Ok so heres the deal.We all know how crappy clay can be to pan (i have that mostly figured out).but heres the thing,this clay that iv run into is almost turned into rock making it very hard,crushing and all that is fine but the clay is so slimy im having a heck of a time with it..anyone have any ideas on this really slimmy clay and any helpfull tips ? its from a glacier and there is a tonne of gold in but sheesh....
so ya,blue really hard really slimmy stuff lol
any help would b great,,thank you guys and gals !!
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i know sisco has a product that is non toxic and biodegradeable that is one hell of a soap i used to use it to wash house boats when i worked on the docks and it works hella good for getting grease off of fan vents for kitchens maybe this would work as it is environmentally friendly
How did you break up the clay when you were panning?It seems to me that if you are panning with lumps of clay in your pan you are most likly losing alot of gold.I have found a place in the desert that has a seam of almost cemented clay.There is no way to work the stuff on site so I bring home a bunch of bucket full of material.I fill the bucket with water when i get them home then stir them many times a day.Finally the clay starts to break down,then I run them through a Henry Henry many times.As I remember there are over 50 riffles in a 3 foot peice of sewer pipe.These riffles do a good job of busting up the clay the problem is that the clay balls pick up the seperated gold,thats why its so important to run the material many times.Gerry Bradbury is correct about the cement mixer being your best bet but if you don't have a cement mixer the Henry Henry may be a good option.
Redneck
the only thing that may work is a cement mixer just keep adding water
till the clay is about gone then run through your sluice.
hope this helps
Gerry
Hi, BC R-
Clays are tough to deal with, because they tend to shed water. Howevere, clay in a ball mill ... with boiling water ... will break down rather quickly ( note the term "boiling", not hot ) and remain a slurry. The trick is to keep the water in the ball mill boiling while turning ... which means application of heat while milling. Not exactly a garage project.
Gold Seeker is right on all accounts. I have a productive area I work in the fall during the hunting season where no hunting is allowed. AU is very fine but abundant. It is locked up in red sticky clay. Clay gone in other water treatments drop gold and clay but do not breakup clay. I use my highbanker but have added a very fine classification screen that also tilts in the opposite direction. I try to keep the rocks in. The spray bars in combination with the rocks actually beat the clay balls up. The remaining rocks get dumped onto a taling pile. Later I run my detector over the tailing pile. Keep in mind the area I am working is very dense clay with broken quartz throughout. Mostly all very fine gold.
Jet Dry is bad news!! I had a small hole in a creek that I was dredging with a 2" dredge. There was almost no water flow , so I added half a bottle of Jet Dry to the super muddy slop that I was in. My wet suit faded on me for two months and I broke out in a rash that was the devil to get rid of.. Then I go on line and read that Jet Dry is not to be on human skin. Hope there is no permanent effects( cancer, etc).
"Then I go on line and read that Jet Dry is not to be on human skin. "
Hmm, while prospecting with my brothers last fall, I grabbed a bottle of what I thought was hand sanitizer and rubbed a squirt on my hands. Later, I noticed it wasn't sanitizer, but was Jet Dry! Oops! :o
Clay-Be-Gone will drop clay and silt out of the water and is often used in recirculating systems to keep the water cleaner. Jet dry dishwasher cleaner and calgon will help make the clay a little more manageble---not sure these things are environmentally friendly
Replies
the only thing that may work is a cement mixer just keep adding water
till the clay is about gone then run through your sluice.
hope this helps
Gerry
Clays are tough to deal with, because they tend to shed water. Howevere, clay in a ball mill ... with boiling water ... will break down rather quickly ( note the term "boiling", not hot ) and remain a slurry. The trick is to keep the water in the ball mill boiling while turning ... which means application of heat while milling. Not exactly a garage project.
Hmm, while prospecting with my brothers last fall, I grabbed a bottle of what I thought was hand sanitizer and rubbed a squirt on my hands. Later, I noticed it wasn't sanitizer, but was Jet Dry! Oops! :o
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