I have always wanted to vacuum form a large sluice box out of abs but cant justify the tools to do it and many commercial plastic companies are not interested in a one off. I think I have found a solution though. Other states and regions probably have similar organisations. This one is in Adelaide about an hours drive from me. http://www.sanemakerspace.com
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Bullion.Forum
Great resource for DIY
- Thread starter Goldfreak
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Windar
Craig
Hey that looks good. And they have a metal sheet bender so could also look at ally sluice.
Now just need time somewhere between work, family, study and trying to get a little gold!
Now just need time somewhere between work, family, study and trying to get a little gold!
Aluminium is not recommended to make sluices out of , can't remember just why though something to do with electrolysis I think
Goldtarget
(AKA OldGT)
What a shame it is so far away, great resource.
ken2m
Ken
xcvator said:
Could be the incompatibility between mercury and aluminium, mercury will put holes in aluminium. Mercury is common in some mining areas both naturally occurring, and introduced by mining . Ken.
ken2m said:
Yep, that was it :Y:
We used a sluice made from a length of 150mm PVC cut in halves length wise. Added a few riffles and a section of matting. Nothing escaped when we cleaned up our dry blowing fines.
Great idea nightjar. Pvc is a nice plastic to work with. You can make it any shape you want with a heat gun and the advantage over abs is that plumbers pipe glue will create a strong bond with out having to weld it.
if you go down the pvc route though make sure you use the upvc which is solid not the stuff with yellow foam inside.
Mercury won't effect your sluice box if you frequently clean out the concentrates like as a bare minimum daily.
I have heard of it attacking the aluminium if concentrates are left in your sluice for extended time period like a few days or more
though i have never seen that myself.
The anti mining activists have been successful in portraying a myth that there is like litres of liquid mercury laying about in
stream sediments, but in reality its not that common, occasionally some of your gold will be partly coated in it.
I once panned some liquid mercury droplets in a creek? I suspect somebody had been experimenting with it, as it
was at least 1km downstream of the nearest old gold battery site.
Mercury lost during old mining would have been heavily dispersed by floods since, not saying it does not exist as fish flesh samples
confirm widespread effects.Finding large quantities would be very rare.
I have heard of it attacking the aluminium if concentrates are left in your sluice for extended time period like a few days or more
though i have never seen that myself.
The anti mining activists have been successful in portraying a myth that there is like litres of liquid mercury laying about in
stream sediments, but in reality its not that common, occasionally some of your gold will be partly coated in it.
I once panned some liquid mercury droplets in a creek? I suspect somebody had been experimenting with it, as it
was at least 1km downstream of the nearest old gold battery site.
Mercury lost during old mining would have been heavily dispersed by floods since, not saying it does not exist as fish flesh samples
confirm widespread effects.Finding large quantities would be very rare.
Teemore
One foot out the door
xcvator said:
WOW ..... you've just upset every sluice manufacturer around the globe .....
You may be thinking about boats, although there are heaps of aluminium craft out there. they do have a problem with electrolysis, good idea never to drop lead sinkers where they might end up resting against raw aluminium ..... electrolysis will burn a hole into it.
Also a reason outboard manufacturers incorporate a zinc, from memory, 'sacrificer' that will save the aluminium parts on the outboard from corroding.
Cheers T.
Windar
Craig
I managed to find a drop of liquid mercury on Friday in the Onkapringa river in SA. Very small only about 1.5mm diameter. Glad I had aqua tweasers and a spare sealed container to get it out of the River and my pan
Moneybox
Philip & Sandra Box
Goldfreak said:
Goldfreak, you can use PVC plumbers cement with ABS as well. It's solvent will also dissolve the surface creating a successful bond. That sanemakerspace.com looks like a great organization. I would love to have access to something like that here.
Windar said:
Mercury is fluid.
You will not pick it up with tweezers... it sounds like it's amalgamated with a small piece of gold.
Windar
Craig
Sorry poor language, Pipette. I have seen others refer to them as aqua tweezers
Yep I have also come across mercury while out on a dig. Below is a bit of info on the stuff. :Y:
Mercury Amalgamation is the process by which mercury forms liquid solutions with various metals, primarily Al, Au, Ag and Zn. Of these, Aluminium has engineering significance. The Aluminium is generally prevented from contact with mercury by the Al2O3 protective surface oxide. While the oxide on Aluminium is not homogeneous and contains numerous defects, in general mercury lacks the ability (due to high surface tension) to diffuse through these microscopic cracks and defects to reach the underlying metal. However, this inability to penetrate the protective oxide layer may be mitigated by thermal or mechanical stresses, by abrasion and by some chemical environments.
Once mercury has breached the aluminium oxide and come in contact with the underlying metal, the rate of amalgamation depends, largely on the metallurgy and microstructural condition. It is observed, for example, that mercury amalgamates selectively with weldments and more rapidly with some alloys. Amalgamation generally results in surface etching and pitting as long as no water vapour is present. It can result in the loss of mechanical strength in weldments.
https://www.hrlt.com.au/blog/effect...uminium-heat-exchanger-in-a-natural-gas-plant
Mercury Amalgamation is the process by which mercury forms liquid solutions with various metals, primarily Al, Au, Ag and Zn. Of these, Aluminium has engineering significance. The Aluminium is generally prevented from contact with mercury by the Al2O3 protective surface oxide. While the oxide on Aluminium is not homogeneous and contains numerous defects, in general mercury lacks the ability (due to high surface tension) to diffuse through these microscopic cracks and defects to reach the underlying metal. However, this inability to penetrate the protective oxide layer may be mitigated by thermal or mechanical stresses, by abrasion and by some chemical environments.
Once mercury has breached the aluminium oxide and come in contact with the underlying metal, the rate of amalgamation depends, largely on the metallurgy and microstructural condition. It is observed, for example, that mercury amalgamates selectively with weldments and more rapidly with some alloys. Amalgamation generally results in surface etching and pitting as long as no water vapour is present. It can result in the loss of mechanical strength in weldments.
https://www.hrlt.com.au/blog/effect...uminium-heat-exchanger-in-a-natural-gas-plant
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