Gravimetric Processing or
Washing Sector

The processing of the suctioned material and the recovery of gold in the content is done through a system of wooden sluices, conveniently arranged according to the following details:

The suctioned material is poured through the discharge hose in a chute or a reception box of 1.24 x 0.70 x 0.40 meters, and which has inside of its sides iron railings of ½ inch in the form of a screen with ½ inch of separation in between the bars. The purpose of this bar or sieve is the elimination of the larger material which falls directly into the river and allows the finer material to go through the sluicing system. The finer material that comes from the bigger sized material chute goes through two sluices that are of 3.80 x 2.20 x 0.14 meters placed in counter gradient. These sluices are conditioned on the bottom with plastic and jute sewing and wooden riffles, equidistant amongst each other at 45 cm. the gradient of the sluices varies between 12 degrees to 15 degrees. The recovery of the fine gold is done in great part in the first sluice, at which the scubas do not know the complete level recovery of the system, given that as we have mentioned they will not affect any technical character control during the process. However according to the experiences of washing in similar systems, it is assumed that the total recovery is that in the order of 60 to 70 percent. At the end of the working day, the fine material that is deposited in the sluices is recollected in plastic tubs, followed by their refining and amalgamation in pans.