This is classified...

[matt_unique]

I've decided with the few times a year I can get on the river to sluice I will continue to use what I already have in terms of the Keene A52.

I welcome ideas on how to make classification a bit easier between shovel and adding material to my sluice. Perhaps a bucket with a grizzley on top and a 12v water pump to clean it through?

I also welcome ideas for making my concentrate cleanup easier. Separating the red and black sand from the gold takes me a long time in a pan. I've read all I can find in on the Blue Bowl and Miller Table variations. I also came across an Alluvial cleanup sluice from prospectorschoice.com but I'm not sure if this really separates gold from the black sand.

Thanks again for the ideas!

 

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[Sick4gold]

Mike Should put me on the payroll..
GOLD CUBE

 

[jamey]

stop looking for the small stuff,go big.i have herd you can just float down some rivers with a bucket with a glass bottom and get some big pickers.just kidding,i hate work though.

 

[yotaboy86]

I just bought a black magic clean up table and has been doing a great job recovering my fine gold that i have missed panning

 

[DizzyDigger]

Matt, classifying has always been an issue for me, as well. I've
made quite a few classifiers in an effort to reduce the amount
of labor needed, and ultimately came up with the easiest one
I've used.

Took an old server door that was basically made of 3/16" punch plate,
cut it in half (thanks Ducky!) and then attached the two halves side
by side. That fits right over the top of a 38 gal. tub, and I use a
1100 gph. 12v pump and 6' hose to provide the needed water.

See the video in post #82: http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/prospectors-journals/413578-dizzy-s-diggin-thread-2014-a-6.html

This design worked well too, but it takes a bit of shaking to classify:

http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/gold-prospecting/404814-building-oversized-classifer.html

 

[Hoser John]

Classification dry is always the best bet whenever possible. Simple 5 gallon bucket with a classifier on top and good to go ez/simple/fast. Never lug scrap over sized when ya don't have to. I classify for sluice/pan down to 1/4" and run. I run it all then run oversize seperate for that monster lunker that's hiding from you-John

 

[goldog]

It depends. I agree top of a bucket type is good. Wet or dry depends on how wet the material is to start with. If its dry keep it dry. Just be sure to break it up well. Damp material may need to be washed.

For sluicing I use 1/2" expanded metal right into the sluice because the pay-dirt is pretty sticky.

 

[matt_unique]

Thanks for the replies.
I decided to rig up a 500 GPH Rule pump wired with a switch to shovel into a circular classifier mounted on a bucket. I also purchased a 31 X 8" Miller Table from Usa_Prospector (Ebay handle) which will use the same 500GPH 12v pump in the field to clean concentrates. I will let you know how this works out.

 

[ChrisinCO]

All this classifying talk had my brain running and kept me up until almost 1am this morning. Here are my thoughts on the subject. I have an A.M. Alaskan flair sluice and am now thinking of building a frame out of 3/4-1" angle aluminum, bolt it together, line the frame with 1/4-3/8" hardware cloth and hinge it at the front of the flair for dumping the big stuff in front of the sluice. It would angle up from the front of the sluice to the end of the flair over about 9" with a rise of 2.5". Any thoughts?

 

[matt_unique]

I got the Miller Table from Usa_Prospector but unfortunately it did not work. The shipped plumbing valves were not correct and with water running, valve wide open, and table set to lowest possible angle it channeled on either side of the box rather than providing an even flow across the entire box. The owner (Will) decided it was a defective head unit and offered a full refund including my return shipping. I'm disappointed I will not have a Miller table for this weekend but the seller had excellent communication and did all he could in offering a full refund.

Today I purchased the Black Magic Miller table. I will save my concentrate and run it through this unit when I receive it. I will be chomping at the bit to see what I got in the concentrates!

 

[socalocmatt]

Why not add a 1/8" punch plate about a 1/2" over the top of the riffles? Have the punch plate cover the first 3/4 of sluice and I drilled out the last several inches to 1/4" opening. Shovel directly on top of the punch plate. I did this (not with a a52, I use hog mats) with two different sluices and it works very well for me. No need to carry around a pump and battery. A nugget larger than 1/4" won't be knocked out of the last 1/4 of the sluice and you will see it pretty easy.

Personally, I use a blue bowl for anything under 20 mesh. But that's what I'm now use to and the price was alright. In the end its about learning your equipment and what works best for you.

 

[Prospector70]

Man I loathe classifying...
If ya gotta ya gotta I guess.

Perhaps a Trommel would work for you? Maybe one of those portable pvc ones.

Good luck!

 

[Prospector70]

 

[matt_unique]

Cool looking hand trommel!

I managed to dig 7 buckets of material (about 2/3 full) and after the 1/8 classifier, running through the sluice, and then doing a final classify through a 20 mesh I have about 1/8 of a bucket of super concentrates. Where I was digging was not where I could setup a sluice; I had to lug the material across the river and up a bit to where I had the water flow for my sluice. A long day but I found 6 colors through 2-3 buckets the last time and no one had dug there since my last visit.

I will be running this material through a Black Magic Miller Table when it arrives this week. I am of course curious to see what I got!

Question - for those who classify, what do you do with your 20 mesh material? I panned through it to see if I could find any obvious nuggets or larger pieces. Through panning I would normally get rid of most of this material before a gentle fan or wave to see if any color emerges from the black sand. I found it more challenging to sort without the benefit of black sand.

Thanks

 

[Oregon Viking]

Mike's Hand Trommel

 

[socalocmatt]

Question - for those who classify, what do you do with your 20 mesh material? I panned through it to see if I could find any obvious nuggets or larger pieces. Through panning I would normally get rid of most of this material before a gentle fan or wave to see if any color emerges from the black sand. I found it more challenging to sort without the benefit of black sand.

Thanks

20 mesh gets panned out. Then saved up and later crushed and reprocessed.

Also, if you like going to that area and dont want to haul a 5 gallon bucket over land, then make a sled out of a 55 plastic gal drum. Cut it lengthwise and attache some rope to pull it. You can move more than 5 gal at a time and saved you from carrying the dirt.

 

[arizau]

Question - for those who classify, what do you do with your 20 mesh material? I panned through it to see if I could find any obvious nuggets or larger pieces. Through panning I would normally get rid of most of this material before a gentle fan or wave to see if any color emerges from the black sand. I found it more challenging to sort without the benefit of black sand.

Thanks[/QUOTE]
Not clear if you are talking about plus or minus 20 mesh. Plus 20 mesh is pretty easy to pan with confidence then discard the remains. Minus 20 mesh could stand some additional classification say maybe to plus and minus 50 and 100 mesh size batches and pan/process those separately. The particle size goes down by about 50% batch to batch and makes panning much easier when the material you pan is approximately all the same size.