Gold In Clay

[tboykin]

I found some good gold in clay. Sticky, greasy stuff but shows promise. So I ask you old sourdoughs, what is the best way to process this material? I have been smooshing it by hand and then panning but it's not very efficient!

[Steve Herschbach]

It's really just a matter of quantity. Unfortunately for small amounts working the material by hand is as efficient as anything. For larger quantities you can put the clay in a container like a 5 gallon bucket and use a plunger device to break up the clay. I have seen larger operations use cement mixers.

From The Metallurgy of Gold by Sir Thomas Kirke Rose (1898):

"The Puddling-tub. - When water is scarce, as was the case in many places in Australia where rich gravels were found, the long-tom is inadmissible, and the puddling-tub is resorted to. This is particularly well adapted for washing clays, and is still used to disintegrate lumps of clay encountered in sluicing operations. It consists of one half of a barrel which has been sawn in two ; into this the dirt is dumped and stirred up with water by means of a rake, until all the clay is held in suspension in the water, when a plug a few inches from the bottom is removed, and the slime run off. The operation is repeated until the tub is filled with gravel and sand to the level of the plug-hole, and this residue is then shovelled out and washed by the pan, the cradle, or by sluicing."

Puddling tub in use:

[tboykin]

That is really interesting! First pan had lots of tiny quartz in it so I will assume the clay is made up of that since it's so white. I think I will get a grout/mud mixer and haul a drill out there.

[Dean Stone]

Hi tboykin, The Grout/mud mixer, will work. I frond gold with clay and put a half of a 5gal. bucket with water and mix the heck out of it. Take a lid and put a hole in middle so the water and mud don't fly out. I frond most of the gold was just on top of the clay, not much in it. Hope this helps some, Dean

[Clay Diggins]

Check the pH of your clay solution. If the pH is low (acidic) add some hydrated lime (Calcium hydroxide) to your water and the clay particles will go into suspension easier. This stuff is pretty cheap and won't mess up the environment.

Be careful to keep the lime dust out of your eyes and off your skin it can cause chemical irritation.