november quill 2011

8/3/2019 November Quill 2011

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november2011

quill

THEPROSPECTORS

Official publication of The Gold Prospectors of Colorado volume 38 no.11POBox 1593, Colorado Springs, Colorado 80901

Inside

Historical Review of Sluices,

continued! 2Contacts! 2November Calendar! 3November Activities! 4Prospectors Beware! 4Prospecting the Internet! 5Feathers Can Defeat Mercury! 52012 Board of Directors! 6Wilderness Act! 6Historical Newspaper Accounts! 6Historical Review of Sluices! 7-16Clicking on blue highlighted web

sites will give you a direct link

www.gpoc.com

Historical Review of Sluices Duringthe 1800s

The first in a series of articles on thesluice. By Lin Smith

Sluice boxes are one of the mostr e l i a b l e m e t h o d s o f g r a v i t yconcentration and are used to workmany types of gold bearing placerdeposits. Sluice boxes have been usedfor 100's of years and because of theirsuccess rate, they continue to be oneof the most popular methods in goldrecovery. Their basic design principles

are used in all types of equipment frompoop tubes, to rocker boxes, to LongToms, highbankers and dredges. Asluice has many advantages which

include: being hand fed, portable,inexpensive to build or buy and run,simple to operate, reliable, quiet, non-powered and effective in their ability toretain gold. Regulations in Coloradoprohib i t the use of motor izedequipment in many areas and mayrequire a Plan of Operations. With asluice many areas will be accessible to

you that otherwise might be limited byregulations.

continued on page 2

Hydraulic mining - the sluice and tunnel, Timbuctoo, Yuba County, CA

Digital ID: (b&w film copy neg.) cph 3a28237 http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/cph.3a28237Reproduction Number: LC-USZ62-27447 (b&w film copy neg.)Repository: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C20540 USA (If you look closely on the bottom of the sluice you will see round log riffles)
http://www.gpoc.com/http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/cph.3a28237http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/cph.3a28237http://www.gpoc.com/http://www.gpoc.com/http://www.gpoc.com/http://www.gpoc.com/


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GPOC The Prospectors Quill Vol. 38 No.11 WE ARE ELECTRONIC atwww.gpoc.com 2

President

Ben Higley

[email protected]

Vice President

Wayne Wittkopp

vicepresident@gpoc.

com

Secretary

Elise Pearce

[email protected]

Treasurer

Bill Smith

[email protected]

Webmaster

Stacey Smith

[email protected]

Editor

Lin Smith

[email protected]

Contact Info

for all club activities

Bob Hale

(719)213-3383

Membership

[email protected]

Claims

Marty Witcher

[email protected]

Trustees

One Year

Gary Beaderstadt

Two Year

Diane Anderson

Three YearJim Blakenship

GPOCcontacts

Gold Prospectors of ColoradoP.O. Box 1593

Colorado Springs, Colorado 80901

The Prospectors Quill is the official newsletter ofthe Gold Prospectors of Colorado. The opinionsare those of the authors and do not necessarilyreflect those of the club or its members. Theeditor, club, officers, and contributors do notassume any liability for damages resulting from

use of information in the Prospectors Quill.Articles of interest are welcomed. All articlessubmitted for publication are subject to editing.

Submission of articles must be received beforethe 20th of the month. Unless noted, non-profitsmay reprint or quote from articles, providedcredit is given to the authors and publication

and a copy of the newsletter the article appearsin is sent to the editor of The Prospectors Quill atPO Box 1593, CS CO 80913. All pictures are theproperty of the photographer and are not to becopied or reproduced.

The information is provided solely for the readersg e n e r a l k n o w l e d g e . GPO C ass umes no

responsibility for its completeness or accuracy.

Although care has been taken to produce the

information in the Quill, information is provided

without warranty of any kind, either express or

implied, regarding the accuracy or completeness of

the information.I want to thank you in advance for

pointing out my mistakes! However, it is YOUR

responsibility to research resources and make sure

that you are in compliance with all laws and

regulations, as well as following the GPOC CODE of

ETHICS.

