Help choosing equipment for next year.

[davidhorton001]

Hey team,

So I live in the bitterroot valley in Montana. Most of the areas I deal with concrete like hard pack that has a lot of dried up clay, or places that clay is present. What type of equipment would fit my needs. I have a bazooka super mini. What type of processing equipment would you recommend? Also any tips to get through the hard pack, it takes about 30-40 min to classify 1 5gal bucket half full to 1 1/2 in. Thanks for the advise

 

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[russau]

it all depends on how intent you are at mining this material! How much time a week? weekends occasionally?? How much money do you plan on spending on equipment to make the job easier? Is the land yours or do you plan on traveling to a location that is public? Lots of questions to answer!

 

[KevinInColorado]

Have you tried turning this material into a slurry by putting some paydirt and water in a bucket and the mixing it with a mortar mixer (like a giant kitchen mixer mounted into a cordless drill)? That might speed up the process!

 

[davidhorton001]

The land is a claim that the local club has. I try to get up every weekend. I have tried classifying down to 1/4 in and mix with water. It didn't seem too make a big difference with the gold yeild. I'm having a hard time deciding to build a high banker or trommel. Or upgrade to a prospector bgt.

 

[arizau]

No matter what, hard pack is labor intensive. Just a couple of thoughts. Puddling in plastic mortar tubs and mixing with a rake or hoe will help to pre-wet and loosen your feed. Hand wash the larger stones in the flow on the bazooka to insure that all of the possible gold attached has a chance of flowing into the trap rather than being discarded with the stones.

Good luck.

PS: A highbanker is an obvious but expensive alternative.

 

[GoldpannerDave]

The land is a claim that the local club has. I try to get up every weekend. I have tried classifying down to 1/4 in and mix with water. It didn't seem too make a big difference with the gold yeild. I'm having a hard time deciding to build a high banker or trommel. Or upgrade to a prospector bgt.

AzViper has some great trommel plans on TN. I am not sure if just Kevin's idea (seconded by arizau) is enough to allow you to successfully run the material through a Bazooka or not. So upgrading may not be the best idea. If you are camping overnight, I would be tempted to carry lots of buckets, fill with material, let soak overnight, mix with cordless drill and paint stirring attachment (get lots of spare batteries) first thing next morning, then send through your Bazooka.

I would also fill some buckets with the tailings, take it home to analyze. At home, you can let it sit in water longer, use 110v power to stir, add clay-be-gone (if there is much clay to your material) and run it through some type of recirculating set up. See what you missed on the creek. If not much, you are good to go. If you find enough gold to suggest you need to do more processing on the creek, come back with more information and let the good folks at Tnet help you out with that situation.

BTW, if you have brought some buckets home already for winter work, you can start now and let us know how it is going. Good luck and may your golden take increase.

 

[davidhorton001]

No buckets, done for the season. Would a high banker break the clay down enough or would I be better off investing In a trommel

 

[russau]

Either piece of equipment is questionable as far as being able to break down the hardpack! It depends on if you presoak the material and how big of pieces you use. BUT like has been said , If you presoak the material for the next days run either piece of equipment may work fine! OR you could (if allowed) use a Rototiller to bust up the hardpack. Buy one at a yard sale and get it running !

 

[davidhorton001]

Anybody ever tried using a drum concrete mixer? You can get a 80lb 3.5 hp mixer for under 200$. Just mix the hard pack with water, should do the job i would think.

 

[arizau]

Anybody ever tried using a drum concrete mixer? You can get a 80lb 3.5 hp mixer for under 200$. Just mix the hard pack with water, should do the job i would think.

Check this link out. https://www.google.com/webhp?source...v=2&ie=UTF-8#q=cement mixer gold concentrator

Good luck.

 

[digger460]

Sorry for the stupid question, but is there really gold in the Bitterroot. My mother lives between Darby and Hamilton , right by the river. Hmmmm

 

[nh.nugget]

Even if you use a cement mixer if it's got clay in it a soon as it stops it's going to settle and harden up again. The trick would be to dump it right into a trommel right out of the mixer.

