How to
find Gold with a Highbanker Sluice Box
You’re going to need more than just a shovel and pan if you want to make money mining gold. If you want to do it right, you’ll need all the proper tools and equipment—which can be hard to find at the store, especially if you’re looking for something specific like a Highbanker Sluice box. Luckily, there are professionals that deal in these kinds of things, which means all you have to do is ask them for help. If you want to mine gold with a sluice box, here’s how.
What is a
Highbanker Sluice or Sluice box?
Although there are many different gold-mining techniques out
there, one of the simplest and most cost-effective is using a highbanker or
sluice box. While they might not get you gold like those on TV commercials,
they are simple and efficient when used correctly. When shopping for your own
sluice box, there are several factors you should consider, such as how much
you’re looking to spend, how often you plan on using it and what types of
material it can handle.
For the most part, you would want to start using a sluice
box when you want to work through a lot more material to increase your payload
or increase your chances of finding gold. The most common sluice box you will
find is a standard river sluice box. The river sluice is approximately 200mm
wide x 1000mm long, does not work with any type of water pump but would be
positioned in a river with flowing water, slightly angled with a larger flared
opening at the back where you would place your material. Your material would
then be washed through your sluice box and all the heavier material such as
gold would then get caught in a mat designed to trap gold nuggets/flakes etc.
These basic sluice boxes would also have a riffle system which cause the water
to eddy into small basins, retarding the current so that gold may settle and be
trapped behind the riffle. Before using your river sluice, you would want to
classify your material into finer material, getting rid of larger rocks and
stones because a basic river sluice does not have an auto classifying mesh.
A Highbanker works on the same principle except on a larger
scale. This means you would be able to process a lot more material through your
sluice. Highbanker sluice systems normally have a large hopper where you would
add your material, and this hopper would have a built-in mesh classifying your
material in smaller parts and getting rid of the rocks for you. This type of
system is a standalone system that has a water pump connected to it so no need
to place this sluice into a river. For the most part highbanker sluices can
process 500kg's of material an hour up to several tons.
Depending on your budget or situation, this will determine what type of sluice system you would want to use.
Setting
up your Sluice box or Highbanker
If you are running a normal river sluice, this can be easily
and quickly setup in the river with a few larger rocks, or using a stand
specifically made for your sluice. Depending on the waterflow available you
will be adjusting the angle of your sluice to either increase or decrease the
water flow. The proper angle of your sluice is between 5 - 7 degrees. If you
are not sure, run some material over your setup. Rocks or small pebbles should
run easily over the riffle system slowly. Not zipping over the system but
rather slowly tumbling over your matting and riffle system. Once you are happy
with your angle and flow, you are good to go.
To actually run a highbanker sluice box, you would need a sump box to either recirculate your water or a nearby water source to pump out of. A recirculating pump preferably a semi trash or trash pump that can handle small debris in your water. You would setup your angle similar to your river sluice and run a few test buckets of material and adjust where necessary. Highbanker process a lot more material and are much larger than your standard river sluice. Unclassified material can be used and shovelled into the hopper. Your water pressure needs to be enough to breakup your material and rinse the finer material through the mesh of the hopper and over your main sluice. Sometimes you need to adjust your water pressure to control your flow, or increase the pressure to make sure you breakup the material if you have a lot of clay to deal with. A good option is to use a waterjet system instead of a spray bar.
How do I
recover the gold from my sluice?
Both a river sluice and highbanker work the same in terms of gold recovery. Inside your sluice box you have a riffle system as well as a mat often referred to as gold matting, miners moss, ribbed gold mat, vortex mat etc. As water carries gold-laden material through the sluice box, obstructions called riffles block the flow of material. These water flow restrictions create low pressure pockets where the gold collects and concentrates inside of the matting usually under your riffle system. The rest of the lighter material will just keep on flowing over the riffles inside your sluice. Once you have run enough material through your sluice box, you would then carefully remove your matting. These mats are then rinsed out thoroughly into a gold pan, or a large bucket. This material will then be added to your gold pan to further clean and separate the gold flakes from the rest of the particles. It is also common to run this material through a clean-up sluice system, blue bowl or some other clean-up process.
What is
the cost of a sluice?
River sluices are relatively inexpensive and start from around R1500 up to around R5000.00 depending on the brand and type of sluice. Some river sluice systems would include a small water pump or stand. A highbanker system is somewhat more expensive and start in the range of R8500.00 right up to R35000.00 again depending on the system. When purchasing a highbanker you would need to make sure it comes with a water pump, plumbing and fittings to get you started. The costs for this can all quickly add up. When deciding to purchase a highbanker sluice, the amount of material processed and gold recovery could outweigh the cost of the initial investment. Maintenance is also quite low
Final
thoughts
Using a sluice box or highbanker sluice is a great idea and
drastically increases your chances of finding gold. You will be able to process
a lot more material in a shorter time. However, this does have an initial start-up
cost that you would need to consider. Additional tools such as buckets, digging
tools, gold pans and possibly a clean-up system to further process your
concentrates. Make sure to do your research on the subject, speak to a
reputable supplier that will not only sell you the equipment, but also give you
the best advice.