which is best fine gold recovery system? Blue Bowl, water table, other?
Thanks for your input!
The answer depends somewhat upon the volume of concentrates that you need to run.
In my case I typically save up 10 - 15 five gallon buckets full of material before I start the process.
Once the material has been concentrated/classified down to 1/8" I start the fine gold recovery process by running the 1/8" and smaller material through a gold cube which will reduce 10 five gallon buckets full of material to about 2 cups of super concentrate.
That super concentrate is then separated into 4 classifications before running on my miller table. 8 mesh, 16 mesh, 30 mesh, everything below 30 mesh. (Sometimes I get lazy and just run two classifications 1/8" to 1/16" and then anything smaller than 1/16")
Running close to the same size particles at the same time makes it easier to recover the gold due to it's greater density than any other particle it's size.
For instance trying to capture a -30 mesh particle of gold becomes more difficult if substantially larger particles say +16 mesh which require a faster flow are introduced into the slurry. The larger particles can also knock the smaller gold loose and keep it from being recovered.
Same goes for the blue bowl. The water speed vs classification is critical. Fast enough for the larger particles will wash the smaller gold over the drain. Must run similar size particles together for best results.
*Just remember classification is the key. Run as close to the same size particles together as you can. Adjust angle and flow as necessary. Smaller particles require slower flow.
GG~