gold miner spiral wheel question

[jrib1]

if I'm after fine gold recovery, and I place black sand into wheel, shouldn't all the black sand travel to center on first pass ? most of the black sand seems to hang up about midway and I can see fine pieces of gold mixed in with it, thanks for any help

 

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[Bonaro]

If you adjust the angle of the wheel you control how much heavy material will travel up the spirals. Angle it back to a less steep position and you will see the BS climb higher and begin washing into the cup. You probably wont be able to completely divide the BS from the gold. The trick is to adjust so you get all of the gold and as little BS as possible. Carefull hand panning is always the final step in any cleanup process no matter what device you use.
Pre-classify your feed prior to feeding the wheel. Divide the feed into progressively finer lots and run separately. Use a magnet to remove ferrous before each run. The spirals should also be smooth, not rough or scratched from use, clean with fine steel wool and dish soap.

 

[jrib1]

thanks Bonaro for the reply, I'll rerun the material as you explained, one more dumb question, I carry material home in buckets, rocks and all, then set up buckets full of water , with 100 , 50,20,1/8 mesh screens on them, I put small amount into 100 mesh and wash down with hose, then transfer what's in screen to 50 mesh, and so on, now your say I should try to remove iron materail with magnet before I run it on spiral wheel ?

 

[Hard Prospector]

I classify all cons wet just like you, separate and dry in batches (1/8, -12 -20 etc.) Pour dried material into a large gold pan about 1" deep, I use a Garret Super Sluice pan just for this. Take a good magnet(I like Rare Earth) hold magnet about 1/2' over material while agitating & shaking it in the pan. The magnetite will "dance" up to the magnet leaving the gold behind. After this with much of the black sand removed, run wet in the wheel and it will work much better.

I use the Desert Fox for final clean up and Gold Magic for sampling and like them a lot.

 

[jrib1]

Thanks for the reply, I wished the spiral wheel instructions suggested this, again, thanks

 

[Bonaro]

thanks Bonaro for the reply, I'll rerun the material as you explained, one more dumb question, I carry material home in buckets, rocks and all, then set up buckets full of water , with 100 , 50,20,1/8 mesh screens on them, I put small amount into 100 mesh and wash down with hose, then transfer what's in screen to 50 mesh, and so on, now your say I should try to remove iron materail with magnet before I run it on spiral wheel ?

Yes. It's a lot easier if you remove the magnetics. Do this before you start classifying.
The material you carry home in buckets should be screened before you carry them home. Unless you are prospecting in an area known for nuggets, I would screen and toss everything that wont pass 3/8" mesh. If you have only fine gold in your area then you might pre-screen to 3/16" in the field.
Are you able to stack your screens so you can make all of your cuts at once?

 

[KevinInColorado]

Jrib, I'd also suggest you start with the largest hole screen first (8 mesh) then 20, then 50. Your classifiers will last longer this way and the process is faster too. Also the multiple handling will separate the smallest gold from the material better.