Gold-Drum scam

[alexias2]

So, I was scammed "almost" when I was watching a video on the world wide web about a "new" "product"(snake oil) that can not only apparently wash gold like a trammel, but can be feed by more than 4 people(high volume), but can do it all without being washed for hours...

Yes, it sounds to good to be true because it is... It looks like a stone giant "mixing machine" of some sort. Most of the gold would just fall out, especially "small" bits under 0.2 grams and forget reviving large nuggets since they just fall out the sieve screen onto the ground!

Any horror stories about this "device" snake oil scam?

 

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[Goldwasher]

So, I was scammed "almost" when I was watching a video on the world wide web about a "new" "product"(snake oil) that can not only apparently wash gold like a trammel, but can be feed by more than 4 people(high volume), but can do it all without being washed for hours...

Yes, it sounds to good to be true because it is... It looks like a stone giant "mixing machine" of some sort. Most of the gold would just fall out, especially "small" bits under 0.2 grams and forget reviving large nuggets since they just fall out the sieve screen onto the ground!

Any horror stories about this "device" snake oil scam?

how do you know it won't work just based on video?.....Gold goes down....not up and out...nuggets most definitely are going to settle to the low point in the drum....it is harder for fine gold to be lost when it is in a system like that vs. a sluice being fed too fast with material that isn't washed well.
I've never used one but, watching the video and know guys that have used cement mixers for pre washing I know they recover gold.....and are no where near as bad or a scam as you describe.....I think most are home built so it couldn't even be a scam....build it if you want if you don't want don't build. I see a few changes I would make.

 

[bobw53]

Johnny Gold Dust that sells pay dirt on e-bay uses one of those gold drums. I've watched his vids before and I thought he was running a sluice off of it, but I just watched
the vid again, and its not a sluice, just a tray to get rid of the tailings. I've bought some of his pay dirt and it was some decent stuff, and it seems like the guy likes to go
out and dig.

I think its a pretty cool idea, the gold really can't come out, it shouldn't get washed away, it would have to climb almost a foot. I wonder if you might
lose a bit of super fine stuff just from all the movement, but anything that is big enough to see should stay right in the bottom. Apparently you can run them
dry also. One thing I don't like is that you could have a really nice nugget or picker with a lot of character, and it will get beaten up.

Toss in a couple of big steel balls and crush your black sands at the same time.

I've thought about building one just to play with.

 

[alexias2]

Johnny Gold Dust that sells pay dirt on e-bay uses one of those gold drums. I've watched his vids before and I thought he was running a sluice off of it, but I just watched
the vid again, and its not a sluice, just a tray to get rid of the tailings. I've bought some of his pay dirt and it was some decent stuff, and it seems like the guy likes to go
out and dig.

I think its a pretty cool idea, the gold really can't come out, it shouldn't get washed away, it would have to climb almost a foot. I wonder if you might
lose a bit of super fine stuff just from all the movement, but anything that is big enough to see should stay right in the bottom. Apparently you can run them
dry also. One thing I don't like is that you could have a really nice nugget or picker with a lot of character, and it will get beaten up.

Toss in a couple of big steel balls and crush your black sands at the same time.

I've thought about building one just to play with.

I thought about steel balls too, but more so to hold the gold in. Why would you need to grind the black sands anyway? Also, nuggets are worn by nature themselves, so that idea is mute since the sale value is probably unaffected.

 

[QNCrazy]

Let's see how this goes?

Why would you need to grind the black sands anyway?

Black sand has been known to contain gold? When I was green, I wasn't sure about this hype either. But when I visited my prospecting supply shop for first time, I got a two hour education on gold and how to prospect. During this meeting, I was handed a small mortar with what appeared to me to be large pieces of black sand. By large, I mean the largest piece was probably 1/16 to 1/8 inch. Upon closer inspection, I could clearly see the gold encased in the black sand.

Mike

 

[Goldwasher]

I thought about steel balls too, but more so to hold the gold in. Why would you need to grind the black sands anyway? Also, nuggets are worn by nature themselves, so that idea is mute since the sale value is probably unaffected.

Anything you do to change a natural nugget of marketable size as a "specimen " absolutely devalues it

 

[arizau]

There is prior discussuon on this forum here: http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/drywashing/429187-gold-drum.html

It looks like a pretty good concentrator in the wet mode. The gold should should have enough retention time to migrate down through the slurry and settle in the crease.* There it will be pretty much protected from pounding from introduced large stones or balls due to the large gaps they create between themselves at their base and the cushioning effect of overlaying sands and small gravel (that material will mostly deflect sideways rather than apply force to underlying material). There will probably be little reduction in size other than to dissolve clods or the loosening of cemented material.

