Lets Talk About Fine Gold --'

[PickaxeCA]

I'll add another perspective to this thread.

I just completed a hard rock sluicing setup that is designed to be backpacked into remote locations far from roads or parking locations.

It's designed for ultra low production, and ultra low water requirements (it works with 1 gallon of water in the tub believe it or not). Water is hand-bailed via a 1 gallon milk jug with the bottom cut out, taped to a 4 foot piece of 3/4" PVC pipe. I'll be using a 100 mesh nylon bag to catch organics and keep the water as clean as possible.

It accepts 1/2" or 1/4" clasified material in a dollar store collander that has 2 purposes: 1. Classify material to 12 mesh (or so) and 2. Act like punch plate by diffusing the water and slowing it down.

In a plastic paint tray below the collander, there is plastic vent grill (quasi punch plate) over top of slightly angled V mat. This flows down into the well of the paint tray, which has moss over V matting.

A small slot is cut near the top of the paint tray well, forcing gold to climb up and out (basically a fluid bed). The slot also acts as a controllable sluice gate, providing a reservoir of water for constant flow of water despite intermittent scooping.

Note - the water is nearly still in the paint tray well in between scoops of water. This increases settling time for any gold unlucky enough to find itself in the well of the paint tray. Also, the flow into the well is pushing backwards and down - providing hydraulic force to sink gold down through the moss into the V matting where it burrows away safely.

Below the paint tray, a 12" inch wide and 24" long plastic boot tray with V matting, ribbed carpet, or a combination catches and gold that escapes the paint tray. A short 6 inch section of moss over V matting at the top smooths out the water and knocks down gold.

It's almost like a static rocker box with laminar flow that is smooth and calm.

I'm going to take this setup, along with only 1 gallon of water (in an angled dish tub) up to my hard rock claim to sluice some mine dump material plus some quartz vein material in separate tests. I wouldn't want to put junk water like this through my bilge pumps, hence the hand bailing.

The good news with hard rock is you can pile up your tailings and various size factions wherever you want, they don't get washed away in a creek. You can always re-run, crush, detect or process the tailings again anytime, so from that perspective you don't 'lose' any gold when sluicing hard rock material.

I'm aware that 1 gallon of water is a ludicrously small amount, and viscosity will be a problem. But, I want to test the limits of what's possible in term of sluicing hard rock gold (which will always be faster than panning).

Plus, I don't want to hike in 5+ gallons of water!

[Geowizard]

PickAxe,

Nice! Great idea too. The drive IMHO is toward hard rock mining for all of the obvious reasons. I look forward to more discussion!

- Geowizard

[PickaxeCA]

Edit: I moved my comment here to a separate thread about small scale hard rock prospecting.

[Geowizard]

Pickaxe,

It's up to you. I plan on expanding the breadth of hard rock mining and a separate thread my be a good idea. It keeps the subject of discussion directed to the hard rock audience. The hard rock fines are a different species.

-Geowizard

[chickenminer]

Pickaxe,
Yes, I think you should start a new thread on small scale hard rock mining. It's needed!
Jason has a gob of great videos on You Tube.

[PickaxeCA]

Completely agree, Geowizard and ChickenMiner. I'll start a new thread on small scale hard rock mining.

It's the next level of progression once people have mastered placer (if that's even possible).