Bobby
Super Sluicer
Posts: 316
|
Post by Bobby on Feb 28, 2012 10:25:37 GMT 10
Anyone ever try using a cement mixer as a concentrator .  Bobby. |
|
|
|
Post by nugget893 on Feb 28, 2012 11:51:17 GMT 10
Bobby I knew of some guys (4 all told) up at Blackwood Vic. years ago using a petrol driven cement mixer for the braking up of clay that they were getting out of the creek and then panning of the concentrates. They were getting enough gold each weekend to buy each of them selves a slab of beer. But this was years ago before Blackwood became a National Park area  nugget893 |
|
Bobby
Super Sluicer
Posts: 316
|
Post by Bobby on Feb 28, 2012 14:36:42 GMT 10
Bobby I knew of some guys (4 all told) up at Blackwood Vic. years ago using a petrol driven cement mixer for the braking up of clay that they were getting out of the creek and then panning of the concentrates. They were getting enough gold each weekend to buy each of them selves a slab of beer. But this was years ago before Blackwood became a National Park area nugget893 That's interesting Nugget , a mates got an electric mixer that can handle half a wheel burrow of dirt & rocks , I've got a generator to drive it . Will give it a test run with a few grams of gold first just to see how much stuff to pour out before stopping Always thinking of hows best to save water when carting to remote spots , like to be able to keep reusing the water till it turns to syrup , will then keep the heavies to run through a sluice later . Naturally will be test panning before hand . Having Fun Bobby . |
|
|
|
Post by donnybrook on Feb 28, 2012 16:19:52 GMT 10
Bobby you sound like my young sister. Cement mixers will only break the clay up. Just determine the water to clay ratio and sluice it slowly with a lot of water over a long sluice (Long Tom).
donnybrook
|
|
Bobby
Super Sluicer
Posts: 316
|
Post by Bobby on Feb 28, 2012 22:54:40 GMT 10
Bobby you sound like my young sister. Cement mixers will only break the clay up. Just determine the water to clay ratio and sluice it slowly with a lot of water over a long sluice (Long Tom). donnybrook Hey Donnybrook I'll take the comment that I sound like your sister as a compliment , she must be a mixer fan  You may have missed the point why" I'm considering a cement mixer ? its to concentrate down a lot of dirt with the least loss of water , yea I may have to modify it some but a large recirculating sluice would lose to much water . The gold is picker size where I'm going so the more shoveled the better the weight at the end ;D Thanks for the suggestion about a long tom though . Cheers Bobby. |
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Feb 29, 2012 2:36:06 GMT 10
A dry blower might be worth looking at bobby? I use a rotapan to test and a dryblower for processing bulk dirt. When I have used a recirculator out that way before, I found that the fine red dirts made the water gluggy too quick.
|
|
|
|
Post by donnybrook on Feb 29, 2012 7:33:54 GMT 10
Bobby,
Clay would be the biggest problem if any. If you could insert a metal ring at the top of the bowl it could be effective. I once used a mixer in this way to pre treat materials prior to feeding into a trommel. I did have a percentage of gold left in the bowl at the end of each day. I believe some of the opal miners used this principal of puddling. GIve it a go.
donnybrook
|
|
|
|
Post by nipper on Feb 29, 2012 9:51:44 GMT 10
Bobby, keep in mind the bars in the bowl are for turning the mix bringing the bottom to top etc ,you don't want this , you want the inside clean and smooth to encourage heavies to stay put in the bottom , maybe bars towards the top to encourage some mixing? as you load dirt you are going to lose water pretty quick me thinks. filter the water and recycle back in with small bilge pump ? just some thoughts.
cheers
|
|
|
|
Post by donnybrook on Feb 29, 2012 12:55:54 GMT 10
Bobby,
Nipper is quite correct. The lift bars should be partially removed as they pick up and drop. You want the material to move back down into the bowl in the same way as a gold pan to get it to go back into the crevice. I use a mixer (poly lined) in my leaching system (CLS)but in that case I must lift and drop material to allow the air and leachant to react at pH 8.5. I cannot see why you could not adapt this (mixer) to a concentrator. My only concern as said would be clay. From memory people who did this added oxalic acid a brick cleaner to the mix. Also used to test for yellow cake after dissolution in hyrdrochloric acid and also to drop gold from AR. You can buy it at Bunnings as a brick cleaner or to remove stains from wood you want to restain.Only small amounts need to be used.
