Dry Shaker

[Jemba]

Dry Shaker? ... Up until yesterday I never seen or heard of the dry stacker. But to my way of thinking it would be a very good tool to have in your kit. My question is this, has anyone seen one in use and or worked one? They were used in S.A and W.A?

Handbook on prospecting in South Australia.
Corporate Author: South Australia
Published: Adelaide, K. M. Stevenson, Govt. printer, 1952.
https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015068535635&view=1up&seq=88

 

[A-team]

Basically a mini portable dry blower, with out the blowing - just the shaking. Really like the classifier system. Maybe a good weekend DIY project, though probably best for summer - not sure how damp material, especially in Vic would go?

 

[Mackka]

Where did you get the word "Stacker" from?
Mackka

 

[Jemba]

Where did you get the word "Stacker" from?
Mackka

From the book which described it. {see above post} yep you were right my blue.

 

[grubstake]

Except the pics you attached to your post say "shaker", not 'stacker'.

 

[Jemba]

Yep just noticed that sorry bad eyes these days. LOL

 

[Jaros]

Amended title to Shaker.

 

[Jemba]

Thanks mate. cheers

 

[Moneybox]

I saw a similar thing at Mt Surprise looking for sapphires. From memory they used a couple of wheels with flat sides to create the vibration.

 

[Jemba]

Interesting, thank mate :Y:

 

[Mackka]

Something like a stacked Willowby Moneybox?
Mackka

 

[Goldfreak]

I think the direction of the shaking is important so the gold stays behind the riffles as the flat steel would allow it to shake side to side but not front to back. Interesting contraption.

 

[Jemba]

I think your quite right in what you say, I also think it is quite interesting. :Y:

 

[Moneybox]

Something like a stacked Willowby Moneybox?
Mackka

Yes although I put it closer to a dry rocker box with vertical vibration. I could possibly find a photo but it was way back, perhaps 2015.

 

[Jemba]

That would be good if you could mate. Thanks, I been looking on the net for any reference about them but there is nothing. But they must have worked or they would not have mentioned then in the S.A government Handbook on prospecting. Cheers Jemba

 

[Jemba]

A bit more on the Shaker, it is interesting that in photo 4 they make mention of a small machine, known as the Pneumatic Prospector. Another device I know nothing about?

Taken from

Gold Mining And Milling In Western Australia

by

A. G. Charleton A.R.S.M

1903

https://ia903101.us.archive.org/18/items/goldminingandmi02chargoog/goldminingandmi02chargoog.pdf

 

[Goldfreak]

Interesting ideas. I love these old photos.

 

[Mackka]

Love this Jemba.
Mackka

 

[Moneybox]

I never realised that so many of these machines existed. I've seen the evidence of their work all over the place and wondered how they processed the the dirt. One of our leases here close to town has a surface with just small piles all close together unlike left by the modern dryblower. I thought perhaps worked with a rocker box of some kind but after reading this it was most likely worked by multiple very small dryblowers. They did a great job because there's not much surface gold left only may hundreds of cans and bottles. I'm counting on the cans having protected the gold that's left. Nobody can successfully work a metal detector because some of the rusty metal has been turned over with the dirt.

Jemba, I've had a bit of a look for an old photo of the machine we saw two guys using at Mt Surprize but so far I've not found it.

 

[Nightjar]

Trove is a valuable source of early days gold mining.

https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/33104893

https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/5004101

https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-149149609/view

https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/227747559/23681751