expanded mesh or riffles

[dwt]

Has anyone used a sump on their banker? We met this guy in Eldorado and he had an amazing set up. He sells them on eBay.

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Gold-Slu...dustrial_Mining_Equipment&hash=item43d3c27d2d

Simple, I like it

 

[ausniper]

The question was do you persist with hungarian type riffles and chase the larger gold with lots more larger cons to take home.or setup to catch fines which seems to be what alot of people are getting more of .ie run more richer pay dirt through.less larger barron material.the question was based on 2 highbankers one with mesh the other with large riffles that seem to be covered over in material while running in alot of video's.i find it is better to have material going through and out the end with a quicker exchange.if the mesh stays exposed the lighter material exchanges right out.where with larger hungarian type riffles you can see the material clog up cover and take for ever to clear if it does at all.i agree the walbanker is great for what it is as it seems to work great for gems too.but i was thinking about fine gold recovery not gems.can't compare to crevicing and panning either.i was suggesting the 2 types of riffles on gravel bars that are fairly easy shoveling as thats what i have to work with.gravel seems to be about volume.20-30 specks per pan will not yeild much from 1x 3 gal bucket.but run 100 cubic metres of the stuff and it soon adds up.i run for 10-15 min as that is all it takes to run 1 cubic mtr steady shoveling.from the posts i can see some great thinking going into this.

 

[HeadsUp]

The question was do you persist with hungarian type riffles and chase the larger gold with lots more larger cons to take home.or setup to catch fines which seems to be what alot of people are getting more of .ie run more richer pay dirt through.less larger barron material.the question was based on 2 highbankers one with mesh the other with large riffles that seem to be covered over in material while running in alot of video's.i find it is better to have material going through and out the end with a quicker exchange.if the mesh stays exposed the lighter material exchanges right out.where with larger hungarian type riffles you can see the material clog up cover and take for ever to clear if it does at all.i agree the walbanker is great for what it is as it seems to work great for gems too.but i was thinking about fine gold recovery not gems.can't compare to crevicing and panning either.i was suggesting the 2 types of riffles on gravel bars that are fairly easy shoveling as thats what i have to work with.gravel seems to be about volume.20-30 specks per pan will not yeild much from 1x 3 gal bucket.but run 100 cubic metres of the stuff and it soon adds up.i run for 10-15 min as that is all it takes to run 1 cubic mtr steady shoveling.from the posts i can see some great thinking going into this.

Just to clarify ,when you say a cubic metre you are talking about excavating a hole 1 x1 metre by 1 metre deep right (or equivalent) ?

When 1 cubic metre of material is excavated , depending on what it is and how long its been sitting it can take up a volume of anywhere from 1 to 2.5 cubic metres but for the sake of this discussion my reference is to the size of the hole left behind.

Sorry if I diverted the post away from your question

The answer must be location specific , some places may have chunky gold that has not travelled more than 50 metres from that sexy rocky outcrop while others have 99.999% of the gold being smaller than 1.5 mm

You need to pack your sluice that day in a configuration to suit the location

Even if you're in that chunky gold honey hole above I would still have 30% of the sluice as fine gold catch zone and 70% Hungarian , clarkson ,modified clarkson , reversed angle or mesh .
In a spot that is dominant fine - superfine gold then my boat gets rocking with 75% fine catch zone and 25% coarse nugget catch

 

[ausniper]

Yep 1 cubic mtr. And gravel is never going to make a perfect hole.so my guess is pretty accurate .i have multiple setups depending on area.my question was not for me but for other members and visitors.as there seems to be alot of large riffle setups which to me are clearly not running enough water ,and would probably catch more gold with expanded in there and use less water for more concentrated paydirt.as i haven't seen too many of the larger riffle setups that have caught anything other than non precious stone in fine gold areas.i build large scale mining equipment for a living.i work with cubic metre volumes every day i am building a 48 cubic mtr bucket at the moment if i could use that on a wash plant in a fine gold area. we also do large scale gold mining equipment

 

[ausniper]

I started this post because of the amount of people that are buying highbankers or building, that are setup for high volume high water flow large gold recovery. and they are have trouble understanding that the chances of hundreds of cornflake size nuggets being in there highbanker are pretty unlikely. in some areas there is coarse gold and fines.but for alot of them fines is what they are getting.then i get asked how they can increase recovery and i tell them to remove the riffles and use different size mesh .the looks i get you would think i was the devil.there seems to be alot of people reading this so if your in a fine gold area that is what you should set up for.there is enough gold out there for everyone to enjoy finding it be it big or small

 

[yobskin]

I got big thick moss then 1/2inch mesh and riffles all stacked on top. My main gold is fine. Anything over .1 get stuck infront of the first riffle all fines are in mesh n moss.

