Third Step:
Taking care of the Sluice

After you have dumped the load of gravel into the sluice box, you will need to check the riffle area for big waste rocks that might be there. These rocks can be gotten rid of by flicking them out with your fingers. If you allow big rocks to sit in the riffle section they will cause the current to wash out the concentrates from the area the rock is located. If the rock is lodged in the upper part of the trough, the washed out concentrates will only settle in the next few riffles down. However if this happens at the end of the trough, the concentrate might end up flowing out of the sluice box completely.

For this very obvious reason it is very important to check and get rid of those unwanted rocks. Make sure also to shovel any tailings that will every once in awhile accumulate at the discharge end of the sluice box. If this is not done the tailings will back up into the lower part of the sluice trough and it will burry some of the riffles.