Gold Sluicing for Beginners
December 14, 2009 by admin
Filed under Gold Sluicing
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Sluice boxes are a fun and productive way for amateur and professional gold prospectors to increase their chances of detecting gold under certain conditions. Gold panning has its uses, but it’s also a very time-consuming process that only rarely pays off. Gold sluicing operates under many of the same principles as panning, but it’s quicker and more efficient. Sluicing equipment is heavier, but it’s still light enough to be carried by hand to those all-important unprospected locations in remote areas.
The operation of a sluice is simple, but it can still be a little bit confusing for beginners. Basically, a gold sluice relies upon the fact that gold is heavier than all of the other minerals around it. There are two main elements: (1) the channel, usually made of metal, that the water will run through, and (2) the specially designed riffle tray at the bottom that separates the gold from the surrounding minerals.
While the water rushing through the sluice moves with sufficient force to prevent common, more lightweight minerals from being caught in the riffles, gold is so heavy that it does not get pushed through at the same rate. Instead, its natural heaviness causes it to resist the current, sink to the bottom of the box, and get trapped by the riffles.
Here’s what you do:
1. Getting ready: Bring your sluice box to any promising stream bank, and look for a place in the stream where the water flows swiftly and where there’s room to securely lay down your sluice box. When you find a good spot, set the box down in the stream so that enough water runs through to fill it. If necessary, stabilize the box with a few big rocks you find lying around.
2. Feed the sluice box: Use buckets or some other type of large container to gather up large amounts of promising gravel. When you have these, begin carefully feeding the gravel through the sluice. Don’t use too much, as you don’t want to jam the riffles with an excess of material, which can lead to lost gold. The ideal technique will have the gravel passing through at an even, balanced rate, without material overflowing the riffles. You may need practice before you get it right.
While feeding the box, you’ll be able to see any valuable materials that gather, as they will stand out against the black rubber matting that lines at the bottom of most sluice boxes. Also, make sure that no large rocks get caught in the mechanism, as they can cause valuables to have nowhere to settle and thus flow out of the sluice box.
3. Look for gold: Then, after you’ve used up all your gravel, it’s time to carefully remove the sluice box and carry it the bank. First, gather up any minerals that have accumulated, and dump them into your bucket. Wash the black mat, and check underneath, as gold has a tendency to work its way through the mat and accumulate below.
Finally, you get to the best part, Using the standard gold panning technique, go through the minerals you’ve gathered, and extract any gold. This will be much easier than panning from scratch, as you’ll be starting with a highly concentrated accumulation of heavy materials. So, it shouldn’t take long to find out if you’ve had any luck with your sluicing.
