Sluice on a budget?

[Bfine01]

Hey guys I was just wondering if anyone could give me some help finding a good sluice for fine gold in a creek in chapel hill nc? the water flow varies from slow to fast so thats not really a problem. My budget is up to $80. Thanks!

 

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[Rebel73153]

California sluice box company drop riffle stream sluice. I love them now that i have tried them. Easy to clean up, no riffles, carpet or matting to remove, and they catch really fine gold.

 

[wingmaster]

Angus Mackirk makes some great sluices that catch the real fine gold great and some are in your price range, just make sure to get a big enough sluice to process the material you want as well. The AM sluices still work good if you don't have the flow you want, you just have to feed it slower.

 

[H&F909ORO]

I have to agree, the angus mackirk are the best for your range. They are very good sluices for fine gold. Make sure the buy the right one for your area. Good Luck!

 

[mike(swWash)]

MacKirk or LeTrap in that order. Just my 2 pennies worth

 

[Bfine01]

Thanks all!!! Which Mackirk would you suggest?

 

[2cmorau]

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[H&F909ORO]

Thanks all!!! Which Mackirk would you suggest?

. Well it's up to you to figure which one would be best for the types of water ways you have. Is there streams, rivers or creeks in your area?

 

[Bfine01]

. Well it's up to you to figure which one would be best for the types of water ways you have. Is there streams, rivers or creeks in your area?

We have Land in Denton, Nc which is near reeds gold mine and the uwharrie so im excited to go up there this weekend. I already have a small micro sluice thats like a foot long with rubber riffles but im not sure how fast the water is. Do the mackirks have drop flairs so i dont have to position it perfectly?

 

[H&F909ORO]

No, most of them don't have flares except a few select ones. I can't tell which ones do or don't cause the are currently working on their websites pictures. With your small sluice make sure to classify it and feed it very slowly. Feed it with little amounts at a time. If you overload it you will be loosing gold. Good Luck out there prospecting!

 

[crazywolfminingco]

colorado goldsticks. is my favorite.

 

[Bfine01]

View attachment 957838colorado goldsticks. is my favorite.

what kind of water velocity does it need? What kind of classification? is it good for fine and large gold?

 

[ALewis]

Save up a little more $ and check out a bazooka.....Will save you lot's of time & effort not classifyin, and the setup is easier...I'd rather find a spot I can set-up mine than classify & feed slow all day. Get it set-up right and you can run some serious material through a pretty small sluice....

 

[Bfine01]

Save up a little more $ and check out a bazooka.....Will save you lot's of time & effort not classifyin, and the setup is easier...I'd rather find a spot I can set-up mine than classify & feed slow all day. Get it set-up right and you can run some serious material through a pretty small sluice....

Drop Riffle ABS Sluice Box 10" x 39"
how about that one? my budget got cut significantly due to a hospital bill at least everyone is okay!

 

[Bfine01]

Grubsteak sluice for getting gold

or this one? ive hear the angus ones are great. im just a (serious) hobby miner so i dont need to run huge amounts of material through my sluice. It takes me a while to find good ground anyway cause im in chapel hill (havent checked the denton dirt out yet) and theres not much gold ;(. if anyone thinks there is can you tell me where i could find it and how deep to go? should i dig all the way to bedrock right next to the creek?

 

[pods]

Grubsteak sluice for getting gold

or this one? ive hear the angus ones are great. im just a (serious) hobby miner so i dont need to run huge amounts of material through my sluice. It takes me a while to find good ground anyway cause im in chapel hill (havent checked the denton dirt out yet) and theres not much gold ;(. if anyone thinks there is can you tell me where i could find it and how deep to go? should i dig all the way to bedrock right next to the creek?

Well in my area, which is about 20 miles southeast, most of the gold I have found has been pretty recent flood gold. Seems the pay layer (if you can call it that) is near the bottom of the overburden and fines mixed in throughout.
From what I have seen of the topography near CH, if you are in an old creek that is not a flood controlled one, the gold should be deeper, more like out west.
You will probably run into a large amount of black sand too. I have found decent amounts where you can find black sand on top of a bluish clay. The creek I hit is a rain creek and only allows sluicing after storms.
I run BGTs, a mini and a new 36" prospector.
If you have an area that you can prospect gimme a shout and I can demo the BGTs for you. I work in RTP, so I can probably come by after work some night or can do weekends off and on depending on baseball.
Chapel Hill is right on the edge of the slate belt and there is historical mines around the area, so there should be some color all around.
Denton is smack dab in the middle of good gold.

 

[H&F909ORO]

Well I would go with the angus mackirk cause I would trust it more in capturing fine gold. I wouldn't know about the abs plastic sluice.

 

[KevinInColorado]

Drop Riffle ABS Sluice Box 10" x 39" how about that one? my budget got cut significantly due to a hospital bill at least everyone is okay!

With your budget, I'd say make one out of wood that looks like the ABS one in the link above. Seal it well so it doesn't warp (at least for a while). Should be able to make it for $30 all in. Then once you get more $$ and experience and get tired of classifying material (which you 100% will!) then go buy a Bazooka Goldtrap Prospector. You'll move 2X the material and get 2X plus some more gold with it!

 

[Kruzman]

check this out, should fit your budget.

 

[Bfine01]

Well in my area, which is about 20 miles southeast, most of the gold I have found has been pretty recent flood gold. Seems the pay layer (if you can call it that) is near the bottom of the overburden and fines mixed in throughout.
From what I have seen of the topography near CH, if you are in an old creek that is not a flood controlled one, the gold should be deeper, more like out west.
You will probably run into a large amount of black sand too. I have found decent amounts where you can find black sand on top of a bluish clay. The creek I hit is a rain creek and only allows sluicing after storms.
I run BGTs, a mini and a new 36" prospector.
If you have an area that you can prospect gimme a shout and I can demo the BGTs for you. I work in RTP, so I can probably come by after work some night or can do weekends off and on depending on baseball.
Chapel Hill is right on the edge of the slate belt and there is historical mines around the area, so there should be some color all around.
Denton is smack dab in the middle of good gold.

I have land on price creek. Pritchards mill is on my property. What do you think about that spot? Is it a good one? Where should I be looking?