Whats the best way to break up clay while panning.

[jarrahrules]

Any good ideas?????

 

[Jaros]

Break it up as much as possible, then dissolve in water stirring all the time till dissolved, then "go" with the panning.
Just plain hard work and patience.
Jaros..

 

[dwt]

CT 18 truck wash, breaks down dirt and is biodegradable, if you take buckets home to test pan while you're sinking a King
Brown, then soak your clays in a bucket with the truck wash

 

[casper]

hi jarrahrules - with clay you gotta "puddle" it and that's what jaros is describing. I use a Garrett classifier (aka sieve), it sits well down into a bucket so that when the bucket is full of water the contents the classifier (sieve) are submerged. Break up the bigger clay balls by crushing in your hand and then working it all with your palm and pushing it through the mesh. Remove the classifier (sieve) and stir the bucket vigorously changing the water a couple of times before processing another load of clay. I work at this until i get about 10 litres of puddled and washed material in the bucket and then put it through my river sluice finally i pan off the sluice concentrates. Easypeasy

casper

 

[Guest]

Lately iv been raking it through my 1/2" bucket classifier with a small hand rake' easiest way iv found so far....

"Oh yeah like Casper said but I use a small 4 prong rake not my hands"

 

[casper]

Lately iv been raking it through my 1/2" bucket classifier with a small hand rake' easiest way iv found so far....

"Oh yeah like Casper said but I use a small 4 prong rake not my hands"

....... actually I gave up using my hands this week after slicing a finger tip on a sharp piece of quartz recently - as a result i have modified a popular plastic garden Rake / Hoe to "puddle" the washdirt. Works well - I'll post a photo .........

casper

 

[jarrahrules]

hi jarrahrules - with clay you gotta "puddle" it and that's what jaros is describing. I use a Garrett classifier (aka sieve), it sits well down into a bucket so that when the bucket is full of water the contents the classifier (sieve) are submerged. Break up the bigger clay balls by crushing in your hand and then working it all with your palm and pushing it through the mesh. Remove the classifier (sieve) and stir the bucket vigorously changing the water a couple of times before processing another load of clay. I work at this until i get about 10 litres of puddled and washed material in the bucket and then put it through my river sluice finally i pan off the sluice concentrates. Easypeasy

casper

Thanks Casper that makes more sense. I do force it through my clasifier but then the clay balls are still just smaller. I feel that the small gold is still stuck to the clay.
Will try your idea next time out.

JR

 

[20x]

in the field for sampling i use a 3mm sieve on top of my pan and mash it through by hand, breaks it all down pretty fine releasing most of the finest colours

the next step up from that is a cordless drill with a paint paddle in a bucket

 

[jarrahrules]

Lately iv been raking it through my 1/2" bucket classifier with a small hand rake' easiest way iv found so far....

"Oh yeah like Casper said but I use a small 4 prong rake not my hands"

....... actually I gave up using my hands this week after slicing a finger tip on a sharp piece of quartz recently - as a result i have modified a popular plastic garden Rake / Hoe to "puddle" the washdirt. Works well - I'll post a photo .........

casper

Ouch

 

[casper]

Lately iv been raking it through my 1/2" bucket classifier with a small hand rake' easiest way iv found so far....

"Oh yeah like Casper said but I use a small 4 prong rake not my hands"

....... actually I gave up using my hands this week after slicing a finger tip on a sharp piece of quartz recently - as a result i have modified a popular plastic garden Rake / Hoe to "puddle" the washdirt. Works well - I'll post a photo .........

casper

Ouch

the photo as promised - NB: the hand tool was a combination hoe and rake but i sawed off the 3 rake tynes cos the hoe blade is the more efficient bit for the job I thought ...

casper

 

[Goldtarget]

When I'm trying to get alot done for highbanking etc I grab a flexi tub 1/3 full of water shovel in until full. Grab some gloves and start mashing add more water until the gravels are loosened up. When panning just the classifier over the pan, submerge, rotate until most of it is in the pan. Then submerge pan and wash with one hand until the clay and silt are almost completely gone and resume panning.

In freaky clays, really heavy bodied stuff, I take a square aluminium bucket and a piece of pine and wash it up and down along the bottom while I leave the next one to be done soaking. The key to clays is water. If there's no big bodies of water you may have to find one. If I remember next time I'm out I'll take some photos.

 

[jarrahrules]

Where i go all there is is clay. Sooooo frustrating.

 

[backcreek]

Classify it then put it in a bucket with some water, gypsum and detergent and give it a wiz with a paint stirrer or a mixer on a cordless.

If you can get everything in the bucket fluidised your heavies will move to the bottom therefore you can let it settle, remove the top layer, add more material and repeat.

This way you can continually increase your concentrates in the bottom of the bucket and when you are ready you can either pan it out or concentrate it further by sluicing or highbanking it.

Sounds like a lot of effort but it does work.

 

[Goldtarget]

Put up a pic of the type of clay mate if you can I'm curious as to what you are dealing with, pipe clay, solid alluvium, loamy or other. I'm in clays myself most of the time, get a bit jealous of the river rock prospects.

 

[jarrahrules]

Put up a pic of the type of clay mate if you can I'm curious as to what you are dealing with, pipe clay, solid alluvium, loamy or other. I'm in clays myself most of the time, get a bit jealous of the river rock prospects.

I agree river rock would be easy.

Not going out for a bit so i will take a pic when out next. I think its pipe clay.

 

[G0lddigg@]

To break up clay in the pan i grab a handfull off fine gravel and smash it between my hand in the pan. Best not to have too mcuh water in the pan just enought to stay muddy. Failing that i take a cordless drill with a soare battery and a paint mixer that ive twister wire around.