Small and Large Dredging

Little dredge can be easily moved for prospecting. Try to locate an area where you are able to see bedrock or think that it is located under shallow overburden. You can then take a small shovel and place it at a ninety-degree angle. You will then need to shovel the material aside until you are able to expose the compact bedrock or gravel. You do not need to run loose gravel through the dredge due to the fact that it takes longer than it would by doing it by hand, besides that any of the gold that can be found in course gravel will drop down as it is being raked or shoveled and will lay on solid gravel and bedrock.

Areas where you are able to find bedrock exposed are some of the best places to work in with a dredge. While it is true that a little dredge is not able to move the yardage that the big dredges are able to, the advantage of them is that you can work in the small cracks and tight corners. Even in cases when a large dredge has been used and worked on an area with exposed bedrock, you should still look through and inspect the little cracks that can be seen and see if they have been completely freed of packed gravel.

The problem with large dredges (or advantage for you) is that they have a tendency of leaving good amount of gold behind. Gold at times gets trapped inside the little cracks and all you need to use is a metal tool in order to scrape it out of the cracks. In many cases you can use a big pry bar and open the bedrock in order to get to the gold. Check to see if there is a layer of false bedrock, as this will allow you to see if more gold is lying underneath after the rock has been opened.

If you are working in an area where the water is clear, you also have the option of using a face mask and snorkel. These can be obtained in sporting good stores and they will help you be able to see under the water. Believe us, gold can actually be very easy to see inside clear water. Remember also that you should take out the large nuggets by hand so that you do not lose them accidentally.

People that work with small dredges often times go around deep water and big beds of gravel thinking they do not have the right type of equipment to work in this area effectively. However, this is completely false. While it is true that a smaller dredge will not be able to do what a big dredge is capable of doing, it does not mean that you can’t work there. Obviously a small dredge does not have the capacity of moving deep overburden and reaching bedrock, but if you see there are big boulders in the river or stream and the water is low enough for you to work without having to use a breathing apparatus, you will still be able to find something worthwhile. Most likely the large boulders have been in the same spot for a many years and the good thing about this is that they do the same a sluice box would to the gold.

You should use your small dredge to get rid of the gravel and remove concentrates that have accumulated on the downstream area of the boulder. In many occasions when flooding occurs or there is high water, nuggets have a tendency of getting trapped there and you can usually find fine gold in these areas. This is the type of situation in which a small dredge is more convenient than a large one because it will be easier for you to move from boulder to boulder. Prospecting in this way is quite simple and in many cases people have been able to find gold efficiently.