| Panning for gold is the best way to locate gold in gold bearing gravels. It is essential that you "prospect", or look for gold, before you actually set up for any kind of operation. Most prospectors stick with the pan and the hand sluice, but some take it a step further and operate a Power Sluice, or a "High Banker". The Power Sluice uses a water pump to force water through a sluice box, acting just like the flow of a stream. A box (or Hopper) with spray bars and a metal classifying screen (Grizzly) is used to wash the material and send it down through the sluice. Prospectors simply take a shovel full of material and dump it directly into the hopper. All of the material is washed off by the power of the sprayed water. Oversized rocks are pushed out the back, and the screened material runs through the sluice box (just like a normal hand sluice). The concept is simple and very effective if you want to move large amounts of material that is not located directly within a stream or river. |  |
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A Power Sluice is a great piece of equipment if the gold bearing gravel you are mining is not located directly in a body of water. Most Power Sluices have 20-30 feet of hose which allows you to operate away from a water source. All Power Sluices utilize a pump of some kind, most of which are attached to a gasoline or electric engine. Power sluices can also be operated in a desert environment using a recirculating unit that pulls water from a storage container and returns the same water from the sluice back into that same container. | Power Sluices typically have the same general components: 1. Grizzly (Hopper box with classifying screen and spray bars) 2. Sluice box 3. Engine or pump 4. Adjustable legs 5. Pressure Hose (from pump to sluice) 6. Foot Valve and hose assembly (from source to pump) |
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Prospectors will tell you that there are many keys to successfully running a Power Sluice. Here's a couple suggestions from some seasoned prospectors: 1. Don't overload the hopper. Let the sprayer wash every part of every rock. 2. Make sure your sluice is angled properly. Measure the angle on the box or directly on the riffles. The angle varies between 1 and 12 degrees, but most say 3 or 4 degrees is plenty if you have the proper water flow through the sluice box. 3. Stablize your unit. Ensure the legs are firmly planted. 4. Make sure your sluice box is clearing properly, just as if it were in a stream or river. Make sure the first and second riffles are not filled with material, they should be clearing overburden effeciently yet retaining the fine black sand and gold. |
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5. Clear both the front tailing pile (screened from the hopper) and the discharge end frequently. The front tailing pile can be a tripping hazzard as it builds up. 6. Regulate your water flow by the throttle on the engine or by a valve on the Grizzly. 7. Inspect the black matting often. If larger pieces of gold have made their way to the bottom of the mat or not at all, you may be running the water too fast OR the angle of your unit may be too steep. 8. Run your engine on idle when cleaning up your Power Sluice. Use a large pan or tub to catch all the concentrates. 9. Keep your fuel away from the engine and away from the water source. Do not add gas while the engine is running or while it is sitting in the water. Totally avoid fuel spillage, in water or on dry land. |
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