Working huge gravel bar quickly

[Ohiogoldfever]

I hope I can get some ideas from the collective. I have located a monstrous gravel bar that seems to have reasonable values for around here. This is not my first gravel bar but definitely the biggest.

Trouble is it’s about a 3/4 mile hike in, with a wide river crossing. A large high banker is not a great option as I prospect alone and don’t have the desire to make multiple trips (river crossing makes a cart sketchy)

I wander if you guys have any suggestions for concentrating large amounts down to a reasonable concentration? Maybe a tarp in a bowl shape, pumping water in as you rake all the larger stones out? Dragging the rake through should bring the lighter stuff to the top allowing it to be removed reasonably easily. I don’t mind dragging a backpack of cons back to process at home.


Just trying to find a reasonable way to knock the top 95% off a huge pile of gravel without a full scale process on the edge of the river.


Thoughts?

Thanks for any help you can give.

 

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[Underburden]

Don't try to swallow the whole pie...take it piece by piece. I've got a gravel bar on one of my claims and it kicks my butt just working an 8'x8' area. One day removing overburden, boulders before getting down to better pay. A back pack full of cons? 100 pounds?

 

[DizzyDigger]

Had a very large gravel bar to work a few years back...here's
a couple of the solutions I tried:

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

 

[mike(swWash)]

Ok, here are my thoughts.
Does it show several colors per pan?
If it only has a few colors per pan....keep sampling...especially on the upstream end.
If you get something that is worth some work to you then go to #1

1. Build a plywood high banker classifier and sluice that's as long as your state allows and make it in 3-4' sections to make them light enough to hike in. The longer the better!
BTW which state are you working in?
2.Line it with Goldhog mats or mats of your choice.
3. Hike in the disposable wooden sluice box sections and hide them as best you can.
4. From then on you just need to bring in the pump, fuel and mats as needed for use.
Silence is golden and gold is silent....unless you make too much noise!

 

[oneguy]

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?...6CE9404283A834789F116CE&view=detail&FORM=VIRE

 

[arizau]

I hope I can get some ideas from the collective. I have located a monstrous gravel bar that seems to have reasonable values for around here. This is not my first gravel bar but definitely the biggest.

Trouble is it’s about a 3/4 mile hike in, with a wide river crossing. A large high banker is not a great option as I prospect alone and don’t have the desire to make multiple trips (river crossing makes a cart sketchy)

I wander if you guys have any suggestions for concentrating large amounts down to a reasonable concentration? Maybe a tarp in a bowl shape, pumping water in as you rake all the larger stones out? Dragging the rake through should bring the lighter stuff to the top allowing it to be removed reasonably easily. I don’t mind dragging a backpack of cons back to process at home.


Just trying to find a reasonable way to knock the top 95% off a huge pile of gravel without a full scale process on the edge of the river.


Thoughts?

Thanks for any help you can give.

I don't think there is an easy solution for you that doesn't involve some bulky equipment. That said one way to field process a fairly decent quantity of feed is to do production panning. That method generates super concentrates that can be hiked out and taken home to process for gold recovery. Search this forum for "production panning" if you are not familiar with the method.

I don't own one but I think a pyramid pro pan is ideally suited for this method and the bonus...it is suggested to use it while sitting.��

Good luck.

 

[et1955]

For us to give you a better plan you should give us a pic of your gravel bar, it is not necessary to dig up the whole gravel bar ounce you understand flood deposition. this a 16 acre claim I own and I know from experience where to dig. Test your area and find the flood lines, they will be the richest .

 

[Ohiogoldfever]

Thanks for the responses guys. I should have clarified a few things in the post. Sorry for any confusion.

I have sampled the bar fairly well, some to be done yet. It’s far to large to process in its entirety so working sections is the only way to work it. Rather than a flat (ish) deposit it’s been stacked at random heights as high as 15’ above the current water level with some many large stones on top so it seem that it’s likely to be loaded assuming it’s like the one I’ve just finished working that was 100 th the size.

I surly wasn’t planning on hiking 100 sacks of sands out. I just used back pack as an easier way to curry 50 or so pounds at a time.

I’ll gather some pictures when I’m out there next.

I’m not looking to knock it out in one large punch. Just looking for ways to get as much concentrate out as reasonable without packing in the 10 mule teams worth of equipment.

Suggestions are appreciated.

 

[delnorter]

I really don’t think it’s practical to pack out concentrates unless it is a very rich gravel bar. You will somehow be processing the material onsite. If your going to reduce a volume (?) of material down to a 50 lb. load you need to then reduce that down to no more than 1 lb. with production panning, as mentioned above.

Is there any way you can pack in some long sections of fire hose and header box to gravity feed a sluice or highbanker?

Mike

 

[Reed Lukens]

A Gold Fox Extreme with a wx15 pump and dream mat. I've got both the battery style and a pump. The dream mat allows you to run more water with the WX15 Honda pump.
https://www.goldfoxusa.com/products

 

[ncclaymaker]

Keep it nice and simple... use the most highly efficient sluice out there - the Gold Well vortex drop riffle sluice, whatever size suction dredge unit w/pump, and shazamm you're in business. Been using one for years. As far as concentrates go, bring a Mason jar or two. with your pan. PS. don't think of buying that counterfeit piece of Canadian crap. As they say, "the devil is in the details". The poor SOB made a few errors when he plagarized/stole the design. It does not function as originally designed by Bernie (RIP). www.goldwellsluice.com in Lynn, Mass. Don't buy any miner's moss or some other garbage to cover up poor design work... the Gold Well will never need it. Best of luck.

 

[johnedoe]

Well in the for what it is worth dept,,,,,,,
Build yourself a large classifier 3'x3' 1/4" mesh.. easy to do with a couple 2x4s and some 1/4 hardware cloth screen.
Put a tarp under it to catch your screened material... do this in the morning... Run the classified material after lunch through your sluice

Remember, classify the material down close to what you expect your gold size will be...This will improve the performance of your recovery equipment.......
As to your sluice mats .... Again determine the size of the gold you will be recovering, Use mats that perform well for that range of gold size.... You might also want to add a nugget trap for the odd chance of catching something out of the ordinary.

Haul your cons home.... You should only have a couple quarts of cons, maybe 1 gallon.


Hide the classifier on site as well as your wood framed sluice then all you have to haul out is pump, gas can, mats and cons....

Put legs on it instead of the configuration in the image.