Super Smithy Sluice

[Smithy42]

So with how keen I am too get going I slapped up a quick sluice too start getting use too sluicing, setting up levels and finding my best setup..

Started off with the usual plastic guttering which I found laying in the garden lucky enough too get me started, then from the rubbish pile I got some fittings and hose which I drilled out for my water supply too get some decent water flow while I practice.. For my levels I got a car mud flap for some ripples, then some miner moss style mat right at the end..

Starting too just play with my angles and water flow, just getting some dig from spots down the backyard not that I expect to find anything, but I'm keen too give it a try today see how it processes dirt!

Cody!

 

[nucopia]

No bad Cody let us know how it goes .

 

[Smithy42]

Happy for anyone's opinions too as I'm just getting started, wouldn't mind hearing what other have too say.. But I think I did good for my first setup just need to figure good matting and water flow and see how I go!

Cody

 

[Smithy42]

Really need a pan or figure out how to make a good separator just so I can figure out if I'm at least even getting flour, not getting any signs on my mud flap ripples so I'm thinking I got a few different factors I have too consider.. Am I going for the right soil or even in the correct location (Probably another good reason I NEED a pan).. Is my water flow enough or too much, is angle not correct, my ripples only being 2-3 mm if that would probably not help? Also I have done a silicone strip just before my ripples just cause I wasn't too sure about it staying flush, I think that could be too much of a jump for it? You can sort of tell in the pictures that it's jumping a bit.. So there is a few things I have too go over and learn as well, enjoying my little setup even though I got no major signs yet it's still fun giving it a go!!

Cheers

Cody

 

[cecc]

Not a bad attempt for your first go, would love to be able to sluice up here in QLD....but not many places let you.

 

[AtomRat]

Nice start too mate. The way I put it is you can slop a half cooked sausage in a tissuebox and if there's gold where your digging, it will stop some of it. The 'riffles' should be working fine but what's important is you don't want them to clog up, and should be 'clean' with minimal material in them before another shovel is loaded into the sluice. The squiggly matting will stop some gold but if you can get rubber v mat from bunnings ( on the big rolls ) and place a length under that, the gold has something to stop on there too, rather than the water flow sweeping the gold straight out under it.

If you put a bit of the grid back on top at the feed end you have a mini classifier to get rid of big rocks. Adding some bent alloy walls to keep the rocks in and also a direction to sweep the large rocks off the sluice would help too.

If you don't have a pan, you need one to sluice otherwise you have no clue if your digging gold or not. With a pan, find a location which certainly has gold worth sluicing ( 10 specks per pan is pretty poor but worth it for learning ) and then run that through your sluice.

 

[Smithy42]

With how keen I was i couldn't help myself too get up and going with a quick one just too get me started, I knew a pan Is going to be one of my most important tools for finding a good spot and getting gold separated from my Matt cleanings. Gunna go down tomorrow too my local prospecting shop and see what a pan is going to set me back, other wise good old ebay or another Cody Custom with a cheap dish or pot plant base! Also I do use the plastic grate top which does a great job spreading it out, keeping the big rocks out and letting me be able to breaking down the clumpy stuff.. I'm also considering redoing it with the v matting from bunnings too run underneath for half of the run, Also then I'll have the honeycomb style matting for my first level, then for the second I'll have the squiggly matting with out the bottom instead.. Which I would see being a lot easier for clean out and catching too!

I think I could be on a alright spot for giving a try.. Property I'm on slopes into a V and the middle of property has the whole bottom of the V if people can understand that, the whole property is covered in plenty of what looks like river rocks and quartz but mostly on the surface.. Which I would think this should of been under water but not too long ago? Here's a few of the samples I collected, not that I have a clue what they are or what they could mean.. But it was interested too find them all over the property I would have never realized if I didn't have a decent look over the grounds here..

Also finding that the soil varys a bit in different locations and depth but that's all too be learnt yet! Soon hopfuly!! Surprised how interesting I'm coming too find this, just has me questioning a lot of things which just makes me all that more curios with all of it too..

Looking forward to future learnings, experience and findings!!

Cheers
Cody

 

[AtomRat]

Any of them magnetic? The red ones look like jasper and the others have a high silicate content. The bottom rightmost ones are the interesting ones to me

 

[madworld]

Take your sluice and give it a whirl at deep creek fossicking area, if your lucky you might bump into a heavily tattooed man rocking his yobskin back and forth

 

[Smithy42]

Have only got a fridge magnet so not very strong, had a slight feel on one of the big ones.. Hoping someone comes across these that knows them a lot better than I do, but the only thing i could be sure on is there would of had too be a river coming through here with the smooth like rocks? And the land formation only makes it more plausable..

The lines in this one makes me very curios about it.. Also the one that I could have a slight magnet feel with

This one has clear like rock in it, some type of quartz?

Black stuff that I can't figure?

Smooth, dark Grey/black rocks

Definitely jasper like after looking at images on Google

So that is just a sample of what sits in the top of the soil over whole yard just about..

yes I'm keen too get it out to deep Creek soon but need too get a license, pan and a little more knowledge then I should be on my way.. So I'm just checking around the yard and getting hang of my sluice.. Trying too get a hold of Yobskin for a meet up, but I think he is a bit quiet now after getting so much chucked back in his face from what I recall reading, I would too! .. It is just sad seeing that he really did put a lot into trying to keep it clean, fair for everyone and helping others.. Hopefully I can get a hold of him for a meet and could maybe restore his faith in Gympians!

