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Location: Placerites is located approximately 42 miles north of Lovelock, Nevada off of the Seven Troughs road. The Seven Troughs road is in good condition. There is another road that can be used coming out from Rye Patch reservoir but some topo maps do not show the true location of the road. The distance is approximately 29.6 miles from the reservoir but the road is rough and not easy to follow. Some maps show a slightly shorter route from the reservoir but I do not think that it exists. I spent over 2 hours trying to find the more direct route one winter and never found so much as a track to indicate a road was ever there. Note: The emigrant road from the 1800's can still be found easily in the area.
Placerites was located by a small group of men led by Mahogany Jack in the 1870's. It was a placer mining operation located on the slope of Kamma Mountain in northern Nevada. Initially, some $30,000 worth of gold was found here even though little water was available. The ground must have been fairly rich as miners went to the extent of bringing the gravel to Rabbithole Springs, located approximately 7.5 miles away to work there with their rockers in the 1890's. The gravels were worked again in 1928 and 1929. Little gold was apparently recovered during this later period even though a drag-line was used. Small operators have continued to work the area since then.
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Left standing is one building, probably from the 1928 operation. |
| Some of the piles of rock left from placer operations can be seen below the building site. |  |
The source of the gold is unknown according to Placer Gold Deposits of Nevada by Maureen Johnson but the coarseness of the gold indicates that it has not traveled very far from its source. The gold may come from Tertiary gravels and once again, the coarseness would indicate that the mineral comes from the bedrock of the gravels.
References: Nevada Ghost Towns and Mining Camps by Stanley W. Paher and Placer Gold Deposits of Nevada by Maureen Johnson
Try the atlas by Paher, Nevada Ghost Towns and Mining Camps Atlas.
