Post by cronicbadger on Mar 23, 2015 22:33:52 GMT 10
I've been reading parts of "De Re Metallica", a 500 year-old treatise on mining. They were quite sophistacated even way back then. One type of sluice eschewed riffles for deep narrow grooves that ran in the direction of the flow to keep larger stones moving forward but allow sand to flow underneath into a deeper pocket at the end of the groove. Another groove on the downstream side of the pocket let water and lighter sand continue to flow to the end of the sluice. I've seen a similar novel modern arrangement but cannot remember the name of it.
And of course, there are descriptions of gold pans that are familiar today. One type with a deep cup built in at the bottom, another riffles around the sides except where it has a smooth channel that widens toward the lip of the bowl. Fascinating stuff!
The entire book is quite interesting from an historical perspective, and the English translator has added extensive footnotes on such things as Cornish tin mining and ancient Roman techniques. You can download the ePub version (with the original woodcut images) from the Project Gutenberg library, which can be read with any ePub reader, such as Callibre.
And of course, there are descriptions of gold pans that are familiar today. One type with a deep cup built in at the bottom, another riffles around the sides except where it has a smooth channel that widens toward the lip of the bowl. Fascinating stuff!
The entire book is quite interesting from an historical perspective, and the English translator has added extensive footnotes on such things as Cornish tin mining and ancient Roman techniques. You can download the ePub version (with the original woodcut images) from the Project Gutenberg library, which can be read with any ePub reader, such as Callibre.
