![]() ![]() 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).
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |