Going to South America to start a dredge gold mining operation and I'm a newbie

[sedgehammer]

Hello everyone! I'm new here and new to gold mining, so please forgive if I'm ignorant on some things or most likely, lots of things....

I have a really good friend from there and he has a cousin that's been mining for 45 years. So me and my buddy are going to give it a go.

Over burden is anywhere from 6' to 12', shale streak is roughly 3' to 6' thick. Some nuggets, most mostly smaller stuff and lots of fines. Shale has a few larger rocks, some smaller ones, but is mostly made up of pebbles & sand.

Going to be using a 2 pump set up to start. One for pressurized water to blast the shale and another to suck it up for the sluice. Pumps are a 6" and both will have 100 hp diesels on them.

Typical sluice box is 6' wide and 25' long or so. They use carpet and expended metal on top with a riffle every 3' to 4'. Nuggets have been found all the way at the bottom of the sluice..... so you know they lost many out the bottom. Loss rates are 40% to 50%, so looking to cut that drastically.

Looking for any suggestions and inputs, especially on sluice design.

Thanks

 

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[Reed Lukens]

I would make sure that your "friend" is honest because there are a lot of operations going on down there long after the equipment owners and their equipment have mysteriously disappeared. I've had a number of friends that people tried to scam in to coming down there with their own equipment that later found out after being warned, that they were destined to never be seen again after they got everything up and running with their "friend"...

 

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[Goldwasher]

try running the beginning of the sluice as a two stage to catch fines.

Have a coarse trap with bigger riffles closer together.. after the fine recovery section so, the turbulence doesn't affect fine recovery.

Not knowing how the feed material is prescreened or its size... it sounds like an over feeding issue on recovery that isn't exchanging properly.

Running less material over more time might actually improve recovery.

Nuggets at the end of a sluice is BAD BAD BAD..... but, can easily be fixed.

 

[goldenmojo]

Along the lines of Reed's advice if the locals are only concerned in making enough gold to go party it off you well could become the new source of phosphorus for some tropical plant blooms if successful. Semper Vigilantis.

 

[sedgehammer]

The rules here for posting are to treat everything as if it were Gospel, and if a story is an obvious fabrication, one should not say anything, just let it slide. So in this case, I won't say anything, just wish you well in your fantastic endeavor.

Hmm, not sure what to take from that.

I would make sure that your "friend" is honest because there are a lot of operations going on down there long after the equipment owners and their equipment have mysteriously disappeared. I've had a number of friends that people tried to scam in to coming down there with their own equipment that later found out after being warned, that they were destined to never be seen again after they got everything up and running with their "friend"...

Yes sir. Have known him since 2004 and his boy is staying here and going to school with my kids, plus he is putting capital in also.

try running the beginning of the sluice as a two stage to catch fines.

Have a coarse trap with bigger riffles closer together.. after the fine recovery section so, the turbulence doesn't affect fine recovery.

Not knowing how the feed material is prescreened or its size... it sounds like an over feeding issue on recovery that isn't exchanging properly.

Running less material over more time might actually improve recovery.

Nuggets at the end of a sluice is BAD BAD BAD..... but, can easily be fixed.

Biggest problem is they are over feeding the current sluice design i do believe

Along the lines of Reed's advice if the locals are only concerned in making enough gold to go party it off you well could become the new source of phosphorus for some tropical plant blooms if successful. Semper Vigilantis.

Thanks!

Semper Paratus

 

[Varun]

The best way is leact the ore then load the gold with carbon then disrobe the gold from carbon and recover with electrowinning . The process is very simple and recovery id 100% with very less input and time

 

[IMAUDIGGER]

I believe the guy was placer mining.
This is an old thread, I wonder how the adventure worked out.

 

[rolandslone]

watch the locals. I panned in Panama in the Darein. what saved me from getting my stuff taken I bought the gold from the locals.

 

[russau]

If they are losing that amount of gold , I'd seriously consider looking into a form of nugget trap to be installed on the upper end of the sluice. I cant believe that they are knowingly allowing gold to be allowed to escape the sluice in the tailings??

 

[BillA]

watch the locals. I panned in Panama in the Darein. what saved me from getting my stuff taken I bought the gold from the locals.

unless a gringo is viewed as being - in some manner - useful, they are a target
I share info/technology, speak the lingo, have experience/stories, bring some food to the camp (mandatory), am with a local, etc.
and am welcome even with those who have been shafted by . . . .

lots of opportunities to be a gold buyer as the local price is less than 3/4 spot - and pure weight only (wanna sell your 2 oz nugget for 3/4 spot ?)
there used to be gringo buyers on the Osa, no more; one cannot buy w/o being known = assault coming, standby
raw gold runs ~92%, very old/leached placer gold

I am kinda with Kray on this one, take some photos to convince me

 

[DizzyDigger]

Bill, my sister and her husband live near Puerto Jiminez. Never had
the chance to go there, but she's sent me movies of the surrounding
area...what an awesome place to live (if you don't mind big-assed
spiders, snakes that wanna kill ya, etc.).

 

[BillA]

ok Mike, I don't understand, apparently gold is a hobby only for you ?
your sister lives near PJ and you have not visited ?

look at the small cat that was shown to me last weekend

 

[DizzyDigger]

ok Mike, I don't understand, apparently gold is a hobby only for you ?
your sister lives near PJ and you have not visited ?
look at the small cat that was shown to me last weekend

Nice kitty...

Nope, never been there..and my flying all over the globe days
are over.

Wife and I live on the Skagit River in one of the most beautiful parts of the US,
so getting motivated to get on a jet and go somewhere hot and humid...well,
it just ain't gonna happen.

I prospect locally when I can..and can find fine gold right on my own beach. When
I get the occasional itch, I'll head to one of the local creeks (there's hundreds of 'em
around here) and bust open a few rocks. Can't do that shoveling all day anymore.

 

[BillA]

fair enough, I can't shovel worth a damn anymore either

should you visit, give a shout
how did your sister wind up in the Osa ? (not so many gringos live here)

 

[slink]

ok Mike, I don't understand, apparently gold is a hobby only for you ?
your sister lives near PJ and you have not visited ?

look at the small cat that was shown to me last weekend

View attachment 1748739

I really want that cat ! Very cool

 

[BillA]

be prudent, quite illegal to have nowadays

 

[slink]

Why is that illegal?

 

[BillA]

pre colombian, national patrimony
don't mess with this stuff in Costa Rica (or Mexico, many other countries as well)
look at ebay, they used to sell these pieces - no more

 

[spaghettigold]

is that you Bill?Bill in costa rica?The 10 inch dredger?(sorry to derail the thread but the O.P should be in the jungle enyway)

 

[BillA]

8" and a Unimog ?
different Bill, up north

have phone # if you want

 

[spaghettigold]

Thanx bill,i don't know him that well.
He was helpful when i built my 8 inch gravity dredge.
He,s not no so active enymore in the forum and just wanted to say by to him.
I remember he said his health was a bit compromised.
But if you happen to hear him give him my best wishes-