 

[davidhorton001]

I have heard of people finding flour gold. But you can find gold many places in the bitterroot valley

 

[goldenIrishman]

Clay is a bear to work no matter where you're at. the smaller you can classify your materials down to the better chance it will have of breaking up in a highbanker. I can't say about the Bazooka systems since I've never used one. (No offense Kevin but they just don't lend themselves to an easy re-circ system)

The best type of mixer I've used has been a drywall tape mud mixer attached to a 1/2 drive variable speed drill. It will knock those clay balls right out of the park.

 

[bobw53]

Dry it, crush it, drywash it?

I guess the first thing to figure out is if the gold is in the clay, or is it on the clay or under the clay?

I've been banging up caliche (the dried hard nasty clay like stuff we get in the desert) in a little cement mixer, and its been working pretty well...

Some of the rocks I've crushed out here, they turn into a nasty little dust that turns into nice little clay balls once I try to wet process it. I've played
around a little bit with drywashing it first, not to get the gold, but to blow off the fine dust that turns into clay. I like panning out drywasher conentrates,
seems all the tiny little fine dirt blows away and I don't have to deal with it in the pan.

Clay really is not fun.. I've run into some that comes apart really easy in water, and some that just does not want to come apart, and like you said,
half hour, 45 minutes... Just to classify a bucket.

 

[Goldwasher]

Dry it, crush it, drywash it?

I guess the first thing to figure out is if the gold is in the clay, or is it on the clay or under the clay?

I've been banging up caliche (the dried hard nasty clay like stuff we get in the desert) in a little cement mixer, and its been working pretty well...

Some of the rocks I've crushed out here, they turn into a nasty little dust that turns into nice little clay balls once I try to wet process it. I've played
around a little bit with drywashing it first, not to get the gold, but to blow off the fine dust that turns into clay. I like panning out drywasher conentrates,
seems all the tiny little fine dirt blows away and I don't have to deal with it in the pan.

Clay really is not fun.. I've run into some that comes apart really easy in water, and some that just does not want to come apart, and like you said,
half hour, 45 minutes... Just to classify a bucket.

Great observation Bob. You need to sample to see. sure take home a bucket break it down pan it. You should sample the top inch of clay separately. Clay can be a false layer. think about what clay is FINE sediment in concentration. If your finding it in a layer especially if it is a layer over gravels?...Historic mining upstream? Here there are clay layers related to hydraulic mining and tributary operations. Do to the amazing volume of material added to the water ways. Sometimes clay of certain colors is decomposing country rock going too deep is pointless.
If there is a lot of clay in your gravel dilution is your solution. A power sluice might not cut it. That is what trommels are for high pressure spray and friction does wonders. If you are hi banking grab clay balls that pass the grizzly save some pan them. You will most likely stop saving clay balls. unless you make pottery!
If you have a cement mixer you could get rid of sediment by adding lots of water. You will eventually have gravels with very little sediment.
Try classifying to 1/2 to 3/8 then to 1/4 inch it will be a lot quicker. Clay will wash right through a Bazooka if you KNOW that your clay has gold in it you need to break down the clays before sluicing! A bucket and a stick to mix material into a slurry is an effective technique.

 

[Capt Nemo]

Clay is a bear to work no matter where you're at. the smaller you can classify your materials down to the better chance it will have of breaking up in a highbanker. I can't say about the Bazooka systems since I've never used one. (No offense Kevin but they just don't lend themselves to an easy re-circ system)

The best type of mixer I've used has been a drywall tape mud mixer attached to a 1/2 drive variable speed drill. It will knock those clay balls right out of the park.

Bazooka's aren't the easiest to run recirc, but you can build a recirc fluid bed.

 

[motohed]

Ive been thinking about building a small shakerbox , like we use in gravel mining . It would be very simply four shaker springs off center counter weight mount to a small shaft some bearing , and other materials , maybe a weedwacker engine and a wash rack pretty simple really could be made under 25 LBS . JMHO