In the dry mode I am skeptical of efficiency for fine gold. Fine gold introduced to the surface is subject to just riding on top or just under the surface, since it cannot displace anything much larger than itself, and then it can be ejected with the waste.

*Think how gold settles in the crease of a gold pan.

 

[alexias2]

Anything you do to change a natural nugget of marketable size as a "specimen " absolutely devalues it

You are missing the point, nobody is going to know it was damaged, I mean it has been sitting in the earth few hundreds of years. Unless it is a clear pick or shouvle mark, nobody will know about it.

Also, selling nuggets to collectors is hard, and hardly worth what the gold is worth in scrap anyway, unless it it a 30+ ounce nugget.

 

[alexias2]

There is prior discussuon on this forum here: http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/drywashing/429187-gold-drum.html

It looks like a pretty good concentrator in the wet mode. The gold should should have enough retention time to migrate down through the slurry and settle in the crease.* There it will be pretty much protected from pounding from introduced large stones or balls due to the large gaps they create between themselves at their base and the cushioning effect of overlaying sands and small gravel (that material will mostly deflect sideways rather than apply force to underlying material). There will probably be little reduction in size other than to dissolve clods or the loosening of cemented material.

In the dry mode I am skeptical of efficiency for fine gold. Fine gold introduced to the surface is subject to just riding on top or just under the surface, since it cannot displace anything much larger than itself, and then it can be ejected with the waste.

*Think how gold settles in the crease of a gold pan.

Why is the sprayer positioned over the sieve cage? makes more sense for the crap to feel the full force of the spray to break it up?

 

[Oakview2]

HUH

You are missing the point, nobody is going to know it was damaged, I mean it has been sitting in the earth few hundreds of years. Unless it is a clear pick or shouvle mark, nobody will know about it.

Also, selling nuggets to collectors is hard, and hardly worth what the gold is worth in scrap anyway, unless it it a 30+ ounce nugget.

 

[Mad Machinist]

http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/dredging-hi-banking/452244-55-gallon-fluid-bed-highbanker.html

Read it well. If you want to move more material in a shorter time, then pay attention. You should be able to build this rather cheaply or for nothing depending on how mechanically inclined you are and what you have laying around.

Instead of beating on someone else's idea, build it and improve it to your needs. Who knows, maybe you'll be the one to come up with the modification" that makes this work and there would be your "gold mine".

And I forgot to add, this wouldn't beat up any nuggets, thus keeping their "collector's value"' And if you have a hard time selling nuggets, your trying to sell to the wrong people.

 

[alexias2]

http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/dredging-hi-banking/452244-55-gallon-fluid-bed-highbanker.html

Read it well. If you want to move more material in a shorter time, then pay attention. You should be able to build this rather cheaply or for nothing depending on how mechanically inclined you are and what you have laying around.

Instead of beating on someone else's idea, build it and improve it to your needs. Who knows, maybe you'll be the one to come up with the modification" that makes this work and there would be your "gold mine".

And I forgot to add, this wouldn't beat up any nuggets, thus keeping their "collector's value"' And if you have a hard time selling nuggets, your trying to sell to the wrong people.

I am not worried about them battering nuggets since we are not sure if it even does batter nuggets(I am sure you could use a PVC barrel if your worried about the stock aluminum builders rock mixer from scratching the gold)
That fluid bed does not look the my original idea of a JIG, also it don't break up clay which means you would need a trammel. However with that gold drum you need a pump AND a motor, extra weight there!

What is the feed capacity on that fluid bed? It looks like it is not very good, and I can imagine it not being able to keep up with my shoveling!

The drum appears it would break clay up to liquid.

I think the gold drum is a pie in the sky scam(high capacity, breaks crap up with ease, and gets all types of gold without constant cleanups), if it looks too good to be true it probably is! I am not even sure that his gold on the video was real, or just a marketing scam.

 

[DizzyDigger]

<snip>
I think the gold drum is a pie in the sky scam (high capacity, breaks crap up with ease, and gets all types
of gold without constant cleanups), if it looks too good to be true it probably is! I am not even sure that
his gold on the video was real, or just a marketing scam.

So now you impugn (look it up) the character of the video maker without
the slightest bit of evidence beyond your own opinion?

Seems fairly obvious that you're a greenhorn; respectfully, I would suggest you sit back,
read the current threads and learn something from the more experienced miners.

 

[Goldwasher]

You are missing the point, nobody is going to know it was damaged, I mean it has been sitting in the earth few hundreds of years. Unless it is a clear pick or shouvle mark, nobody will know about it.

Also, selling nuggets to collectors is hard, and hardly worth what the gold is worth in scrap anyway, unless it it a 30+ ounce nugget.