 

[ausniper]

You find the chunkier ones just sit there huh.its the finer stuff that is hard to catch and there is a lot of it.more fine gold is being found on the planet than any other type.some of the best mined material cannot be seen with the naked eye.and yet some returns are 114grams per tonne in nsw

 

[Creekbed]

I would like to test my new highbanker ................i can run 1 cubic meter every 10 minutes.2 guys cannot keep up to it.2 inch petrol pump a bit over idle.6 cubic meters an hour is a bit of material to shovel and i am not getting any younger

A good idea and design by the sound of it (for a semi commercial operation) BUT in NSW there is a limit to how much dirt you can move per day. It is 1 cubic metre per 48 hours 8.(

quote from DPI website

Other restrictions on fossicking
The Mining Regulation 2010 also prohibits:
the damage or removal of any bushrock.
the disturbance of more than 1 cubic metre of any soil, rock or other material during
any single period of 48 hours.

I mention this because many of the "new breed" of so called prospectors appear ignorant to this, and many other sections of the legislations as is evidenced by my quiet observations around a few popular gold areas

I'm no spring chicken and I can move a cubic metre of loose gravel in less than an hour on a good day. Compacted ground will obviously take longer BUT you can see what I'm wanting to highlight.

There are enough Gung-Ho newbies out there digging for their life with no knowledge whatsoever of the regulations. This activity is coming under notice and is exactly what those who want us gone are looking for
For christ sake don't give the green but noisy minority any more ammunition.

Wake up and think first and you may be able to teach this great hobby to your grand kids otherwise the hobby will be outlawed.

Just think!!!!!

 

[Swinging & digging]

I am 100% with you on that, "Creekbed".
The current non compliance by the hoards of newbies is drawing attention here in Victoria too.
The rate of excuvation in total is now getting close to early gold rush proportions, all i can see coming out of it is way more restrictions on volume limits, locations, and allowable equipment for use.

Most likely the use of high bankers and trommels will be prohibited and we will have low impact designated gold prospecting areas and if bank side destruction occurs it will be all over.

The writing is on the wall. 8.(

 

[ausniper]

The question was do you persist with hungarian type riffles and chase the larger gold with lots more larger cons to take home.or setup to catch fines which seems to be what alot of people are getting more of .ie run more richer pay dirt through.less larger barron material.the question was based on 2 highbankers one with mesh the other with large riffles that seem to be covered over in material while running in alot of video's.i find it is better to have material going through and out the end with a quicker exchange.if the mesh stays exposed the lighter material exchanges right out.where with larger hungarian type riffles you can see the material clog up cover and take for ever to clear if it does at all.i agree the walbanker is great for what it is as it seems to work great for gems too.but i was thinking about fine gold recovery not gems.can't compare to crevicing and panning either.i was suggesting the 2 types of riffles on gravel bars that are fairly easy shoveling as thats what i have to work with.gravel seems to be about volume.20-30 specks per pan will not yeild much from 1x 3 gal bucket.but run 100 cubic metres of the stuff and it soon adds up.i run for 10-15 min as that is all it takes to run 1 cubic mtr steady shoveling.from the posts i can see some great thinking going into this.

As i mentioned in my earlier post i only run for 15 min as that is how long it takes to run 1 cubic metre.as in 1mtr by 1mtr by 1 mtr.i could run larger amounts but that is not following the rules.yes it would take longer for hardpack or high clay areas but i have different setups for different areas.i am not a newbie to this hobby.i am 42years old and my 10th birthday was when i first started.i may have been doing this alot longer than most but i tend to think outside the box.

