| Having the right equipment is critical to being a successful prospector. "Prospecting", in my book, means "looking". Prospecting is the best part, sampling creeks and streams, bars and benches. It's the thrill of the hunt that makes this hobby so much fun. Once I have found a placer deposit that I want to recovery, I determine what piece of equipment would best accomplish the job. My basic prospecting tools: Various gold pans of all sizes and shapes Shovels, pry bars, and hand tools Metal Detector Classifying screens 4 - 100 Gloves, rubber and leather Various sized buckets and catch pans Keene A52 Sluice Snuffer bottles Magnifying glass The bigger stuff: Once I've found a deposit that I want to recover, I determine what piece of equipment would best help recover it. I do alot of traveling, and each state has different requirements on the type and maximum size of power equipment that can be used. I also carry permits for the states that require them for dredging. Here's my equipment aresenal: Proline 2" Highbanker/Dredge Combo This was the first big piece of equipment I purchased. I love this machine. I typically use this on remote creeks and streams. It's a fairly lightweight piece of gear and has plenty of power. We always joke that the engine sounds like a chainsaw when running near other dredges! As a highbanker, the sluice can handle as much as one person can shovel on a normal pace. I purchased this unit used, and recently replaced the suction hose and nozzle. Overall, this is a great piece of gear that can move more material in an hour than you could classify and hand-sluice in a day. I would recommend this unit to anyone as a great first dredge, highbanker, or both! 
Keene 3" Ultra Mini Dredge w/air I just purchased this unit in January 2008 from a prospecting buddy down in North Carolina. This is my first Keene dredge and I'm looking forward to getting some time on this model. It has a 4 HP Honda with a T-80 air compressor. I need to replace the suction hose to get it back to 100%. At 170 pounds, this small dredge is both portable and efficient enough to pull material through 20' of suction hose and through the 48" sluice box. The gentlemen that had this dredge before me enjoyed great gold recovery with this machine. I'll get more photos posted soon! 
 Proline 4" Dredge w/air This is my most recent Proline purchase. This is a 4" dredge with a 5.5 HP Honda powerplant and T-80 compressor. I purchased this dredge because this is the largest dredge I can operate in Virginia without a special permit. I've had this dredge out numerous times already, and absolutely love it. It is already my favorite dredge to use because it is powerful and portable. It's a great all-around dredge with awesome suction power and the typical Proline smooth sluice action. I've already recovered some nice gold with this dredge, both fine gold and chunky pickers. This dredge is nicknamed "VW", or "Virginia Workhorse". 
 
Proline 5" Dredge w/air I purchased this 5" dredge from Proline in 2007 after buying a gold claim out in California. I needed a dredge that could handle deep faster water. YOu can read all about my trip in my Journal. I went straight from the 2" combo unit to this 5" dredge, and it was quite the jump... This dredge has two 5.5 HP Honda powerplants and can flat out move material. I put about 100 hours on this dredge last summer in Cali, and didn't have one malfunction. The suction power is phenominal, and the sluice runs as smooth as glass. The dredge is fairly portable. I am able to pack the entire unit in my Blazer. There is a huge difference in the amount of material you can move with a 5" dredge compared to a 4" or a 3" dredge. The nozzle practically feeds itself. Gold recovery? This dredge catches the flour gold and the nuggets, no problems! This dredge, along with the 6" Proline, will be the primary material movers during the upcoming mining expeditions to California. 
 
Proline 6" Dredge w/air Enter the beast. This dredge was purchased in a joint venture with a good friend of mine. It will be used by the expedition leadership team on our claims in Northern California starting in the summer 2008. It was purchased with two things in mind... move massive amounts of material and spend as much time on bedrock as possible. I was able to break this dredge in this past fall, and it ran like a champion. The twin 9 HP Honda powerplants will suck the gloves right off your hand, and maybe a few fingers! The PCA-10 air compressor easily pushes plenty of air to multiple divers. We're pretty excited to get this hog into the river and can't wait to see her in action! Here's a photo of the 6" next to the 5". What a pair of hungry monsters! 
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| I've had enough experience with my dredges to figure out how my particular dredges run efficiently. I've adjusted engine speed, adjusted angles, done frequent cleanups, and also re-dredged entire tailing piles to test my recovery rates. Every dredge is different, and each dredger has his own setup. I run the engines at 90%-95% full throttle and run the sluice box practically flat. I've spoke to the folks at Proline who have years of testing experience, and they concur that their dredges should be running relatively flat, with just a slight angle. The angle will increase when the sluice begins to fill with concentrates, so you must keep an eye on that as well. My 5" runs and retains best with the back of the sluice out of the water about an inch, and the front of the sluice in the water about an inch. This means I had about 2" of elevation on a 5 foot long sluice. I tried the "one inch per foot" that you might hear when referring to a hand sluice, and that was WAY TOO MUCH ANGLE with forced water flow. I even tried 3 and 4 inch elevations. Still way too much. Just experiment with your setup and be sure to test your tailing piles every once in a while. That way you know if you need to adjust your setup. Keep a close eye on your foot valves. Make sure they are not sucking up sand or being blocked with leaves or debris. This will reduce the water flow into your sluice, which results in material buildup and improper clearing. It will also reduce your suction power, causing more frequent nozzle and hose jams. Additionally, reduced water (or air) in your pump will cause the pump seals to burn up. It's no fun replacing a seal on the river, or being down for two weeks while you get a new seal. When dredging in water with lots of debris, I've place my foot valves in large buckets and also used large screens to keep a nice clean area for the intake of water. Keep those foot valves clear! Finally, watch your material intake. Any dredge will eat until there's nothing left to eat. Keep your pace moderate and in tune with what your sluice is properly clearing. Check your box every so often to make sure the cobbles are clearing and that nothing large is caught in the sluice, affecting the smooth flow of water over the riffles. |