Cheers
Cody!

 

[AtomRat]

Hmm interesting. Could be quartz on a slate or shale.. looks a little like serpentine too the top one, seeming to have soft fibrous veins like asbestos

The chunk with clear quarts seems interesting. If you shine a light or torch behind it, does it glow through? A photo showing this would be useful to identify it too.

 

[AtomRat]

Have you checked out this topic by the way:
https://www.prospectingaustralia.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=3808

 

[Smithy42]

That sluice was pretty much what made me get up and looking the yard for bits and pieces aha.. But I'm going too do the exact same as for level material

The lined one has nothing clear/translucent (if that what it is?) In it.. The lines have two colors in it, yellow/brownish and green.. These pictures should show the line details a bit better, this is close as my phone will want too focus.

Also contains this grey part which looks like it contains some metals.. Interesting!

But the second one does have clear parts, but doesn't shine right through.. There is a bit of mixture on this one with clears and more solids, hope these ones bring little different perspective on them!

Cheers
Cody

 

[AtomRat]

Don't be afraid ( if your not personally attached to them ) to wrap them in a rag and smash them up with a sledgehammer, then smaller tool and crush it as well as you can to sand / dust. With a pan or even pot plant base, by doing some motion techniques ( I'd reccommend watching youtube vids on panning and finding gold in a pan ) you will find the heavies left over and see what the rocks contain

As a disclaimer - always use safety protection while smashing up rocks, like gloves, dust mask and safety glasses. Very important. Quartz also sparks when struck so look out for flammable gasses.

I panned my first gold for 4 weeks using a pot plant base. An old frying pan without a handle works well, if you can weld or glue in some strips of wire or plastic to form ridges ( check out pans on google ) it will help stop the gold flow out. If you can, you want steep angles to stop gold escaping on these bumps. Gold will fall over rounded riffles.

A dot of dishwashing detergent makes sure nothing will float on the water ( gold can float! ) and keep it on the bottom of the pan. Also helps the material slide while panning. If your doing this in creeks, make sure its highly environmental friendly detergent like eco brand.

 

[AtomRat]

..sorry, I should also mention that you want to look at these 'heavies'.. even with a magnifying scope if need be and look at what's in there. Sometimes you will see black which can be many forms of an iron. Sometimes sparkly tin or even better, what were after, gold, which is the heaviest ( by far ) thing in your pan and will be at the very bottom as long as the panning technique and shaking lots is involved to drop it to the bottom.

Panning is the key or detecting to find deposits or sources of gold by following traces and directions they take you in. If you find gold, your off to a good start. Make sure your in a gold bearing area with google.

Even if you find tgere isn't gold, you may have gemstones of value or something else

 

[Smithy42]

I'm definitely considering breaking them up, really interested as too what could be in the middle of them... or what I could pan out of them.. Will try set myself up a pan tomorrow so i can finally be able too try get the swing of panning and can sample my soils quick and easy then! .. Also will go back over the back yard again try keep an eye out for some different rocks, also finish off my holes which I'm doing in different locations and depths just too see my different soils levels and what is coming out.

Going to go with your advice so I'll see how I go, thanks for the info mate.. I'll keep everyone posted!

Cheers
Cody

 

[AtomRat]

Patience helps a lot too, so don't be concerned if you find nothing for a while as you learn. Remember to check out a map and see what resources are in your area to make sure your digging for a reason if you like, when you reach 10 posts you can private message me your rough location or area and I can send you some maps or help with some starting info

Quartz is everywhere on the earths crust, only some contains high mineralization like gold and what not

 

[AtomRat]

Some important info in this thread of wally's bunnings sluice too about how you've layed your matting in a comment I wrote will help catch the gold as well as the riffle sectioned walls could be blowing out gold instead of catching it

https://www.prospectingaustralia.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=14483

Sorry for information overload.. :/ its just the tip of the iceberg for you but prospecting can and does yield surprises, with patience. ( for most.. some are just darn lucky straight off the boat. Hope this is you! )

 

[Smithy42]

From what I've read on here you need patience and lots of it, I defiantly wasn't expecting too put my shovel in the ground and strike gold.. I got a lot of enthusiasm about it which I hope I don't lose, but even picking up these rocks I'd never thought id consider looking at is giving me excitement just thinking about how they were formed, where they came from or what they could contain.. It's really just the history and experience that's drives me! Being in Gympie, it has a fair bit of history when it comes too Gold so it was another reason I really wanted to get involved more and I'm finding a lot more about the town history along the way.. Great stuff

Cheers
Cody

Will probably get a message soon after this #10 post!

 

[AtomRat]

I don't know the town or history, but I've heard it enough to say you've got gold. You just gotta find it now

There's a few posts already on the forum about gympie and you can use the search option for the forum to find them ( magnifying glass icon )

Learning geology itself is amazing and learning how and why things are formed, one of the many sub-topics related to prospecting along with things like geography, science, chemistry and so on. Depends how in depth you want to get