Time for black sands clean up and a sample of things to come

[Jeff95531]

It rained all last week. It rained all this week. Forecast for next week? You guessed it. So I dug out the Miller Table, took notes on what was wrong/needs to be fixed and there it sat. In the mean time, I gathered my super fines from the last trip to dial in the table once I get around to it. Then, my good buddy Delnorter PM's me with an offer of not only a few pounds of gold bearing black sands to feed my table, he also had concentrates from a recent gold/platinum and silver producing solo prospecting spot he discovered. Was I interested? Oh yeah!

Mike brought everything over and as he pulled out baggies of dart black sand, he also shows me the coolest plastic mini classifier set I've ever seen. He also lends me his black sand magnet/plunger which is something else I must have. As the new list of must haves roll in the background, he offers up this latest spot of his is accessible even now as flooding surrounds meaning it just may be an old river channel with good to moderate access. OK, now I'm excited...

But, first things first. The table taught me a lot since I got it, especially what not to do. One big problem is I never got full side to side coverage/discharge. I also let the pump sit in fines which reduced it to next to nothing for flow, even with attempts to revive it. So, I replaced the pump, put it in the filter/container and discovered the discharge hose was way way longer than it needed to be so cut it in half. Also used a different/courser scratch pad along with the denser stuff it came with.

I finally got it to be full and flat board (as a baseline) not to mention his black sands are freakin heavy! After lots of tweaking yesterday and today on the table, it's about right. I still have to reduce the amount of spray bar diffuser material I added in the head cuz max flow is not just not there yet. So far I'm finding 8% to 10 % loss in the discharge pan so not bad for not done.

The water diffusing pads where packed with fines as shown in the pics. I took advantage of the rain to flush out "the mats".



There may be some extra pics...can't confirm deletes.

 

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[delnorter]

Looking good Jeff. I really interested to see the results of running the river panned concentrates from the snuffer bottle.

As I look at the mat of the Miller Table I notice the water kind of "sheets" around not really wetting parts of the mat. Would it help to wash the mat wish Dawn soap? Kind of how you wash a new gold pan.

Mike

 

[Jeff95531]

It's not been done and definitely the right time to try it and will do. Thanks Mike!

 

[stephen583]

Instead of spending thousands of dollars on extremely expensive equipment, why not separate your black sand from gold using the same methods the Ole' Timers used. Early prospectors relied on two forces to separate black sand from gold. Wind and gravity. They merely tossed their material on a canvass sheet, or blanket and flipped it up in the air. It's known as "Winnowing". The sand was blown away in the wind, and the gold fell back onto the blanket.

Now let's bring that principle into the 21st Century. All you need is fast moving air. A variable speed wet vac with a clear plastic 1/4 inch hose duct tapped to the intake receptacle creates all the suction and air velocity you need. By looping the hose in a circular pattern and setting it on its' side (say loops the size of a beach ball), the force of gravity comes into play. A series of about four, or five loops is optimum.

Then you simply stick the end of the hose into a bucket of dry black sand/gold concentrate. VIOLA ! Properly adjusted, the black sand travels over the top of the loops and into the wet vac container, and the (heavier) gold falls back to the bottom of the loops. Easy Peasy. Cleanout is simple and quick. Just place the open end of the clear plastic hose in a container, detach the other end of the hose from the wet vac, hold the loops upright over the container and blow into the hose. Out pours the gold.

I saw this system in action and it works beautifully. I even asked to test pan the material sucked into the wet vac (and did). To my utter astonishment it resulted in 100 % efficiency. All I found in the wet vac was white and black sand, and I'm an expert at vibrating fine gold out of black sand in a pan. No gold whatsoever in the wet vac. That's how I would separate gold from black sand.

Cost ? I imagine you could buy a used wet vac from a thrift store for around $30 dollars. Most thrift stores will negotiate on their prices. Duct tape and clear plastic hose costs are minimal. The entire set up (including bucket and container) should cost you less than $50 bucks.

Why do it the expensive way, when there's a cheap way that works just as well ?

