Panning concentrates

[Galena]

Hi All,

Can anybody tell me what is easier and faster to use than a pan when panning concentrates taken from clay ground?
I have soaked the cons but its still pasty and time consuming when panning.
My pan is a Garrett super sluicer.
Is it quicker and better to run my cons through a blue bowl or a wheel?

Any help would be appreciated.

 

[TenOunce Tone]

You need to break the clay. there are several methods, one is to put the clay in a bucket with some water and a bit of laundry powder or dishwashing detergent, then stir it up working the clay. the detergents lower the surface tension of the clay helping to break it down.

Others have tried using paint stirrers attached to drills etc. many ways to liberate the gold from the clay, you just need to break it up as fine as possible, I have also had some success using rough sand, sounds counter intuitive but the large grains of sand helped break down the clay.

Another way is to spread the clay on a piece of board or some large flat surface and let it dry in the sun, then break it up and pass through your classifier a few times to fine it out.

Another method I tried and seemed to work at the local river was to put the clay material into a bucket sieve, I laid the bucket in the flowing water and put a pan under the outlet side of the bucket. the water washed the majority of the clay and silt out and left the heavies in the pan, kinda like a sluice action. seemed to work as there was a tiny bit of yellow in the pan, the bucket sat in the water for about an hour while I was digging in the gravel and moving some rocks. Occasional stir up of the bucket contents to keep things moving.

Good luck with it.

Cheers, Tone

 

[Heatho]

I usually use my 1/4 inch sieve and grate the clay on it if working in soft clayey ground, works quite well, hard clay needs to soak.

To clarify terms also if there is still clay or dirt left these are not really concentrates, cons are essentially all the heavier materials such as Black Sand which contains Magnetite, Hematite, Spinels other metals etc and hopefully Gold also, anything heavy that remains after panning or sluicing.

 

[Goldtarget]

My solution (and believe me when i say we have the most ridiculously heavy pipe clay) is a relatively simple one but effective. It uses a puddler type concept which you could make as small or large as you like but really only good in the backyard. I made it so it can sit atop my highbanker. In bunnings they have a black poly stormwater pit that has a screen that fits inside. By pumping a heavy stream into spray bars on the highbanker(or pressure washer at home) into the top with the clay sitting on the screen you can break it down pretty quick. I cut a small rectangle out on one side an inch or two from the bottom so the clay and water can exit while the heavies sit in the bottom due to their weight. Cost about $40 to build of the shelf. I'll post a pic when i get home so its a bit easier to understand. Once the clay is gone top the gravels into a pan or classify further and pan out.

 

[Galena]

Thanks for the info, il try it out.
The clay was originally sieved through 1/4 and 1/8 sieves as I was checking for sapphires first. Then I left the c
Sieved clay in water over night in a bucket. But then I panned it straight away. I should of washed it down further before panning.

 

[Paydirt]

What about dolomite or something comparable that is used to break up clay soils?

 

[TenOunce Tone]

Dolomite is for long term conditioning of clay based soils i believe more of a long term thing.

Cheers,Tone