Best option for processing paydirt?

[Maitland]

Hi all,

I've been prospecting for about five years now. A typical day of prospecting for me usually consists of bringing with my shovels, buckets, classifier, sluice, and pans down to the creek and digging through the alluvial/bench gravels to see what I can find. I usually find enough to keep me interested and coming back (although between gas and equipment costs over the last five years, I certainly am not anywhere close to the break-even point with the small amount of gold I have found).

Anyway, I'm kind of tired of going to the same usual spots because I know what type of gold is there and how much I can expect to find each time. Where I go is usually state or county right-of-way land and thus cannot be claimed. The reason I go to these spots is because there's never a problem setting up my sluice and quickly/efficiently processing the material I dig. I would like to start venturing out into the woods and testing more areas and basically try some new spots. However, a lot of the areas I've got in mind have no running water nearby, or if there is a creek it's usually claimed. I'm trying to figure out what my best option would be for exploring some new turf.

Would a recirculating sluice at home be my best option? I was thinking it would probably work pretty slick to go out into the woods, classify a bunch of buckets of material, bring them back to my garage to somehow process at home, and after processing bring back the leftovers to where I originally got them. Does anyone have a little operation like that going? I've seen recirculating sluice setups before, read good and bad things about them, but I've never used one before. Just curious for some feedback from you all. This probably sounds like a stupid question to a lot of you, like I said, I've done my fair share of prospecting but I've never ventured far from the fast-running creek.

Thanks!

 

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[goldenIrishman]

Well a recirculating system is my best friend out here in Arizona. Most of the state is bone dry except during the monsoon season and then you don't want to be anywhere near a wash.

The main problem with a recirc system in the field is that unless you've got a nearby source of water to fill it up, you're going to have to haul enough water in with you to be able to use it. Setting it up at home is an option of course but then you're limited to processing what dirt you can bring home. Since I have a bunch of 15 gallon barrels here I can haul water out to the dig site and run for about 2 weeks if I'm so inclined. BUT... I still bring home a bunch of buckets to process here at the house. (Keeps me from mining withdrawals between field trips)

There are a few tricks to setting up a recirc system be it in the field or at home. The first trick is to make sure that you have a lot more pump than you think you'll need. It's always better to have the ability of cutting back on the water with a valve setup than to not have enough water to start with. Get the biggest pump you can lay your hands on! Remember, the wider the sluice box you decide to go with is, the more water you're going to have to put thru it. Length of the box doesn't really matter at all.

The second thing is that you'll need to be able to catch the tailings as they leave the sluice. If you don't, then you stand a good chance of messing up your pump with sand. Since you just got it, that's not a good thing to do. A simple 5 gallon bucket will work pretty well but there's still going to be some of the fine stuff that will wash out of the bucket. As long as the pump isn't sitting right on the bottom that fine stuff isn't going to be much of a problem.

Any plant matter you happened to bring back with you in the dirt will do the same. The "floaties" will eventually get waterlogged and of course they'll head straight to your pump. A simple filter box made from 1/8" hardware cloth and then covered with window screen will keep that crud out of your pump. You have to keep an eye on it though as the box can become covered with the debris and the water can no longer flow into the box. Reach over and scrape the stuff off and toss it away once in a while and you'll be fine. When you make up the filter box, make it with a flap on one side that can hang on the top edge of your water tank. That will keep the pump off the bottom and you won't have to seal the box on the top.

As far as what type of sluice you use, that's a matter of personal choice. Try to go with a style you know to start with. I run a long tom (narrow and long) a Highbanker (short and wide) with a header box with spray bars and a Drop Riffle box. Which one I use when is a matter of what type of materials I'm running at the time. High clay stuff get the highbanker, smaller classified stuff the drop riffle etc.

Depending on how far you've got to carry the materials from the dig site to your ride, you may want to consider making a carry bar/yoke. Mine is a simple 6 foot 2X4 with eyebolts on each end. I attach ropes from the eyebolts to the handles of the buckets and haul 2 full buckets at a time without them banging on my knees or pulling my arms out of my shoulder sockets. An old towel wrapped around the 2X4 gives me some padding across my shoulders. Your other option is to haul 1/2 full buckets and pour them into other buckets until full.

One real advantage to using a recirc system is that you can re-run materials if need be. A stream/river sluice doesn't give you that option. I've re-run materials and have gotten more gold out of them. The ability to re-run materials is also great when you're first learning which setup works best for your system.

I hope this has been of some help. If you have any questions feel free to ask.

 

[Bonaro]

It has been my experience that sooner or later you will build or buy one of everything.

 

[goldenIrishman]

It has been my experience that sooner or later you will build or buy one of everything.

Ahhhhh!!!! Sounds like the old "He who dies with the most toys...WINS!" method of prospecting.

 

[Bonaro]

Ahhhhh!!!! Sounds like the old "He who dies with the most toys...WINS!" method of prospecting.

Yup an I declare myself the hands down winner!

 

[QNCrazy]

The type of material is the biggest factor for me. I have confidence in all my sluices. My go to is the RCM drop riffle but it doesn't work real well with sticky clay material, the A52 works best for that. If water flow is in question, the AM is the sluice of choice. A recirc is a good idea for processing in the field and at home. I have adapted all my sluices to be recircs if necessary. I use a 5 gal. and two 18 gal totes for my recirc. The two tubs are joined by 2" pvc pipe through a bulkead fiting in the side of each tub with a 90 degree elbow turned down in the discharge tub. The 5 gal sits inside the tub at the discharge end. The pump is in the tub at the feed end. I get less plug ups with this system. If i am going to a dry area, I have a 55 gal plastic barrel i haul water in. I like the idea of 15 gal barrels better.

 

[Prospector70]

Or get a bazooka and leave that classifier at home, more shovel, more gold. <3
I hear ya on new spots though, sure would be nice to get a claim with some decent color and water on it.

Best wishes! Show us some pics!

 

[goldog]

Yup an I declare myself the hands down winner!

You're clearly not dead Bonaro

 

[KevinInColorado]

Or get a bazooka and leave that classifier at home, more shovel, more gold. <3
I hear ya on new spots though, sure would be nice to get a claim with some decent color and water on it.

Best wishes! Show us some pics!

P70, use Barry's land matters site to find some claimable land...it's out there!

 

[Maitland]

@goldenIrishman: thank you very much for your response. I'm glad to know I'm kind of on the "right track" because you reiterated some of what I had in mind. One setup I found on Youtube uses a 10" Keene A52 with, I believe, this header box. I own a locally-made sluice and I've never used anything made from a big-name manufacturer like Keene or Jobe, but I think if I do decide to build a recirculating setup I might get an A52 because they seem to be pretty well-liked by quite a few prospectors out there. Thanks for some of the other points you mentioned, also.

@QNCrazy: thanks for your reply, too. We do have some areas of clay and gumbo where I'm at, although in my prospecting ventures so far I haven't had to work in any of those places, thankfully.

@Prospector70: I actually did look into the Bazooka Prospector sluice I believe it's called. It looks like a great and time-saving design, but the areas I am thinking of sampling are either totally dry or there isn't enough hydraulic force to make a Bazooka practical, so that's why I'm looking more at a recirculating system that I can keep setup in my garage or something and transport the dirt back and forth instead (or that's my so-called "plan" at the moment anyway).