I never saw you make a point......there would have to be information given that would have to be some form of useful info given to give recognition..

This statement about nuggets again shows you know way less about gold mining...and selling then you claim....it's pretty bad actually.

Your boasting again based on some expertise you claim to have.......and in the circle you are addressing you wouldn't make it as an unpaid intern

 

[Goldwasher]

When your nugget hunting with a detector....a scrape or tool ding can absolutely affect the specimen value....and scrap value is never even in the nugget conversation....Maybe once in the market and purchased in a lot nuggets will be melted. At the small scale artisanal level of digging and trade you would be laughed at for talking about melting a nugget.

And the closer you get to the 30 ounce mark you speak of...............sorry I'm chuckling right now.....the harder it is to sell nuggets...DWT to 4 dwt is prime for nuggets and placer under 30 mesh is almost impossible to keep in stock, sells instantly when you have a buyer in your pocket....
As a GOLD TRADER.........(is there a spitting coffee emoji?)...you should know these things!!!!1

 

[Goldwasher]

I am not worried about them battering nuggets since we are not sure if it even does batter nuggets(I am sure you could use a PVC barrel if your worried about the stock aluminum builders rock mixer from scratching the gold)
That fluid bed does not look the my original idea of a JIG, also it don't break up clay which means you would need a trammel. However with that gold drum you need a pump AND a motor, extra weight there!

What is the feed capacity on that fluid bed? It looks like it is not very good, and I can imagine it not being able to keep up with my shoveling!

The drum appears it would break clay up to liquid.

I think the gold drum is a pie in the sky scam(high capacity, breaks crap up with ease, and gets all types of gold without constant cleanups), if it looks too good to be true it probably is! I am not even sure that his gold on the video was real, or just a marketing scam.

If I remember correctly....your magic detector and technique keeps you from having to shovel that much in the first place. So, anything should be able to keep up with your volume of shoveling...
It is us who in fact who need taller rubber boots....and bigger shovels...to move through as much of the material you are throwing our way as possible.

You do recall you have started other threads right...do you read them? just wondering

Also you realize a trommel uses water supplied by a pump as well?.... Funny you knock a guys video where he shows gold recovered...in comparison to your boasting without showing anything....

 

[bobw53]

and placer under 30 mesh is almost impossible to keep in stock, sells instantly when you have a buyer in your pocket....

I've found there is a ton of 50 to 20 mesh gold on e-bay, tons of it... What I wanted to play with was some real "dust" and I couldn't find any... 100,200,400.....

If I had found some like that I would have figured out the classify classify classify thing a lot sooner and there would be a lot more gold in the bottle.
Someone should sell a "proof you need to classify kit".

 

[SLNugget]

I do know the Gold Drum works well in both the dry and wet mode. Is it the most efficient wash plant available? I cannot answer that question. But to jump on the internet and bad mouth a product and accuse to the maker of being a snake oil salesman without out any experience using the equipment is dead wrong. In addition to all your rant the Gold Drums are not for sale commercially. So no one was trying to sell you anything on that video.

 

[NeoTokyo]

The Gold drum works, I would just like to see a sluice under it in wet mode to catch any possible fine gold lost.

 

[Goldwasher]

I've found there is a ton of 50 to 20 mesh gold on e-bay, tons of it... What I wanted to play with was some real "dust" and I couldn't find any... 100,200,400.....

If I had found some like that I would have figured out the classify classify classify thing a lot sooner and there would be a lot more gold in the bottle.
Someone should sell a "proof you need to classify kit".

numerous ebay sellers source from prospectors and other small buyers. What I meant I guess that if you want to sell smaller gold you will have no problem and when your savvy you don't take quite the hit....on ebay you will sell at a premium but, you better have a constant supply because it will sell quick there too. Gold minus 50 mesh gets more difficult to buy because it is the first to go to melt....it normally is higher in purity also...ironic considering nuggets are typically less pure and command premium due to size, character, location etc.....vs. a technically superior more refined product. Smaller operations have better fine gold recovery as they are normally running slower in feed and flow...the big guys have volume and they melt pretty much everything I wager.....someone like Barry (Clay Diggins) would have all kinds of insight I bet..... BARRY at what size do they stop melting based on size?.... I would love to run the tailings out of any wash plant that runs hundreds of yards a day and was in an area that they recover ounces of +100 gold. You can read numerous studies and when gold gets into the 100 mesh range is when you really have to worry about loss. I bet they lose substantial fines at certain operations and you might just kill it with a machine tuned to have high capture rates of 100 to 200 mesh gold.

......though I betcha there are a lot of ops that are killing it on all sizes they can!