Drop Riffle Sluice / Angus MacKirk - capturing fine (flour) gold

[Goodyguy]

I see what you are saying. But there has to be better ways to break stuff up than flat boarding it over deep drop riffles. In my favorite home built drop riffle the first 8" or so are 1/4", 1/8" deep dados spaced 1/4" apart. Imo it pays to have a drop riffle with a couple different shaped riffles. The plastic drop riffles that are just three feet of the same sized riffles never made much sense to me. If my sluice can't catch gold going past in a foot worth of riffles, I want to try different riffles.

Good point!
That's why I have decided on putting a multiple capture zone mat on top of the 24" long slick plate in front of the 18 rows of same size drop riffles on my high banker.

Have you seen this one?........
(keep clicking on image to enlarge)

Mat is 10" X 27"
Hey for $25 bucks I figure it's worth a shot.

GG~

 

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[X4FRNT]

Yeah I have one of those mats, works alright. Still nothing compared to the Vortex Mat (the spirals, not the conveyer belt). That vortex mat catches everything

 

[Goodyguy]

I’m thinking of building a fluid bed sluice to run behind my drop riffle, that way I can still run 1/4” material at a good pace and have the fluid bed capture the fines that are still trapped in the water current. Picked up the materials to make it yesterday at Lowe’s and plan on building it this evening. Worth a try I suppose.

I am a firm believer of adding a fluidbed gold trap to the end of most any sluice!



It will definitely do the job if built right!

Come to think of it, that's really all I need to do to my drop riffle highbanker sluice.
Wish I didn't order that stupid mat now
Thanks for the reminder


GG~

 

[johnedoe]

I'll just stay with my Deep "V" mats.......

 

[ncclaymaker]

All of the matting, mods to the sluice and most people still don't invest in the sluice that is engineered to do the job right out of the box. Sure, I paid way more than most, but I've recouped that cost long ago. It is heavier than most, but, when engineering and math can outdo 200 year old "technology", go for it. THEN go get a Gold Well vortex drop riffle sluice, and leave the herd and "brand" loyalty in the rear view mirror.

I've been using one for years... others kept asking me where is the "miner moss" and the "fly crap catcher" add-on is. If the sluices most are using were marvels of gravity flow and feed, why are these "options" necessary at all. Must be because of the finest engineering available and tons of advertising to build not the best equipment, but the best brand identification and loyalty to be had. Bernie M. was a phenomenal engineer, but a lousey market man. I'm glad that it is being produced in Massachusetts. Look on facebook and order up a real piece of equipment... not a toy.

 

[russau]

I would think that instead of buying more different sluice's , try changing up on how you process your cons in a different manor and write down how the sluice works best on certain types of cons. Cons from different parts of states or different states are made up of different make ups (I.E. different mixtures of sand /gravel/clays ETC.) and therefore act differently in your sluice to some degree. maybe try adding material slower/less water/ more water/ different angle of the sluice / finer classification and so on to see if you can trap the finer gold better. and keep notes on everything for your records ! I never did like spending $$$$ when I don't need to !

 

[X4FRNT]

Well I made my final switch to using the goldrat vortex mat, or the dream mat. It catches everything.

 

[wingmaster]

I live in Indiana and the AM sluice I have has no problem catching the flour gold, I'm not sure you can find smaller pieces than I'm catching. I'm guessing your doing something wrong, the gold here has been ground into dust from the glaciers that brought it here.

 

[N-Lionberger]

I built a sluice end fluid bed trap based on Goodguys design for my highbanker, I found it did capture gold but it wasn't much, the likelyhood of gold fine enough to float over my riffles being able to get through a screen into a positive pressure fluid bed chamber is fairly low. Adding a flare to a wider sluice gets the fines. Why a Letrap works so well is the pinched design, I'm confident any riffle design would work well in a pinched sluice.

 

[Ohiogoldfever]

I’ve had good luck catching fines in my Angus and my Le traps. In My area of Ohio I don’t find any big gold so I’m only running fines. I have thought about adding a secondary capture mat to the bottom of the drops. Something to help keep the heavier stuff locked in once it’s down there. Hell idk, I think half the fun is pricking around in the garage changing up your contraptions with the data gathered from the last bout in the creek.

 

[Lemarquez]

try to go to see this French site. it is an association which holds this website. They made an article on the types of riffles for the Sluices box. Very interesting and quite well documented. try to go to see this French site. https://www.goldlineorpaillage.fr/riffle-rampe-tapis-orpaillage/

 

[RTR]

Magnified...Flour gold so small it floats(a couple hundred specks here), caught on my Miller table and Angus Mackirk Sluice