And if you do the math.4000 people go to an area and dig 10 cubic mtrs a year.the amounts of material turned over washed and filled back in will be noticable.oallen ford shoalhaven river see alot of people.if you had a photo from 10 years ago it would not look the same today plus flooding changes.with more and more people doing fossicking each year if everyone is sluicing the impacts will be more and more noticable.there are other methods that are having impacts do you know how many detectorists holes i have seen that aren't filled in.i take rubbish that i find(not the crappy nappies)i removed alot of broken beer bottles from everywhere.i personally think mcdonalds and beer companies should pay a speicial tax just for them as they are doing more damage to the enviroment than hobby prospectors all in the 1 stream. :|

 

[ausniper]

Fossicking rules also state no more than 10kg of mineral bearing material or 5kg of minerals can be removed.so i don't know what 1-2gal of cons weighs as it dosen't state wet or dry in the rules.but i am sure it would be close to those numbers.it would be interesting to see how many people weigh what they take home.and how many are breaking the laws even unintentionally.

 

[dwt]

I read the NSW fossicking act in regards to 1 cubic meter disturbance simply as in one area, it doesn't say you can't move half a foot to the side and and kick off again, as long as you have back filled and cleaned the area, move onto the next section, these are the grey areas in otherwise black and white print.
6 cubic meters in an hour, having a 6 cubic meter hole, I'm sure would see a foot in the ass, 6 different digs in the one area that have been back filled and cleaned up may go unnoticed or even not worried about by the powers that be, grey areas, it basically comes down to who's interpreting the rules at the time, wether that be the prospector, or the badge wearer.

 

[ausniper]

That is a few peoples veiw .also having other people with you to help dig a hole for beer .if you have 5 of them with you 6 cubic mtrs for the day would still be ok as long as the hole is back filled.i go by myself so 1 cubic mtr is fine for me .i have not run a 6 cubic mtr pile of dirt .but i am good at math so by my calculations 2 healthy fit guys could process 6 cube's an hour easy through my highbanker .the cons no matter how much i run is about half a pan.i have had 2 people shovel for 10min and moved the same amount of material but i wasn't shoveling as hard as i did by myself ,it was quite an easy 10min.it is not semi commercial mining it is fossicking within the rules. The post is about expanded mesh vs riffles so getting a bit off topic i did not want to upset anyone by running 1 cubic mtr so fast through my highbanker.but as my dad always said assumptions will always lead to mistakes.thanks for your comments guys

 

[Creekbed]

I read the NSW fossicking act in regards to 1 cubic meter disturbance simply as in one area, it doesn't say you can't move half a foot to the side and and kick off again, as long as you have back filled and cleaned the area, move onto the next section, these are the grey areas in otherwise black and white print.
6 cubic meters in an hour, having a 6 cubic meter hole, I'm sure would see a foot in the ass, 6 different digs in the one area that have been back filled and cleaned up may go unnoticed or even not worried about by the powers that be, grey areas, it basically comes down to who's interpreting the rules at the time, wether that be the prospector, or the badge wearer.

It specifically says " the disturbance of more than 1 cubic metre of any soil, rock or other material during
any single period of 48 hours."

How you can possibly read that as anything else other than Not allowed to disturb any more than a TOTAL of 1 cubic metre over 48 hours is beyond me.

Sure you could try hiding your previous hole and say you have only just started digging if challenged...But you are displaying the characteristics of the people I mentioned in earlier posts, ie, No regards whatsoever for the rules.

CB

 

[ausniper]

So i am good 1 cubic mtr is ok.now with the point of the topic running 1 cubic mtr of material using big spacings on the grizzly i have found there to be quite a difference in the amount of cons between expanded and riffles.with riffles i get the most cons so being heavier i screen down and pan at the creek.but with expanded i can take the small amount of cons home .i spend more time checking tailings and back filling than panning cons and running the highbanker :| .expanded mesh seems to be efficient at half the water of hungarian riffles.i have tried other types as well and get the same results.reverse riffles work well for sapphires and garnets.but these are my findings from i don't know how many hours ,weeks,months,years?.i don't know .my setup takes 5 mins i run for 10-15min then sepend a couple of hours cleaning up.this is usually every week or so but recently i have been working alot of hours and my time off is for sleeping,eating and travel to and from work.but i have annual leave coming up and i will be good to get out and run some material again

