is there an easy method of desilting cons from sluice ??

[aussiefarmer]

Got some cons ready to run through mini sluice or pan is there an easy way of washing the silt out to keep the recirculating water clean without loosing any gold powder as one day I plan to blue bowl all my tailings to recover the microscopic gold ?

I have tried trickling water up through my cons but still found gold specks in the wash off water.

Seen videos of blue bowls running clean so there must be a way and is silt in my cons a sign I don't run enough water over the sluice in the first place ?

 

[aussiefarmer]

Or does anyone have some pictures of a filter setup for their recirculating mini sluice setup , If the water stays clear I will be able to see how far the gold is traveling down the mini sluice and adjust water flow or angle to suit ?

 

[shivan]

It is a bit easier keeping the water clean with a blue bowl for me, as the bowl is dropping the water and material into a bucket before it overflows into the tub with the pump. Classifying also helps solve a bit of the silt problem as most of the silt is in the -100 mesh stuff for us.

 

[aussiefarmer]

I have seen the multi bucket approach and will run that I was also thinking of making a bucket like object out of carpet and putting the pump in it.

I use rinse aid I thought maybe someone may suggest a better detergent.

I already sieve out 4mm to remove the odd rocks and dream of catching a nugget there but haven't , now you mention it I will sieve the fines out which should leave me with 1mm to 4mm cleanish cons and silty fines to do last.
Thanks shivan

 

[shivan]

Rinse aid helps a lot, better than detergent. I have used no name cheap brands which do the job, but keep coming back to Finish rinse aid as it seems to work better for me with less bubbles.
When we classify we go 1/4 inch, 1/8 inch, 30 mesh, 70 mesh and 100 mesh.

 

[mdv]

To separate fine black/blond sand/silt from my fine/flour gold, I built a small Miller Table from hardware bits and pieces that uses a submersible 12v pump to recirculate water.

Plenty of Youtube videos showing DIY Miller Table.

 

[XIV]

To separate fine black/blond sand/silt from my fine/flour gold, I built a small Miller Table from hardware bits and pieces that uses a submersible 12v pump to recirculate water.

Plenty of Youtube videos showing DIY Miller Table.

I would have to agree.
I run the same principle.
30, 50, 100 mesh.
All plus 30 mesh I just pan out.

 

[YIPPEKAIAY]

When the water is very dirty i use cheese cloth to clean the water it doesnt get it clear n may take a bit but it does get alot of silt out so can be reused quite a bit n the cloth is cheap n at any fabric shop i also use it for when im making moonshine !!! Hope this helps

 

[ProspectorPete]

I put all my cons in a 20 litre bucket in the garden or the lawn then put the hose in turn on slow, leave it there to overflow until it runs clear then move the hose around the bucket and keep prodding it down in different spots for a while to get the water flowing through all the cons, takes about 20-30 mins but will get 95% of the silt out and it's then clear enough to run in your recirculating sluice or any other method you like. Gold is 9 times heavier than water so don't be too concerned about it flowing out the bucket, if it's only on enough to get the silt flowing then you won't lose any gold.

 

[aussiefarmer]

I put all my cons in a 20 litre bucket in the garden or the lawn then put the hose in turn on slow, leave it there to overflow until it runs clear then move the hose around the bucket and keep prodding it down in different spots for a while to get the water flowing through all the cons, takes about 20-30 mins but will get 95% of the silt out and it's then clear enough to run in your recirculating sluice or any other method you like. Gold is 9 times heavier than water so don't be too concerned about it flowing out the bucket, if it's only on enough to get the silt flowing then you won't lose any gold.

My gold is 19.3 times heavier than water I am sure you just missed the 1 .
Had a little pump just trickling in a jar about 300mm high 1/3 rd full of cons and I still found gold that had washed out , was using soft water and rinse aid aswell so I don't think it floated out, so I am not game to try your bucket theory, it would work if the gold had some size to it but I unfortunately only have tiny gold :/
Have you repanned what you wash out of your bucket ?
I thought that would be a surefire way to wash the silt out until I checked the wash water

 

[Goldseeker57]

I use mercury to collect all my fine microscopic gold, that way I don't lose anything

 

[AtomRat]

I just use my manners and ask the silt politely to leave. It doesn't work but worth a try

 

[limpalot]

How brite does the moon shine thru cheese cloth, do you need sun screen.
Cheers LL

 

[rockerfella]

I am the same as Shivan
Classify the cons - 1/8th , 20,30,50 & 100 mesh then put each one seperately through the blue bowl. You have clean cons and works a treat. I also process through the gold cube at 1/8th first then classify a process through blue bowl.
Cheers
Mark

 

[mdv]

My Miller Table from hardware bits. 'Rough as guts' but it gets rid of that really fine blond sand that is impossible to 100% pan out.

Whole kit is stowed in a plastic tub.

Table is made of wood, 4 coats of green chalkboard paint. 12V submersible pump.

Green planter box fits neatly inside the tub; and has a hole already cut into it a couple of cm above the base to let the water out

Some flour gold ends up getting washed into the planter box; simply suck those bits out with a snuffer bottle and empty back onto the table.

In action. Brush the gold carefully into the hole into which I have glued the lid of a plastic 1oz vial - cut a hole in the lid, and screw the vial on underneath.