Sluice box setup for gold and diamonds

[A_Sly1_U]

The area where I prospect in Northern Brazil is well known for gold and diamonds. I have seen that Keene sells a dredge set up for both gold and gemstones. How can I modify my dredge sluice box to capture both?

 

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[goldhog]

It's really tough to do both based on the way a dredge works / is set up to capture "heavies".
It is currently set to capture "gold" which may range from 16 to 19 in density and diamonds are more like 3 - 3.5
If you try and capture ALL the diamonds... you end up losing gold more than likely.
The two processes really have to be done in two stages.
We worked with one large diamond op and help them set up a secondary stage for the gold.
You could set up a fluid bed at the end and tune it to catch them, but it would have to been cleaned out on a fairly regular basis.
Doc

 

[Hoser John]

GOOGLE grease plate-a mix of parafin(wax) and glycerin. Done in a over/under style sluice to increase through pressure the specific gravity of diamonds. Precision jigs work also for recovery-John

 

[benny]

Had a question for you john. How do you suppose that wax from a toilet ring would work? Do you suppose that it's sticky enough to catch diamonds? Seems like it would be good through a wide temperature range to me.

 

[Goodyguy]

The area where I prospect in Northern Brazil is well known for gold and diamonds. I have seen that Keene sells a dredge set up for both gold and gemstones. How can I modify my dredge sluice box to capture both?

When you set up to catch diamonds and gold with a dredge you end up with a great deal of concentrates to process due to having to catch everything with a specific gravity over 3

Of course classifying helps to reduce the volume but the real work is done at your onshore processing plant. IE: stir pan, or diamond jig of which both will also capture the gold. Grease tables can also be used onshore to seperate diamonds from your concentrates but a seperate process must be used to recover the gold before running the material on a grease table.

Click here: Equipment & Services

 

[Goodyguy]

Had a question for you john. How do you suppose that wax from a toilet ring would work? Do you suppose that it's sticky enough to catch diamonds? Seems like it would be good through a wide temperature range to me.

The problem with all the formulas is that they attract organic material as well, plus to operate efficiently the temperature of the mixtures need to be in optimal range which is problematic in too cold or too hot of an environment. Most are used on indoor grease tables to process material where the temperature and debris can be controlled to achieve the desired results. Don't even bother to try it on a sluice as the cold water along with leaves, twigs, and other organic debris render the wax concoction utterly useless.

I have experimented with quite a few variations to deal with temperature and consistency however I have not tried the wax from a wax ring but will add it to my list of possibilities.



GG~

 

[Hoser John]

I have quite a few assciates who have made a good living off diamonds and gold in africa. Go to Savannahengineering.com in Ireland as Wyatt is one of the worlds leading manufacturers of righteous gold and diamond retrieval equipment on the planet. Good guy and plenty of folks been helped throughout the years in the states and elsewhere. Wax in toilet seal no as other chemicals added to maintain shape so contaminated.John

 

[russau]

i gotta agree wih John about Wyatt. good guy but to bad he lost the old site!

 

[benny]

I have quite a few assciates who have made a good living off diamonds and gold in africa. Go to Savannahengineering.com in Ireland as Wyatt is one of the worlds leading manufacturers of righteous gold and diamond retrieval equipment on the planet. Good guy and plenty of folks been helped throughout the years in the states and elsewhere. Wax in toilet seal no as other chemicals added to maintain shape so contaminated.John

Too bad about the toilet ring. It stays sticky through a wide range of temperatures.

 

[Goodyguy]

Too bad about the toilet ring. It stays sticky through a wide range of temperatures.

It's not the stickiness that holds the diamonds it's the fact that the grease/wax formula repels water same way a raw diamond does so the two dry surfaces sort of cling together while the wet sand and gravels just glide right over the surface of the water repellant grease/wax formula.

GG~

 

[benny]

Thanks, Goodyguy. I understood that diamonds (and gold) are hydrophobic and so will only stick to a dry surface. Why then, would one mix paraffin and glycerin unless it was to make it tackier? Why does the temperature enter play a part in getting the diamonds to stick to the wax? I've read that thick grease is also used.

 

[Goodyguy]

Thanks, Goodyguy. I understood that diamonds (and gold) are hydrophobic and so will only stick to a dry surface. Why then, would one mix paraffin and glycerin unless it was to make it tackier? I've read that thick grease is also used.

Paraffin is wax and glycerin is fat, neither are sticky, in fact they are added to reduce the tackiness of the grease as well as causing the mixture to have a higher melting point along with their hydrophobic qualities. Other oils such as olive oil, petroleum jelly, etc. are also added along with beeswax, to either thicken or thin the overall consistency to enhance performance based on the temperature.

I am still experimenting on creating the ultimate formula recipe by trial and error and have discovered that there is much fine tuning left to be done. Although even though axle grease will work by itself it's diamond attracting properties can be enhanced a great deal.

*NOTE The gold needs to be recovered from your concentrates first before running your material on a grease table!!!
(Any oil in the water will cause fine gold to float)

Some research that I've done on wax toilet rings has revealed that they are not all created equal, some have petroleum based additives (similar to STP) to increase their stickiness and others dont, but all mostly consist of vegetable and petroleum based waxes.

GG~

 

[Hoser John]

Folks have been playing with the mixture since the dawn a time in africa and many 1,000s of formulas. You need a specific formula to match the type/style/configuration of equipment being utilized for recovery. Jigs work great from a dredge scalper and grease plate free also. Sooooo many ways,not much time as nations take over mineral production as nationalized all over the planet-John

 

[benny]

Thanks to all. Much information.