Blue bowl or gold clean up table?

NC Will

Tenderfoot
Jan 14, 2016
7
0
NC Piedmont
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Just wanting to know some of the methods you guys use to extract the gold, particularly fine/flour gold from your concentrates. I'm looking in to either buying a blue bowl or a gold clean up table but don't know which one to get. I'm just tired of panning out material because my creek contains so much black sand that I second guess my panning efforts and feel as if I'm losing some of the tiny gold. I've also heard that the gold cube works well but is a bit pricey. I'm leaning more towards the blue bowl, though.
 

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Motohed,

Since you asked, here's a 90-second video of working with those concentrates and gold from Colorado. I mentioned earlier that it's...relaxing. Another word for that might be boring. (I don't narrate - the only sound is the trickle of water).

Toward the end I turn the water off and zoom in on the flour gold.
I've learned that after getting the concentrates to this point, you have to spread them back out across the bluebowl and run them again to get more of the lighter sand to pass out of the bowl. You never get rid of 100% of the lighter material in the bowl; you still have to move the final material over to a finishing pan and separate the gold.

Enjoy.

- Brian



 

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That was pretty cool , is this the same as D.A.M bowl ? I was just wondering ? I think , I would run the rest across a Millar table .
 

I think those who have used a rubber mat Miller Table will say its the best for quick clean up of all sizes of gold after the gold have been screened down. Granted this video of mine was peppered with gold but it was just to show how the gold sticks and against the black rubber mat. To catch finer gold you slow the water down and adjust the angle. Great to use on those overnight trips when sitting around in camp having a beer or two... T265.jpg
 

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I think those who have used a rubber mat Miller Table will say its the best for quick clean up of all sizes of gold after the gold have been screened down. Granted this video of mine was peppered with gold but it was just to show how the gold sticks and against the black rubber mat. To catch finer gold you slow the water down and adjust the angle. Great to use on those overnight trips when sitting around in camp having a beer or two... View attachment 1264968


Curious what angles do you run? I am having trouble separating our fine gold from our classified cons. I have been reading as much as I can and trying different methods but am still having trouble. TIA
 

Curious what angles do you run? I am having trouble separating our fine gold from our classified cons. I have been reading as much as I can and trying different methods but am still having trouble. TIA
Rockwerx if I believe it's around 5 degrees, I will have to pull it out from the trailer and check tomorrow. In that video if you look closely even at the flow rate the water was running some very small gold was sticking, but I just did not see it to drag it into the pile at the time.
 

AZ made me a Miller Table that is outstanding at fine gold recovery. If your're interested, here's the link...

http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/gold-prospecting/443477-jeff-s-rubber-mat-miller-table.html

I find as I sweep fines that I can see, flour also shows up in the vial that I didn't see and that says a lot but not all. I've found thru my limited experiences with the Miller Table, a river sluice that I fabricated and a LeTrap high banker sluice...drop isn't as critical as water volume and flow (2-5 degrees is a pretty narrow window anyways, right?) And always eyeball performance after initial set up (prior to testing with dirt and then with dirt) and tweak as needed. If you lose gold while experimenting, it's all contained so learn what works and have fun! :thumbsup:
 

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Rockwerx if I believe it's around 5 degrees, I will have to pull it out from the trailer and check tomorrow. In that video if you look closely even at the flow rate the water was running some very small gold was sticking, but I just did not see it to drag it into the pile at the time.

Thank you AzViper! I have read many of your posts and learned a lot! You have given me lots of ideas on how to construct my own tools. Very inspiring!

I tried running our clean up sluice at a few different angles (1,2 and 3 degrees). It is not quite a Miller table as it has small riffles in it but I believe the principles to be similar. So far all I have been able to do is get the blonde sands and some silts out of our cons. The gold is still in our buckets...just not all grouped together in a vial!
 

AZ made me a Miller Table that is outstanding at fine gold recovery. If your're interested, here's the link...

http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/gold-prospecting/443477-jeff-s-rubber-mat-miller-table.html

I find as I sweep fines that I can see, flour also shows up in the vial that I didn't see and that says a lot but not all. I've found thru my limited experiences with the Miller Table, a river sluice that I fabricated and a LeTrap high banker sluice...drop isn't as critical as water volume and flow (2-5 degrees is a pretty narrow window anyways, right?) And always eyeball performance after initial set up (prior to testing with dirt and then with dirt) and tweak as needed. If you lose gold while experimenting, it's all contained so learn what works and have fun! :thumbsup:

I plan on running a lot of our cons over again because I know now I made a few mistakes. But like you said, it is still in the system so it will be easy to run it again.

I believe we may have to construct our own Miller table. I have seen a couple for sale that may be cheaper than building my own.

I like the concept of the Blue bowl also. Looks very relaxing for the mind...which is one reason we took up this venture. Love the outdoors and exploring new places, so this works perfect for us. Plus it gives me things to do in the winter when I am done my day job. Our hobby really helps me wind down when I start working the gold or cutting a gemstone. Nothing beats cabin fever than doing something constructive!
 

Basically this was my original plan for this Winter. Run all my cons that somehow got over looked over the years. And the Oregon black sand cons that Oregon Vikeing sent me. im chomping on the bit to run these but my recovery from knee replacement is dragging on but improveing every day! the cons OV sent me , I can see lots of small specs of gold (??) in it . Ive got screens down to -400 mesh and plan to use them all! I don't want to run any cons while im on pain meds!!!
 

Basically this was my original plan for this Winter. Run all my cons that somehow got over looked over the years. And the Oregon black sand cons that Oregon Vikeing sent me. im chomping on the bit to run these but my recovery from knee replacement is dragging on but improveing every day! the cons OV sent me , I can see lots of small specs of gold (??) in it . Ive got screens down to -400 mesh and plan to use them all! I don't want to run any cons while im on pain meds!!!

I wish you well with your knee replacement. I know how hard these things can be. Working as hard as your doctor or therapist recommends is usually the best way for a successful recovery. Gotta get that blood pumping and do your stretching or a guy will seize up! I am sure you know this and are doing your best to put it behind you. Maybe you can work in an exercise routine involving your gold cleaning? Get well soon!
 

I still keep thinking about a spiral gold cleaning system , I know there pricey , but they look like good theropy too watch them run . I'm getting sleepy , LOL !
 

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