The GPOC is a 501(c) charitable organization

www.gpoc.com

Prospectors Quill

EditorLin Smith

[email protected]

There are a vast array of sluices available for purchase on the market.Because a manufactured sluice will cost from $75 to $150 you will need toevaluate the cost of materials, your experience in fabrication and theavailability of materials ( and whether you have health insurance or not)whether buying a sluice would be more economical than building one.Whether you buy or build your own sluice you will probably find that youwill be doing modificationsto your sluice depending upon the type of goldyou will be sluicing. Your personal preferences, the type of gold you will berecovering, the topography, size and feed rate of material and watersupply will determine the type of sluice configuration you choose.

How a Sluice box Works

A sluice box is a straight, artificial waterway which contains riffles arrangedn a definite pattern which create a small vortex of water which causesgold to settle to the bottom of the sluice and behind the riffles.Concentrated gold-bearing material is fed into the top of the sluice wherethe water flows in. This material is placed into suspension in the waterand flows across the riffles and down the sluice. The riffles will cause thevelocity of the water to slow allowing the gold and heavy black sands todrop out of suspension into pockets towards the back of the riffles. Lightermaterial will flow down and out of the sluice into a tailing pile.

Water is essential in the operation of a sluice box as sluice boxes mimicthe same action that occurs in a stream bed creating a suspendedmedium. Water, gold, minerals and other particles are suspended and thenseparate and stratify depending upon their relative weight. A sluiceconcentrates and collects gold in pockets behind its riffles and on itsbottom. The chemical properties of gold will cause it to stay in this positionbut it can and will wash out of your sluice if you do not have theappropriate water flow, angle, feed rate, riffles or catching system andproper cleanup procedures.

What A Sluice Box Is Made Of

Sluice boxes are made with materials that are considerably lighter andmore durable than materials that were available to the early miners. Earlyminers would use what was readily available. Today, sheet aluminum orcomposite plastic make a sluice lighter, more portable and durable. Youcan use wood as a cheap alternative for your sluice, however keep in mindthat wood can absorb water, making the sluice less portable and durable.f your wooden sluice dries out it can warp and crack causing you to loose

gold from areas of the sluice that are not water tight.

The following historical account of sluices will show you the similarities anddifferences between the old sluices and the modern sluice. We can learnfrom the mistakes and successes of these sluices. continued on page 7
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]://www.gpoc.com/http://www.gpoc.com/mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]://www.gpoc.com/http://www.gpoc.com/


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November

meetings meetings events events

a en arFor further information contact:

www.gpoc.com

Please refer to the information

below for further events.

Claims CommitteeMeeting

All members are welcometo participate in themeetings. Current andfuture claims will bediscussed as well asdeveloping plans ofoperations. This can be agreat opportunity to learn

3rd

Board Meeting

Gold Hill Police Station

955 Moreno Avenue,CS, CO

7:00 PM

[email protected]

19th

Claims Committee

Western Museum ofMining and Industry

225 Northgate Blvd.CS, CO

10:00 AM-12:00PM

volunteers

welcome

3rd

Heritage Lecture

Rockefeller Plan

Western Museum ofMining and Industry

225 Northgate Blvd.CS, CO

7:00PM-8:30PM

see info below

26th

Gold Assay

Western Museum

Mining and Indust

225 Northgate BlvCS, CO

10:00 AM-1:00PM

Reservationsrequired719-488-0880

the process and resourcesfor filling and maintaining aclaim.

Pickup Your EarlyHoliday Gifts For YourFavorite Prospector

Prospectors Store

There will be a 10%discount for everyone on

hats, T-shirts, andsweatshirts. Those whohave volunteer couponscan combine them withthe 10% for a savings of

up to 50% off.

