![]() One of the main advantages of having the capability to process more streambed material is that an area can be more-effectively sampled. It is especially true in remote locations and/or within developing countries where modern technology is generally not available to village-miners.īecause a modern (experienced) dredger is able to process substantially more volume of streambed material with better gold recovery, the gravel deposits of today do not need to be as rich in gold as was necessary during the past. This is true in the deeper rivers (3-meters or more of water depth) all over the world. Suction dredge technology allows modern-day gold and gemstone miners to prospect and mine for mineral deposits in places where earlier miners were not able to go. During those early days, the deposits had to be easy to find and recover because recovery methods and processing capabilities were very limited. The early miners who came to California (and elsewhere) during the 1849 gold rush (and later) did find and recover many of the easy-to-find gold nuggets and rich deposits. As demonstrated in the following video segment, air for breathing underwater is generated by an air compressor, passes down through an air line, and provides air to a diver through a regulator, similar to what is used by SCUBA divers: These attach to the same engine that powers the water pump. Most intermediate and larger-sized gold dredges come with built-in hookah-air systems. Pieces of gold, which are very heavy, are separated from the other streambed materials and trapped, as the gravel and other material wash through the recovery system and are then washed back into the stream to fill in the hole as the dredge moves forward in the waterway. ![]() It sucks up streambed material (rocks, sand, gravel, silt, gold and other minerals), passes it up through a suction hose, and runs it across a recovery system floating at the surface. A suction dredge is a powerful underwater-type of vacuum cleaner. #7835 shown above comes with BOTH types of header boxes AND a dredge nozzle and a bigger pump so you can use this one piece of mining equipment as either a sucking dredge or as a power sluice.Most gold mining today is done in small operations - one or two persons working at a time - often with the use of suction dredges. A power sluice "washes" material you shovel into it, whereas a dredge sucks material up from a stream through a hose and deposits it into the sluice. Notice the shape of the Dredge Header Box on this item - it is different from the header box on power sluice #7820. What's the difference between a dredge/highbanker combo and a highbanker or power sluice? For example, #7830 above is called a dredge because an actual dredge nozzle is included and the unit was built for sucking up gravel, etc. Process this sluiced material with a gold pan or other fine gold recovery product. Rinse any excess gravel that remains in the sluice into container. Inspect for pickers or nuggets first, then carefully roll up the riffle matting or miner's moss and wash into the container at the end of the sluice. Learn how a Suction Nozzle works on a Gold Dredge.Īfter sucking up material for a while, place a wide tray, bucket or large gold pan at the end of the sluice. A suction dredge engine is air cooled and adds nothing to the water. The average size of a dredge engine is 5 horsepower- about the same size that powers lawnmowers. The sluice filters out all heavy metals, including mercury, and returns the clean gravel to the river. The size of a gold dredge (1.5 inch, 2 inch, etc.) is determined by the diameter of the suction hose- the larger diameter the hose, the more material can be processed.Ī floating gold dredge is essentially a floating sluicebox that uses an engine and pump to create a vacuum and send gravel (hopefully gold-bearing gravel!) into the sluice box suspended between the two pontoons. Plus, advances in technology allow a small surface gold dredge to be carried by a single person to a remote stream or river and profitably process gold-bearing material.Ī suction dredge used along the shoreline works like a large vacuum cleaner by sucking up underwater gold-bearing material like rocks, gravel, sand, and dirt and forcing it through a highbanker or power sluice that is capable of recovering very fine particles of gold. Sandy or gravel river banks contain large deposits of alluvial gold (loose pieces of gold or gold-bearing sand), and dredging is a great way to recover this gold. Over the last 10 years or so, dredging has resurfaced as a popular form of gold mining (except in California where dredging is currently banned).
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