanks js

Both had underground workings and mine dumps. Both were worked by drywashing. But I now guess they are

gone in the expansion....

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Gosh Eldorado... I'm now living too much in the past... I wish you a belated 66th birthday.

To give you a thought, there is now more interest in epithermal precious metal ore deposits

related to vulcanism. Somehow an artticle I wrote for the ICMJ over 10 years ago, back

in Dec 2001; is being found by those who google for epithermal type gold placers.

It is an open secret that with five others others back in October 1991 in Central Nevada we found

a nice paystreak of placer that was associated wiith an epithemal paleoplacee wiithin rhyolite

of Jurassic age.

I wrote another article on epithermal deposits which I sent to Western and Eastern Treasures

in Early February. but have not heard about it. More later... jim

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