Rare Metals LLC Dry Washer.

[olddesertrat]

Hello: Some years ago I purchased a used S-10 Electrostatic Dry Washer originally made by Mineral System, Inc of Colville, WA.
Believe company was taken over by Rare Metals, LLC. However looks like Rare Metals, LLC is out of business.
Due to family issues, the great recession, and unemployment was never able to use my S-10.
It is heavy duty unit, trailer mounted, and rated at 6 tph. Small scale production machine
Same model can be seen at https://minelistings.com/mine-equipment/rare-metals-llc-model-s-10-dry-air-concentrator/

Am looking to restore s-10, however looks like the manufacturer is not around anymore.
Only part that needs replacing is the most critical part....the electrostatic conveyor belt.
Would appreciate any information/suggestions on materials and/or supplier of materials that could be used to restore electrostatic belt.
Thank You and Have a Wonderful Day!!!

 

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[arizau]

Hello: Some years ago I purchased a used S-10 Electrostatic Dry Washer originally made by Mineral System, Inc of Colville, WA.
Believe company was taken over by Rare Metals, LLC. However looks like Rare Metals, LLC is out of business.
Due to family issues, the great recession, and unemployment was never able to use my S-10.
It is heavy duty unit, trailer mounted, and rated at 6 tph. Small scale production machine
Same model can be seen at https://minelistings.com/mine-equipment/rare-metals-llc-model-s-10-dry-air-concentrator/

Am looking to restore s-10, however looks like the manufacturer is not around anymore.
Only part that needs replacing is the most critical part....the electrostatic conveyor belt.
Would appreciate any information/suggestions on materials and/or supplier of materials that could be used to restore electrostatic belt.
Thank You and Have a Wonderful Day!!!

Just speculating as I'm NOT familiar with the machine but, a regular rubber conveyor belt can/does generate static electricity by friction, usually with the rollers.
Just guessing but your unit may have a friction point* that the belt rubs against to purposely generate static electricity(?). If that is the case then a regular rubber belt may work for you. Be aware..... Some belts are made with anti-static properties.


Good luck.

*The friction point may not be too obvious or even a hard surface. It may even serve a dual purpose, create friction and clean the belt.

 

[olddesertrat]

Just speculating as I'm NOT familiar with the machine but, a regular rubber conveyor belt can/does generate static electricity by friction, usually with the rollers.
Just guessing but your unit may have a friction point* that the belt rubs against to purposely generate static electricity(?). If that is the case then a regular rubber belt may work for you. Be aware..... Some belts are made with anti-static properties.


Good luck.

*The friction point may not be too obvious or even a hard surface. It may even serve a dual purpose, create friction and clean the belt.

This machine works on the same principle as Keene dry washers, only super sized. The conveyor belt is made of different air porous materials or fabrics that create a static charge as air is blown upward through the material from the bottom. Only instead material and catcher ridges being fixed in place, they form one giant belt that is moving and self cleaning. Guess I need to research what combination of material can be used to great a static charge with air flowing through it.

 

[russau]

On my homemade dry-washer that I built years back , I used a 2 cycle blower and the air line I used ,I painted black to help generate heated air to under the riffles and that created my static ! It worked good until I gave it to a older club member and his wife !

 

[Clay Diggins]

Before you get all excited about electrostatic gold recovery try a simple experiment.
Take some fine dry powdered material from your workings, make sure there is some fine gold in the powder.
Blow up a balloon, rub it on some wool, polyester or silk to create a static charge and bring the balloon near your powdered material.
See how the gold jumped onto the balloon? Yeah it didn't happen, all you have now is a balloon with a bunch of powdered dust stuck to it, pretty much what you started with.

One of the greatest inventors in American history, Thomas Edison, invented an electromagnetic separator to help with the processing of powdered iron ore. It worked great but he missed the market for the design by the time he got it working. Being the smart guy he was he decided to apply this "new" technology to placer gold mining. He purchased an existing placer mine in New Mexico and built the first electrostatic drywasher. It was a total failure, no matter how much he tinkered with it the machine performed worse than a non electrostatic drywasher of the same design. He lost his entire investment and a lot more in two years and never attempted to mine the property again. I know for a fact his placer mine had and still has good recoverable gold on it.

I'm pretty sure the Keenes knew about the Edison fiasco when they reintroduced the electrostatic drywasher again in the 1970's. It's been a good selling point for Keene and many other manufacturers since. The simple fact that all drywashers build up static charge when operating seems to have been missed by the new miners looking to improve their recovery. Look at that dusty balloon again and ask yourself if Edison got it right when he folded up his placer mining operation for good after failing to get any additional recovery by adding an electrostatic component.

As Thomas Edison famously said:
“I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” — Thomas A. Edison

Heavy Pans

 

[Bodfish Mike]

I'm NOT a believer in the static charge holding gold - think about it all that other
material rolling and pushing downhill on the gold I just don't think a static charge could
hold it with all that force.
I would just make or buy any belt that will make it run.
Good luck

PS Raining cat and dogs in SF bay area as I type - Drywasing may be on hold till fall
might have to look for my Sluice.

Cheers Mike

 

[gold tramp]

Before you get all excited about electrostatic gold recovery try a simple experiment.
Take some fine dry powdered material from your workings, make sure there is some fine gold in the powder.
Blow up a balloon, rub it on some wool, polyester or silk to create a static charge and bring the balloon near your powdered material.
See how the gold jumped onto the balloon? Yeah it didn't happen, all you have now is a balloon with a bunch of powdered dust stuck to it, pretty much what you started with.

One of the greatest inventors in American history, Thomas Edison, invented an electromagnetic separator to help with the processing of powdered iron ore. It worked great but he missed the market for the design by the time he got it working. Being the smart guy he was he decided to apply this "new" technology to placer gold mining. He purchased an existing placer mine in New Mexico and built the first electrostatic drywasher. It was a total failure, no matter how much he tinkered with it the machine performed worse than a non electrostatic drywasher of the same design. He lost his entire investment and a lot more in two years and never attempted to mine the property again. I know for a fact his placer mine had and still has good recoverable gold on it.

I'm pretty sure the Keenes knew about the Edison fiasco when they reintroduced the electrostatic drywasher again in the 1970's. It's been a good selling point for Keene and many other manufacturers since. The simple fact that all drywashers build up static charge when operating seems to have been missed by the new miners looking to improve their recovery. Look at that dusty balloon again and ask yourself if Edison got it right when he folded up his placer mining operation for good after failing to get any additional recovery by adding an electrostatic component.

As Thomas Edison famously said:
“I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” — Thomas A. Edison

Heavy Pans

I don't think it matters to the gold what type dyrwasher you use, I've owned a few types still prefer the old hand crank Keene.
Starts first crank everytime...
Gt..

 

[Assembler]

Does static electricity repel or attract?

Opposite charges attract each other (negative to positive). Like charges repel each other (positive to positive or negative to negative). Most of the time positive and negative charges are balanced in an object, which makes that object neutral.Nov 19, 2019

https://www.google.com/search?q=sta...30j0i390l3.31086j1j4&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

How Gold Led to the (1/2 Correct) First Laws of Electricity: How Static Electricity Works

The gold topic starts around the 3 minute mark.



Gold Leaf Electroscope Experiment The leaf part starts after 3 minutes.