 

[fmrUSMC_0844]

Instead of spending thousands of dollars on extremely expensive equipment, why not separate your black sand from gold using the same methods the Ole' Timers used. Early prospectors relied on two forces to separate black sand from gold. Wind and gravity. They merely tossed their material on a canvass sheet, or blanket and flipped it up in the air. It's known as "Winnowing". The sand was blown away in the wind, and the gold fell back onto the blanket.

Now let's bring that principle into the 21st Century. All you need is fast moving air. A variable speed wet vac with a clear plastic 1/4 inch hose duct tapped to the intake receptacle creates all the suction and air velocity you need. By looping the hose in a circular pattern and setting it on its' side (say loops the size of a beach ball), the force of gravity comes into play. A series of about four, or five loops is optimum.

Then you simply stick the end of the hose into a bucket of dry black sand/gold concentrate. VIOLA ! Properly adjusted, the black sand travels over the top of the loops and into the wet vac container, and the (heavier) gold falls back to the bottom of the loops. Easy Peasy. Cleanout is simple and quick. Just place the open end of the clear plastic hose in a container, detach the other end of the hose from the wet vac, hold the loops upright over the container and blow into the hose. Out pours the gold.

I saw this system in action and it works beautifully. I even asked to test pan the material sucked into the wet vac (and did). To my utter astonishment it resulted in 100 % efficiency. All I found in the wet vac was white and black sand, and I'm an expert at vibrating fine gold out of black sand in a pan. No gold whatsoever in the wet vac. That's how I would separate gold from black sand.

Cost ? I imagine you could buy a used wet vac from a thrift store for around $30 dollars. Most thrift stores will negotiate on their prices. Duct tape and clear plastic hose costs are minimal. The entire set up (including bucket and container) should cost you less than $50 bucks.

Why do it the expensive way, when there's a cheap way that works just as well ?

That sounds like that gold webb thing.

 

[Hoser John]

Looks like a fantastic way to spend a cold wet day. Smarter than the average miner as why waste a sunny day when there is mining to do. Nice rig and great photos. The only people who are perfect do absolutely nothing.John

 

[Jeff95531]

Instead of spending thousands of dollars on extremely expensive equipment, why not separate your black sand from gold using the same methods the Ole' Timers used. Early prospectors relied on two forces to separate black sand from gold. Wind and gravity. They merely tossed their material on a canvass sheet, or blanket and flipped it up in the air. It's known as "Winnowing". The sand was blown away in the wind, and the gold fell back onto the blanket.

Now let's bring that principle into the 21st Century. All you need is fast moving air. A variable speed wet vac with a clear plastic 1/4 inch hose duct tapped to the intake receptacle creates all the suction and air velocity you need. By looping the hose in a circular pattern and setting it on its' side (say loops the size of a beach ball), the force of gravity comes into play. A series of about four, or five loops is optimum.

Then you simply stick the end of the hose into a bucket of dry black sand/gold concentrate. VIOLA ! Properly adjusted, the black sand travels over the top of the loops and into the wet vac container, and the (heavier) gold falls back to the bottom of the loops. Easy Peasy. Cleanout is simple and quick. Just place the open end of the clear plastic hose in a container, detach the other end of the hose from the wet vac, hold the loops upright over the container and blow into the hose. Out pours the gold.

I saw this system in action and it works beautifully. I even asked to test pan the material sucked into the wet vac (and did). To my utter astonishment it resulted in 100 % efficiency. All I found in the wet vac was white and black sand, and I'm an expert at vibrating fine gold out of black sand in a pan. No gold whatsoever in the wet vac. That's how I would separate gold from black sand.

Cost ? I imagine you could buy a used wet vac from a thrift store for around $30 dollars. Most thrift stores will negotiate on their prices. Duct tape and clear plastic hose costs are minimal. The entire set up (including bucket and container) should cost you less than $50 bucks.

Why do it the expensive way, when there's a cheap way that works just as well ?

I've heard about this and it's quite unique. I appreciate the advice but since your methods are so much different than mine, why don't you start your own thread on the subject?

 

[johnedoe]

And don't forget the WD-40.......

