Small gold only in V mat of sluice box

[Colorquest]

I have been digging and classifying material down thru. 1/4" and running it thru my folding 50" sluice box with 13" of V matting and Keene green rug/mat, at the East Fork of the San Gabriel river, CA. The gold I find is small flakes/fines and if you don't use the sniffer bottle as soon as you see the gold on the mat it may pull loose and move out the box. Yesterday I was there at the spot I dig at and two other guys that I had met before were working the same hole and I joined in. They each had a sluice box (Jobe) and would slowly hand sprinkle material on the flare and have their sniffer bottle in the other hand and suck up the small specks in the mat as soon as they would see em. I asked them if they ever find the small gold in the sluice box riffles and mat and they said they rarely do and usually pick up their sluice box and leave without a clean out. These guys each had a very nice line of gold in their pans and did the 1st time I met them. The water entry flow into the sluice they use is smooth and slowly moves the material at 1st. The area we were working has deep holes dug into/under the 10 ft. plus of a river bank of sm. med. and large bolder rock layer and is very dangerous and threatens to collapse at any moment but dang that is where the gold is. I keep hoping to find a small nugget in the sluice box riffles/expanded metal or rug/mat. Anyone have a utube link for proper sniffer bottle use? I have trouble using the sniffer squeeze bottle.

 

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[B H Prospector]

My first thought is either those guys are lying to you or they are complete idiots. If you have your sluice set up properly and the proper flow don't worry about the flake that dislodges and flows down the sluice. The ripples will catch it. I will see maybe 15 flakes accumulate on my rubber matt and when I do my cleanup will find two or three times that amount or more when I pan the cons. As for the snuffer bottle it does take a little practice. Start with the bottle 3/4 full of water. Make sure you have some water in you pan and the gold is under water. Put a full squeeze on the bottle and put the nozzle to the gold and release the bottle. Follow the line of gold and it will act like a vacuum. Hope this helps.

Good Luck!

B H Prospector

 

[TerryC]

I agree with B H. If the flow is right and you are catching color in the V rubber, it will be difficult for it to get by the "rug". You will also find that almost all of the color falls out of the flow quickly. Most will not get past the first two riffles. NOTE: the riffles, while water is flowing over, act like vacuums. Put your bucket under the end when you lift the sluice. Any gold near the bottom will nolonger be held in by that vacuum and may slip off the end when the vacuum effect stops. TTC

 

[Aurabbit79er]

I know my A52 is old but it catches all the gold I see it on the black mat.
I have prospected SFSG for many years and the gold is there.
I always double check the sluice set when I know I'm running pay dirt.
I have a turkey baster and I'll suck our the first riffle and pan it to see if I'm on the gold.
If I don't see good color from the first bucket I'll move to a new dig.
I have always been OCB when it comes to mining.
After a day digging I used to rinse my boots and socks into a bucket and pan them.
Never found anything so I stopped that. TMI?