 

[ausniper]

Creekbed i can see what you are saying but some people say patato some say patahto,tomato,tomahto.different people read interpret things differently even if they are wrong it their interpretation.and it does says 1 cubic mtr per 48hrs but that is per person.otherwise you could have 20 people at 1 spot and they are only able to run/disturb 1 cubic metre between them every 2 days how much material would a meet and greet go through.and i am pretty sure you're not allowed to split slatey rocks with a pry bar either but that would require another post about rules and regs wouldn't it.not expanded vs riffles

 

[Creekbed]

.otherwise you could have 20 people at 1 spot and they are only able to run/disturb 1 cubic metre between them every 2 days

It is obviously aimed at individuals. Your grasping at straws and smart comments like that win you no praise

Its quite realistic that many of us using highbankers or wallybankers would shovel more than a cubic meter in a weekend but you are talking about aiming to intentionally move high tonnage which takes it outside the bounds of hobby prospecting or "fossicking"

 

[ausniper]

I can explain it again there is a highbanker that i have it runs 1 cubic mtr in 15 min.the amount per hour is a calculation for 2 guys(6 cubic mtrs an hour) i do not and have not run 6 cubic mtrs through it at the 1 time this is 1 cubic mtr at a time over a long time 1 don't know how many cubic mtrs exactly.so lets says alot.the highbanker is capable of running that much,i actually have 2 high volume highbankers,my comments may come across to you as smart maybe they are.but that would be your personal interpetation of them.i have not put name calling in my post ie:-newbreed prospectors,gunghoe newbies.that would be your personal assumtion.i am not a newbie nor gunghoe.if you or other prospectors find happiness taking all day or all weekend to run 1 cubic mtr that is just fine and dandy whatever floats your boat.i however have a limited amount of time to fit my hobby into a busy schedule.i have a full and clear understanding of fossicking rules and prospect within the scope of these rules.so no grasping at straws i am not looking to get praise.this as far as i am aware is a forum for discussion about alluvial prospecting.which my post topic is about.not about wheather you can understand that 1 cubic mtr is the most that is run through my highbanker at any 1 time.you clearly are stuck on the fact that a mathematical calculation = breaking fossicking rules which it is not.if 1 cubic mtr a week is high tonnage you need to get better advice.if i said i run 6 cubic mtrs every time i go out you would be correct but that is not what i have said a number of times.stick to the facts don't make assumtions as they are usually wrong.so i am not being a smart a#$.just trying to have a discussion about expanded vs riffles.

Am i right moderators?

 

[dwt]

I read the NSW fossicking act in regards to 1 cubic meter disturbance simply as in one area, it doesn't say you can't move half a foot to the side and and kick off again, as long as you have back filled and cleaned the area, move onto the next section, these are the grey areas in otherwise black and white print.
6 cubic meters in an hour, having a 6 cubic meter hole, I'm sure would see a foot in the ass, 6 different digs in the one area that have been back filled and cleaned up may go unnoticed or even not worried about by the powers that be, grey areas, it basically comes down to who's interpreting the rules at the time, wether that be the prospector, or the badge wearer.

It specifically says " the disturbance of more than 1 cubic metre of any soil, rock or other material during
any single period of 48 hours."

How you can possibly read that as anything else other than Not allowed to disturb any more than a TOTAL of 1 cubic metre over 48 hours is beyond me.

Sure you could try hiding your previous hole and say you have only just started digging if challenged...But you are displaying the characteristics of the people I mentioned in earlier posts, ie, No regards whatsoever for the rules.

CB

Whatever dude, just how I read it, want to go getting your nickers in a knot or three over misinterpretation of a rule that is what I see as a grey area, go knock yourself out, just make sure if your going to follow this rule to a T, then this applies for detecting, gemstones, worms for fishing, oh, and I hope you don't spin the wheels in your car or 4x4 when your out bush, cos that's going to add up as well, best of luck.

 

[Creekbed]

Ahh Dear///////// "In The Course of Fossicking" defines it rather clearly.

Your response reinforces what I said before, that you display the characteristics of those who have no regard for doing the right thing

Nuff said