Gold Dredge Mining. Gold Prices Today Make Placer Gold Mining Worthwhile



Posted: Wednesday, September 29, 2010

by Joe Mac Millan

The gold dredge has been a very lucrative piece of machinery for almost two centuries. The idea originated when man first took up the hand shovel and really found out how tough it was to work this way.

Before the gold dredge was invented everything had to be done by hand. The prospector found gold in his pan after which he built a sluice box. He shoveled gravel into the box hour after hour. A good worker might put just over a cubic yard through every hour if he did not look up from what he was doing.

Once the area with placer gold has been identified by panning and sluicing, it is time to bring in the dredge. During the Yukon gold rush days that machine was huge, possibly the size of a large house. The individual gold buckets weighed as much as 600 pounds and were made of cast iron.

The problem with those early dredges was that they were so big and handled such a huge amount of gravel per hour that they allowed a lot of fine gold to get by the sluice box. In fact, those who know these things tell us that they probably missed more fine gold than they found. In fact, many placer miners followed the tailings left by the dredges and did very well in finding those passed over nuggets.

With the gold price per ounce you do not need to miss a very big gold nugget to see dollars passing you by. The spot gold price of gold remains at record highs so the fact of the matter is that you want to locate every little flake there is.

Today the gold dredge has been totally changed. They are very lightweight, easily transported and very efficient to use. No longer is the creek bed and the surrounding bank torn to pieces. The dredge is used to filter out the gold nuggets lying in the gravel and between the rocks.

The machine must be used in conjunction with the mining laws of the state or province. With the environmental protection acts in force today it is very important to become familiar with those laws so be certain to not only read the act but to follow the stipulations specifically.

Designed to be operated by one man, the newer dredges use a two horsepower four stroke gas motor to suck in the gravel and provide the water to run the gold bearing gravel to run through the sluice.

The machine is built upon poly styrene floats allowing it to be used right on the creek itself.

The two inch hose is very efficient and easy to maneuver through the creeks and to get down to where the gold has settled within the cracks where the gold lies.

Some manufacturers use the new 4 cycle Honda motors that are capable of putting out 100 gallons per minute. These 2 horsepower motors eliminate the pesky chore of mixing oil and gas and also feature the low oil shut off valve.

Gold dredging has become a full time job for many who enjoy working in the great outdoors.

Joe and Irma MacMillan have spent many years backpacking, skiing, and simply enjoying life in the mountains of British Columbia. Their website Whistler Outdoors is full of tips on snowboarding, camping, kayaking, rafting, camp cooking and fishing. They met on a blind date in 1957 and are still married. Take a look at their story here About us

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