First, some advice: I'm not sure if you're dredging in New Mexico, from there, or just live there now, but the maximum inlet diameter allowed in New Mexico is 2". Using motorized equipment (like a suction dredge) in a stream in New Mexico requires a General Wet Permit, which you will be unable to obtain since the permit application asks for the inlet diameter of the dredge you plan to use. This is all assuming you plan to follow the rules; you may be in a remote area where it isn't likely you'll encounter anybody else, much less someone who will question you. Keep in mind though, all it takes it the wrong person stumbling onto your operation to make your life miserable. A permit costs $50, a fine for violating the Water Quality Act can be up to $10,000 a day per violation. Not trying to scare you or anything, but as a fellow dredger in NM, I wouldn't want you to learn about these regulations the hard way.
Now, a few tips from someone that just started dredging a year ago myself:
- As russau mentioned, don't wait too long to clean out your mats. There is a lot of heavies in the material that I run, and if I don't clean the mats every hour or so I worry that gold is rolling right over the heavies. Most dredges are designed to release the mats fairly easily; depending on your setup you might be able to take out the mats, rinse out the box (into a bucket or square pan of course), rinse out the mats (in a bucket), and place the mats back in the box in a matter of a few minutes. Before resuming, I usually take a test pan of the concentrates from that round to see if I'm still on the gold. It also gives me a chance to warm up and stretch out, since you're mostly in a static position for long periods while dredging.
- Similar to the point above, if you're having to stop and start frequently (like to deal with plug ups), you'll want to clean out the box sooner rather than later. If your sluice box has Hungarian riffles, the heavies will stay nicely tucked behind the riffles, as long as water is flowing over them at the right pace. With each stop and start, your heavies be released from behind the riffles, gradually make their way down the box, and potentially leave the box. Avoid stopping and starting the flow of water, but if it happens, increase the frequency of your clean outs.
- Make sure your angles are correct; if your dredge has pontoons and floats, it should be designed to sit on the water at the right angles. You probably already know this, but if the angle of your sluice box is too steep, too shallow, or leaning in either direction, you're probably losing gold.
- Don't plunge the tip of your nozzle into the material you're running, as it leads to plug-ups. Less is more in some cases, because continuous plug-ups are counterproductive and frustrating. I try to move the nozzle towards the material, and get it close enough to where I can hear the sediment and rocks clanging against the nozzle; at that point I know I'm moving material, and I slowly advance the nozzle as I progress. I use my left hand to guide the nozzle, and my right hand to constantly feel just ahead of my inlet for rocks bigger or the same size as my inlet. I'm probably throwing a rock once every five seconds for 45 minutes at a time. The larger the inlet size, the less you have worry about in terms of throwing rocks, but as I mentioned at the beginning of this post, we're restricted to a 2" inlet in NM.
- It would be tough to give you advice on how to dredge your area without seeing it with my own eyes, but in general you'll want to dredge as deep as you can, and if you can make it to bedrock in your area, all the better. The biggest advantage of running a dredge compared to a traditional sluice box (besides increased volumes) is the ability to pull material out of crevices and low points that you otherwise would not have been able to extract with a shovel. Flood gold or not, in general you'll want to get onto bedrock to find the best and biggest gold.
I've only been dredging for a year, but those are a few of the things I've learned that might help someone just starting out. Oh, and 2 grams a yard? Claim it before someone else does, or before that area is designated as "Wilderness." - G
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