Building your own Sluice for
Small Scale Miners

Small scale miners who are interested can put together their own sluice, as it is not a difficult thing to learn. The nature of the sluice is not the most essential thing, on the other hand the length of the sluice is. As a general rule if it is longer it works better, and it should be at least eight or ten feet long. It is acceptable to make the sluice completely water tight; on the other hand make sure the joints where the sections are overlapped are bolted jointly in a way that will cause the water to flow over the joints without becoming obstructed. If it is not done in the right way the small scale miner will end up with a riffle that has a leak in it and all this will do is cause the gold to fall back onto the ground. If an individual is going to be working in a place where there is not a good amount of water you will need to use a dip box, which is a kind of custom made sluice. A dip box is similar to a sluice only it is shorter. A dip box can be put together by nailing the sides of 1inch by 12 inch floor, then nail another 1inch x 6 inch board along one end so as to create a back for it. It can then be covered up in the bottom of this channel with burlap or with carpet so that it is able to grab hold of the gold. Riffles are necessary so as to slow the runoff and allow the gold to settle in. One uncomplicated way to make the riffles is by placing a sheet of wire mesh on the bottom five feet of the burlap or carpeted channel. Make a steep slope for the dip box by then putting it on top of some trestles. In order to use the dip box, shovel some dirt into the top foot of the trough and wash it on top of the riffles with buckets of water. Clearly you do not want to pour the water too quickly on top of it or you will risk washing absolutely the whole lot away. In some instances you will have to get rid of the bigger rocks that will be on the trough with your hand in order for the box to work appropriately.

One excellent hint when it comes to gold is to not waste time in some areas. Take into account that gold is, as a matter of a fact, very heavy; it’s around six times heavier then a normal rock therefore a sandy spot on the river or stream is not the most likely place to find it. The ideal would be to go after the areas that are greatly compacted with gravel, tree roots or any thing that would create or constitute as a trap. Given that gold is a lot heavier than a normal rock, it has a propensity of settling in crevices or crakes in bedrocks. Make sure to look for indications of bedrock that may be uncovered along the banks as these are some of the most likely signs and places where gold might be found. In a lot of occasions gold can be found along the sides of an embankment so it will do good to check in these areas. One of the most imperative things when it comes to small scale gold prospecting is mobility and portability. It is very opportune to have equipment that does not weigh a lot and that is portable so that the prospector is able to cover a good amount of area without wearing himself out too much. Sampling and prospecting a stream should not be something complicated and time consuming; this should be done in a quick and efficient way. Another suggestion for small scale miners is that they should not waste too much time in one specific area; it is instead suggested to keep on moving until he is able to find a good trace of gold. It is not abnormal for prospectors to have to move around a quarter a mile a day while scrupulously sampling the areas in a stream or river that are most likely to have gold in them. It is very frequent for a stream or river to be out of easy reach of a shovel or the practicality of a sluice box. There are some areas that are not very simple to get to; nevertheless in many occasions these precise places make available the best rewards.