Ground Sluicing

Ground sluicing uses the effect of water that cascades in order to break the gravel down. Therefore, the water needs for this specific thing are much more important. The main application of ground sluicing is to run a stream bed through the deposits. Whenever ground sluicing is used on gravels that are higher up on banks or terraces pipelines, flumes, or ditches are needed. The large scale methods of hydraulics would probably be the best option. In these cases the dam is normally set up with a gate device that allows either manual or electronic control or rapid release of the water that has been impounded in order to get the best washing effect. The water can then be made to pass over the top face of a gravel bank or sidetracked against the bottom t undercut and carry the gravel away as the top of the bank begins to break down. All the material is then channeled towards the sluice. This means that the probabilities are not limited. The natural flow of a stream can be useful so as to sidetrack the current with boards or just with piled boulders. The shears can be made with one or two inch thick boards of 12 feet in length, nailed to pairs of tripods so that the planks slant back from the flow of the water at a 60 degree angle. The tripods need to be set up in such a way that boulders can be stacked up into the base in order to hold them in place. A row of those shears can be utilized to sidetrack the force of the water against a bank or a couple rows can be used to form a flume. The recurrent pattern of stream flow in diverse places needs to be kept in mind when placer operation is being planned. You may be able to get information on the water runoff of the bigger stream from the State and Federal agencies and they will also indicate the limitations that can be expected because of seasonal changes etc.

Dealing with Boulders
The ideal would be to leave boulders in their place if it is possible. In some cases, especially when one is sluicing, it will be necessary to move boulders out of the way. This can sometimes be done with pole pries, or the prospector might need a derrick that is operated by hand winch, gasoline, steam or electrical power. In some cases more than one derrick is necessary if there are a lot of boulders to take care of. Something else that can be done with boulders is drilling them with a jackhammer or blasting them with dynamite. They can also simply be blasted with an explosive plastered on the rock; this method is more commonly known as mud capping. Sometimes there are certain areas of the pit that have been cleaned up and can be saved for stocking up the rocks. Whatever the case, these sorts of operations need to be carefully planned in order to avoid accidents and mishaps.