Breaking up clay

[Ag Man]

Where there's no bedrock, gold usually settles only as deep as hard clay. Now, trying get gold out of this top layer of clay is tricky - even getting some of the softer clays to break up can test you.

What are some methods you use for breaking up larger volumes of clay?

A couple of mates & me been thinking of making a trommel.

 

[joe]

Hi Marty, not sure if trommel would break that clay.

 

[joe]

That is it could if you had the option of running it horizontally for a while and have some chains welded inside the trommel

 

[Gold miner]

nah, for the rate of material that would be required, even the little trommel I built here (insert link) would not work!
Now I believe that it would work better than a sluice, or an inattentive operator on a highbanker, but there has to be a differant way!

Even on our big plant up here, and an even bigger plant up the road, clay is a drama!!

I let the shit go! seriously!! I have had many samples done of the big clay balls in the rock heap, and not yet have I had a flake produced....

However, old mate up the road, breaking down rock heap dirt, gave them colour, so the whole lot goes through again.... 5-600 ton a day...twice!!

 

[joe]

Hey GM, are you saying drying the bugger balls and putting them through the crusher?

 

[Gold miner]

Nooooo!
Two differant grounds, same area though...
My clay balls, smashed and smashed again, showed no colour...
Up the 'road' ol'mate found colour, so put the tailings back thru for a second wash...

 

[joe]

Gotya GM

 

[Ag Man]

Hmm,
I got a rad idea!
A geared down 2T, engine (lawn edger) driving a
shaft with chains hanging off it, spinning thru a larger pipe.
Gravel, clay & water goes in a hopper & feeds into one end of this thing whilst it's spinning full noise. Exits into power sluice/high-banker.
Smashing the shyte out of clay/ rocks etc.
The things that one comes up with after a couple of brews...
Cheers big ears

 

[joe]

Genius mate now the only way to find out if it works is to make a prototype

 

[TenOunce Tone]

I let it soak in the bucket sieve in running water. then stir it up with a few fist sized rocks. takes a bout 5 - 6 mins to break down.. good luck... you could try an old fashioned rocker box.. time, motion&water

 

[franma]

Bob digs the clay, shovels it into the big drum (an old oil tank cut in half) which has a sieve in it. I hose it with the high pressure hose which breaks it down. He shovels the rocks out, & the gold bearing dirt mostly stays in the drum till we wash out. It then flows through the sluice & catches the gold as usual (if there's any there).
If you're at Tuena some time & we are there you are welcome to come & have a look.
cheers
ranma

 

[Gold miner]

Yup lots of good idea's for an age old problem eh?!
We had a bloke up here that was going to do something like you suggest AM, he was talking about something similar to those 'broom's you see cleaning roads on the front of a bob cat?!

 

[Palmer Digger]

Only one name comes to mind on that bit 'inventive' thinking Gm!

Oi there Agman .. A very simple solution for you that be worth a try, at least for 'testing for colour' purposes .. The Cement Mixer tool .. Loud her up, add a few good rocks, add water to get your slurry going .. The rest is obvious. .. Hire or borrow if you don't have one.
Good Luck!

 

[Ag Man]

Thanks for the ideas!
Did think of a cement mixer but then thought it be too big & heavy.

Just remembered I got an old hand opperated one stashed away at the farm

 

[joe]

Fleabay special 89 del included

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/NEW-HYVS...ials&hash=item53f5a495e8&_uhb=1#ht_2218wt_979

 

[Ag Man]

The one I got is like a wheelbarrow but instead of the barrow tub, its got a cement mixer drum that you rotate by hand & pour out like a wheelbarrow. I bring it home this weekend & take a picture.

 

[Ag Man]

Had a quick look online & found one the same as mine.

 

[aushunter]

Hey Fellas,
I have been thining of a cement mixer myself and I am trying to pursuade my father inlaw to let me borrow this for a similar purpose.
I still havent got around to building my Poly trommel due to renovations and thought about a mixer just to "wash" the rocks and free up gold clinging to the large rocks that has clay attached.
It is a time consuming job manually washing and scrubbing rocks to a little gold from but if a mixer comes into play it should be a much quicker process, Oh and add a few drops of detergent for good measure.
Hey Gm, do get down to the bedrock on your operation or just river wash?
Just thought if bedrock do you clean out the crevices manually as a lot of au would be down where the Excav cant dig.
Cheers
Brad...

 

[aushunter]

Hey AG man,
I like it, awesome old bit of kit.
And would do the job and a good workout by the operator also.
Cheers
Brad....

 

[Hunting the yellow]

another one you could try is a shaker sive with a high pressure water fed it to the shaker they work great you just got to find someone who has them