donnybrook
|
|
Bobby
Super Sluicer
Posts: 316
|
Post by Bobby on Feb 29, 2012 13:01:09 GMT 10
A dry blower might be worth looking at bobby? I use a rotapan to test and a dryblower for processing bulk dirt. When I have used a recirculator out that way before, I found that the fine red dirts made the water gluggy too quick. Thanks DD for your ideas  your right about how that fine red dirt quickly turns sludgy ! Cheers Bobby |
|
Bobby
Super Sluicer
Posts: 316
|
Post by Bobby on Feb 29, 2012 13:17:27 GMT 10
Bobby, Nipper is quite correct. The lift bars should be partially removed as they pick up and drop. You want the material to move back down into the bowl in the same way as a gold pan to get it to go back into the crevice. I use a mixer (poly lined) in my leaching system (CLS)but in that case I must lift and drop material to allow the air and leachant to react at pH 8.5. I cannot see why you could not adapt this (mixer) to a concentrator. My only concern as said would be clay. From memory people who did this added oxalic acid a brick cleaner to the mix. Also used to test for yellow cake after dissolution in hyrdrochloric acid and also to drop gold from AR. You can buy it at Bunnings as a brick cleaner or to remove stains from wood you want to restain.Only small amounts need to be used. donnybrook Nipper & Donnybook you to have just cleared some problems I would have encountered , big thank to you both I better buy a new mixer & set it up internally for just gold , will change the bars & may even cut the bowl & fabricate a deeper well all the way round inside . This could turn out like a giant panning machine ! Gees I'm even getting excited thinking about it , better tell the Misses tonight or she will wonder about the mood I'm in Cheers Bobby . |
|
|
|
Post by donnybrook on Feb 29, 2012 14:16:45 GMT 10
Bobby,
I recently purchased a new mixer 3.5 at the Toolbax for less than $290. I then lined it. But I needed the lifters. It can work. Just modify and break you materials down 2 water to one material. Mixers run slowly. I use a Wilfley Table at home. I think my email address is shown on the forum. Keep me advised .
donnybrook
Don Buckley
|
|
Bobby
Super Sluicer
Posts: 316
|
Post by Bobby on Feb 29, 2012 21:56:53 GMT 10
Bobby, I recently purchased a new mixer 3.5 at the Toolbax for less than $290. I then lined it. But I needed the lifters. It can work. Just modify and break you materials down 2 water to one material. Mixers run slowly. I use a Wilfley Table at home. I think my email address is shown on the forum. Keep me advised . donnybrook Don Buckley Hey Don you got a good deal with that 3.5 cu foot mixer! Will be doing some tests with the mates mixer next week , hes got 50kg of good gold dirt in the shed  You must be pretty keen to be using a Wilfley table ' isn't there an art to set one up right ? Will let you know how the mixer goes . Cheers Bobby. |
|
|
|
Post by donnybrook on Mar 1, 2012 7:37:28 GMT 10
Bobby,
I have a Wilfley Table bought it many years ago. Had an Exploration Lease. I found after fire assays a lot of gold was being lost i.e sulphides which you cannot pan. I am presently rebuilding the deck. I run on one setting 360 x 6 mm strokes per minute. I mesh everything down to less than 40 mesh. It then does the rest. Magic. I have an interst in micro fine gold and also leaching using the CLS process. I'm in the process of selling up and moving further south and will not riffle the new deck out until then. Anyway when I get set up again if anyone wanted help to build furnaces or advice on the CLS Process or refining more than glad to advise. Not sure whether you have a Toolbox shop where you are. They are a good mixer and you can also buy the petrol motor for the right price.
donnybrook
|
|
Bobby
Super Sluicer
Posts: 316
|
Post by Bobby on Mar 1, 2012 21:03:23 GMT 10
Bobby, I have a Wilfley Table bought it many years ago. Had an Exploration Lease. I found after fire assays a lot of gold was being lost i.e sulphides which you cannot pan. I am presently rebuilding the deck. I run on one setting 360 x 6 mm strokes per minute. I mesh everything down to less than 40 mesh. It then does the rest. Magic. I have an interst in micro fine gold and also leaching using the CLS process. I'm in the process of selling up and moving further south and will not riffle the new deck out until then. Anyway when I get set up again if anyone wanted help to build furnaces or advice on the CLS Process or refining more than glad to advise. Not sure whether you have a Toolbox shop where you are. They are a good mixer and you can also buy the petrol motor for the right price. donnybrook No Toolbox out in whoop Whoop but i can buy anything on line these days . You are in a different gold game to me , I'm your basic see it & get it type I do have contacts that could use your type of expertise occasionally , I'm sure a favorable arrangement could be mate to suit both parties when the time arises . Have Fun Bobby. |
|
