Fine Gold Recovery Devices for Cheap?

[Steve Herschbach]

Tom, follow the link for the blue bowl provided up above and read the instructions there. If you are on a budget learning to use something you have already purchased makes the most sense rather than spending yet more money.

I have always used a gold pan myself, even when cleaning up my 6" dredge. The secret - practice and when in doubt always pan into a tub.

Here is a video on using the Blue Bowl

[tvanwho]

Thanks Steve

[Gold Seeker]

Tom, normal window screen is about 20 mesh, they do make a really small mesh window screen that is for keeping out "No-See-Um" which is a very small biting gnat/fly that we have here in the southeast and also in many other parts of the country, I would say that screen would be around 30 mesh or so, some tea strainers have a very small mesh as well, probably about 50 mesh or so.

You can also buy just the mesh online and make your own classifiers for just a fraction of what store bought classifiers cost.

Here's a video made by Doc of Gold Hog matting, he takes you through all the steps of classifying and also using several types of equipment to work down the cons, but at about the halfway point in the video he shows two different types of the tap method, he's doing this with -50 mesh gold and blacksands, but both methods work well no matter the size of the gold and material, I use both of these methods when I do my final panning and also in several stages, try to get all the gold and as little blacksand in one area of your pan using the tap methods and then suck it up in your snuffer bottle, don't worry about getting a little of the blacksand, then clean out your pan and dump the snuffer bottle contents into your pan and go through the process again and again, etc, each time getting rid of more blacksand until you have only clean gold.

All of this can be done by just classifying and panning, it would be nice to have all the equipment that Doc is using, but it will just take a bit longer doing it all by hand so to speak.

[AzViper]

I build my own gold processing equipment. The miller table uses rubber mat. Works fantastic... This was a test just showing the gold recovery. Water flow speed was much faster than needed. Both the Miller Table and Blue Bowl are recirculating systems. I found the Miller Table to be much easier to use and faster. The Blue Bowl is now collecting dust.

[Steve Herschbach]

Very, VERY nice AzViper! I have never used a Miller table but it appeals to me with the simplicity of it all.

[tvanwho]

Do you have a better photo of the Miller Table setup? I acquired a black one similar to yours with the vial under it , off Ebay for $50, minus the water tubs /pails. It got here today and I actually did read the instructions, despite us men having a notorious reputation for NOT reading instructions.... How do I mount it and use a 12 volt bilge pump? They had it running off a 110 volt Harbor Freight aquarium pump as I recall , which didn't sound too safe? Running water and 110 volt electricity, with my bare hands in there, sounds pretty dangerous if you ask me....can't wait to try it out then compare to the Bowl.

   I also acquired a wire mesh strainer from the Kitchenware dept at Walmart.I think its called a tea strainer,cost about 5 bucks, shaped like a wire mesh bowl sorta.Wonder what mesh it is? Does it even matter? Please advise what to do now before using the Miller Table? This thread is getting pretty interesting and videos and photos make it that much better.

 

-T

[AzViper]

You want to run the table with the water slow enough and still maintain an even flow across the width of the table and length. Also you want to use Jet Dry to break up the water tension. Run the table at 5 degrees seem to be ideal. If you plan to use the table at home then there is no issues using a 120 volt pump. If you plan to use the table in the field as I do during the evening hours then a Attwood 500GPH pump from Walmart is a great choice as it will last a lifetime. The HF pumps are not sealed and will not last plus the Attwood is just a few dollars more. I use a couple of 7AH batteries along with a car battery charge to charge them. You can pick up a 7AH battery or larger at Home Depot of Battery Plus. You need to buy a sealed Lead Acid battery as seen below.

 

[AzViper]

To use the Miller Table you need to classify. My demo video the gold was much larger than the con I was running. The demo was just to see how well the gold was sticking. The very fine gold would need the water flow much slower to capture the fine gold. You will need to classify and run like 30, then 50, then 100 mesh. What I do in the field is classify down to like 1/16" mesh, throw it on the table to capture the bigger gold then save the con for a later day to capture the fine gold.

I have a small tray under the end of the table. It is angled backwards to capture the con but allows the water to spill back into the black tub. When it become full I remove the tray and dump the con into another tub. This method seems to work for me as I do not want to spend hours in the field chasing fine gold when I could be dry washing, running the trommel, etc.

During the video I was adjusting the angle and water flow trying to find that sweet spot. There was some really small fine gold laying on the mate. I did find some very small fine gold about half way down the 36" table and this was due to adding to much con too quickly. Again it’s a learning experience in figuring out what works best for different size gold being captured.

[AzViper]

Tvanwho,

Here is a link to my entire build of my Rubber Mat Miller Table. At the bottom of most of my post are links of my other builds. I for one like helping other build their equipment. Good luck with the Miller Table.

 

 

http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/gold-prospecting/400309-making-miller-table-using-rubber-mat-surface.html

[Steve Herschbach]

Here is an entire book on how to build a Miller table, complete with color photos

http://gpex.ca/smf/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=3407.0;attach=5739