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Post by someday on Aug 8, 2012 18:04:20 GMT 10
Question?? Can someone explain why when we use a highbanker/sluice, we are not allowed to let the tailings enter the water course? Yet with a river sluice, there's no option but to do just that  |
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Post by stack992 on Aug 8, 2012 18:43:46 GMT 10
More volume going through a HB,so more chance of silting up the stream.All you need to do is pull you HB back a few metres and let the tails discharge onto the river rocks and that starts the settling process so all that goes back into the stream is murky water.
Remember someday some of us run pumps that are capable of pumping 50-60,000 lts an hour.We have to be responsible for the river systems and what lives and grows in and around it.
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joedigs
God of the Goldfields
It's like the gold rush again.
Posts: 906
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Post by joedigs on Aug 8, 2012 19:17:36 GMT 10
True stack, did you break in your new 510 HB yet? Or is it still on its way?
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Post by someday on Aug 8, 2012 20:00:30 GMT 10
I run a fair size highbanker/sluice, 2" 5.5hp firefighter just above idle
can handle full size shovel loads by one person!
My old wooden river sluice could handle 2 blokes shovelen, the volume of water would've been 4fold over my highbanker!!!
Next answer please?
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joedigs
God of the Goldfields
It's like the gold rush again.
Posts: 906
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Post by joedigs on Aug 8, 2012 20:54:09 GMT 10
Don't know someday, is your sluice material pre classified? thus less silt? Less clay ? I know I put a fairly heavy clay material through HB which is some distance from the creek and this stuff would struggle being processed by sluice.
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Post by shivan on Aug 8, 2012 21:06:27 GMT 10
Laws differ from state to state but from what i understand of NSW rules it would not matter if it was a sluice or highbanker but what the discharge is doing to the waterway. The actal legislation comes under the fisheries management act and protection of the environment operations act, this is from the NSW DPI rules :
How do I protect waterways when I fossick?
If you fossick, you must take steps to protect the environment, in particular any waterway (including
the bank of the waterway) that is likely to be habitat for native fish.
Sediments may be extracted in freshwater areas for the purpose of fossicking. Gemstones and
alluvial gold collect in crevices in stream beds and in gravel bars on the insides of stream bends.
These may be recovered by panning, but it is more common for the gem-seeker to use sieves made
especially for this purpose.
Disturbance to the bed of the waterway and in-stream washing and sorting of materials collected to
extract the gemstones can result in direct impacts on aquatic habitats or indirect impacts such as
siltation and smothering of in-stream gravel beds and aquatic vegetation. Siltation also reduces water
quality for in-stream fauna and can affect the gills of fish, causing respiratory distress or disease.
The Fisheries Management Act 1994 regulates a range of activities including those that harm the
habitat of native fish (including threatened species of fish) and recreational fishing. Following the
guidelines and avoiding the activities listed below will assist you in complying with this Act:
• removing or disturbing any material that is important habitat for fish (including threatened
species of fish) from the bed or banks of a waterway including woody debris (snags) greater
than 3m in length, large cobbles, rocks or boulders (greater than 500mm in diameter) or
aquatic vegetation; or
• placing or reshaping any material across a waterway that may obstruct the free passage of
fish.
If you wish to undertake recreational fishing while fossicking, please ensure you comply with the
fishing regulations as summarised in the Freshwater Fishing Guide (link).
You should avoid disturbing mud, clay or fine silt that causes significant turbidity in a waterway, as this
could lead to a breach of the Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997.
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