How to break sticky white clay down

Some clays like Kaolin are electrically balanced and need to be chemically
treated ,you don't want to go there.

Thinking of the lack of rain it's repelling the water, I'm just need to soak longer and wash more. Funny I found some small ruby like stones. Will post on a different chat. When I clean them up. The fine gold is adding up

Plus

Plus

With a bit of

And maybe a little dishwashing liquid (not much, depends on the material) and maybe gypsum again depending on the material.
Use lots of water and repeat, it should break down just about any clay. If it's bunching up in a blue bowl then you need to run it through this process again. Don't fill the bucket more than 1/3rd with material.
Clay is a pain, so the material better be worth it. This is a lot of effort and uses a lot of water, but it's by far the easiest way lve ever found.

I have seen somewhere that someone was using truck wash to break up clay. Have not tried it myself, I tried liquid clay breaker, left it soaking over night then stirred the stuffing out of it with the paint stirrer, maybe should have left it longer, it seemed to work a little bit.

Thanks guys, patience is the key. And worth it. In the blue bowl this morning. Nice to wake up to

Anyone tried a cement mixer? Put some rocks and water in to smash the clay.

thanks limpalot, that's call a trommel and it still balls up -- I'm going to play with gypsum and see how it works -- will report back in two weeks

Matt80 said:

https://www.prospectingaustralia.co...3559_4ac60465-2806-4aeb-a330-7c1e29d04dfb.jpg
Plus
https://www.prospectingaustralia.co...3781_c1c09ce1-b005-42a9-87e0-fd7c8fc3f74c.jpg
Plus
https://www.prospectingaustralia.co...3589_1cc447d7-d621-456b-a2d2-8707ad88f855.jpg
With a bit of
https://www.prospectingaustralia.com/forum/img/member-images/3461/1537853614_images_1.jpg
And maybe a little dishwashing liquid (not much, depends on the material) and maybe gypsum again depending on the material.
Use lots of water and repeat, it should break down just about any clay. If it's bunching up in a blue bowl then you need to run it through this process again. Don't fill the bucket more than 1/3rd with material.
Clay is a pain, so the material better be worth it. This is a lot of effort and uses a lot of water, but it's by far the easiest way lve ever found.

Click to expand...

Use a bigger tile glue paddle and STEEL bucket

thanks 20xwater, got the problem solved -- soak with gypsum for two weeks, then sieve down to 15 mesh , if any clay balls form again, back in another bucket - use the paint mixer, and repeat -- Ive stop using the blue bowl for now and using a 6inch mini rat -- perfect -- Dustin was right on the money

many thanks for everyone's comments good to see a helpfully topic

Mark

I bought about 80 litres worth of clay and rock dug out of a nice inside bend and put the whole lot though my old concrete mixer at home . That broke it all down and there was good colour in the wash that was left. I think it was mostly fine flood gold with a couple of little pickers

This mornings clean up

How do you get rid of the black sandy stuff?

That is left in the pan along with the gold... :goldnugget:

Goody :goldpan:

I use a little pen magnet. Got it from total tools. Works well.

I have a black sand magnet,

but it is not picking it up,

Through magnets only worked on metal,

The sand is a problem,

Will try the pen magnet,

Thanks ward69

Easy way I've found is scoop up the gold into smaller pan. Then slowly. Wash the sand. Off Then Pure gold.

Yeah I was thinking along those lines too,

Will worry about it when I get a bucket full, :lol:

Just I been watching a lot of u tube and they seem to get a lot of black sand in the pan,

By using the snuffing bottle, you would still get a lot of the sand still, I would feel,

Where I'm from. No black sand, lots of iron stone and. White clay. Using smaller pan. You can control a lot more Good luck.

Goody, you just need to practice your panning technique one fellow on the forum showed me his figure 8 swirl he uses, I do it a bit differently and just recently I saw adventure gold using another method, which I might try myself. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9iopqu9dKxU&t=708s
Just remember to do it all under water, don't be tempted to raise the pan out of the water and wash material off.
Your final swirl will be done out of the water though, just practice, you will get better.

Most people I see hang onto their gold so it really doesn't matter how clean you get it.

Thanks Occasional_panner,

it's just those last bits that bug me,

I always use a another tub under my pan so I can re_ pan it,

As I keep some dirt so I can practice at home all the time,

practice and more practice,

Goody

you both very very luck to have water -- here no rain here, no water in creaks -- hopefully big rain next week -- I take a couple of buckets home each week and while having a couple of beers after work, it's a hobby - beats talking to the mrs all the time