 

[Jeff95531]

And don't forget the WD-40.......

Yeah...I miss the days when it was flammable. I once lubed a bearing in a canister vac and turned it (briefly) into a rocket complete with 3 foot flames out the back!

 

[johnedoe]

I would have liked to have seen that...LOL... bet that got your attention..
Nice work on the table.... looking forward to your results.

 

[Jeff95531]

Yeah...I miss the days when it was flammable. I once lubed a bearing in a canister vac and turned it (briefly) into a rocket complete with 3 foot flames out the back!

OMG Leave it to You Tube to have something like it! LOL...glad mine was in the garage and not the living room.

(sorry...back to the intended thread)

 

[nh.nugget]

Nice looking setup Jeff! But one thing where's the sheets and Crisco?

 

[Jeff95531]

Table is finally dialed in...but still requires the sample run.

Last round of tests revealed I had too much material in the diffuser (for sure) as volume was lacking..especially for a new pump. My newly introduced 3M Hvy Dty Stripping Pad (pic 5) which is less dense....and flows more than the OE Scotch Brite pad...which I had to abandon after testing...eventually and with all due Respect to AZViper who hand crafted the table and gave it to me...(but you know we must tinker Keith...buddy. )

And Keith built it well. It takes about 10 minutes to fully breakdown the header box as it's fine threads and zero leaks at the seem. So you want it right and done. I went exclusive on the the 3M pad and as you'll see in the pics, the Dawn treatment made the flow smooth and full at ALL but the lowest flow rate (Thanks Mike!) What a difference!

Anyways...got the results I wanted and more. Here's some pics along the way and prior to running a sample. What happened to the sample captured in the pan I had Well of course I accidentally dumped it all into the main tub during testing...so must start over. Is there any other way?

 

[Oregon Viking]

Cool!
Jeff we need to have a race, my Blue bowl vs your miller table....
I need to get the fish oil atta my blue bowl.... Will WD-40 work for that?

 

[KevinInColorado]

...and I'll race you both with just pans n classifiers!

 

[Jeff95531]

...and I'll race you both with just pans n classifiers!

 

[Lanny in AB]

Jeff,

Glad to see you're still experimenting, refining, and enhancing your techniques.

I truly hope you're able to recover your fines, and I'm sure you'll get out when the rain finally stops to get some more of that beautiful gold.

All the best,

Lanny

 

[Jeff95531]

Been busy with life lately, all good but when I finally get to do something like actually working my table, I kind of messed up. But I get ahead of myself...and there in is the rub.

Me and Mike were pretty excited to get to the bottom of his snuffer bottle and he gave me 3 of his projects with specific instructions...
Small baggie of black sands. Magnetics removed.
Large baggie of black sands including magnetics.
Snuffer bottle from latest field test.

Well once I got that table going dead on, I was more than ready to run material. Got the snuffer, flooded with jet dry treated water and flushed it out real good into a pan. About 5 table spoons full...enuf to cover the bottom of the pan. And I see gold and silver bits of sparkles all in the mix.. I fire up the table and start feeding a tablespoon at a time and the gold sticks like glue...just like it should. So wtf

So does something else stick around the gold. I can't seem to separate the black sand out of the way. Different flows, no change. So just before I scrape the pan for the "good stuff" (I can easily see them...lots of fines) I stare at what's recovered in the vial when it hits me. I grab another pan, dump the vial and wave the magnet over it. Yep, I forgot to take the magnetics out first.

Once that was done, looking a lot better in the last pic. The pan still has a very visible amount of fines waiting to be done properly and I won't let us down. And I'd love to blame it on my inexperience but I just get caught up in the gold. If you know me you know that. So back to check lists for me for a bit.



More to come...

 

[johnedoe]

What classifier screens have you run the stuff though? I ask because some of the gangue looks larger than what your trying to recover.

Remember the golden rule.....
If everything in the pan is the same size Gold rules.

 

[KevinInColorado]

And that table will work best with -50 and -100 material. Pan the bigger stuff, it's easy once you pull out the magnetics and the smaller stuff.