9thGeneral Membership

Silent Auction see

Prospectors Storewill

discounts on hats, T-shi

Speaker: Cindy Moon

Can Find In Colorado"

7:00 PM

3400 N.Nevada

CS, CO

eeting

info below

be available with

rts, and Sweatshirts

"Lost Treasures You

3rd

Denver Museum of SciNov. 3 thru December6:30 PM-9:00PM RooInvertebrate Paleontol$110 member DMSN, $The early stage in the hrepresented by the latPaleozoic, ending witextinction. Trilobites, brwere especially abundgroups that were mosearly stage. There is nohttp://secure1.dmns.orginvertebrate-paleontologpaleozoic.aspx

ence & Nature1 Thursdays

303ogy40 nonmember DMS

istory of invertebratePrecambrian and the Permian-Trias

achiopods, and crinont. Examine the fo

t important during class on Thanksgivinproducts/154-y-i-precambrian-

Cindy Moon Guest Speaker November 9th

My father walked and prospected the Colorado Rocky Mountainsfor over 40 years and after his death in 1988 our family decided todo some research on many of his personal records. After tenyears of research and trips into the Rockies I completed my first ofthree books I intend to write. The first book titled "Lost TreasuresYou Can Find In Colorado" is all new material. None of theinformation in the book has ever been released before thepublishing of this book. The stories are about real places thatpeople can search for lost treasures, ghost towns, mines andsuch. I sell my book both wholesale and retail through my web sitewhich is www.colorado-trails.com and through multiple outletsthroughout Colorado. I am currently working on two new books.

The first is about the Spanish Treasure Trail Monuments I'velocated in Colorado and the second is about an incredible SpanishTreasure Storage Site located by following Spanish Treasure TrailMonuments. These two new books will certainly make believersout of you! I also have completed the first of four planned CD/DVD's on Spanish Trail Monuments. The first Volume is titled,"Sydney's Guide to Spanish Trail Monuments, Vol. I" where I amdocumenting the following of ancient Spanish Trail Monuments tohidden sites.

Heritage Lecture Western Museum of Mining and IndustryNovember 3rd 7:00 PM-8:30 PM

Join our guest lecturer Jonathan Rees as he will present on theRockefeller Plan. The Rockefeller Plan, created by John D.

Rockefeller, Jr., was a refinement of employee representplans and was developed to help calm labor relations at Colo

Fuel and Iron Company after the Ludlow Massacre.

Silent Auction November 9th

What a great way to get rid of

surplus equipment or supplies thatno longer need. The annual GSilent Auction will be held duringNove mber Gener al Membe rmeeting. Bring in your clean where you can either donate them tclub or you can earn money you canto invest in even more equipment!

The Gold Assay Process: Magic or Chemistry?

November 26th 10:00 a.m. & 1:00 p.m.

Join us at the Western Museum of Mining & Industry to dischow ore is processed to extract gold. Hands-on learners ages will crush and classify ore as they learn the basics of ore assaying--determining the value of gold in the rock. Thismoving, interactive assay demonstration will overview the mmechanics, and chemistry of this exciting process. Custoadmission applies, and reservations are requested. Please719-488-0880 or email us [email protected]
http://www.colorado-trails.com/http://www.colorado-trails.com/http://www.gpoc.com/mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]://www.colorado-trails.com/http://www.colorado-trails.com/http://secure1.dmns.org/products/154-invertebrate-paleontology-i-precambrian-paleozoic.aspxhttp://secure1.dmns.org/products/154-invertebrate-paleontology-i-precambrian-paleozoic.aspxhttp://secure1.dmns.org/products/154-invertebrate-paleontology-i-precambrian-paleozoic.aspxhttp://secure1.dmns.org/products/154-invertebrate-paleontology-i-precambrian-paleozoic.aspxhttp://secure1.dmns.org/products/154-invertebrate-paleontology-i-precambrian-paleozoic.aspxhttp://secure1.dmns.org/products/154-invertebrate-paleontology-i-precambrian-paleozoic.aspxmailto:[email protected]:[email protected]://www.gpoc.com/http://www.gpoc.com/http://www.gpoc.com/http://www.gpoc.com/


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Sluices,H

ighbankers

,

HighVolum

e/Pressure

Pumps

Revolution

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ForSuper

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eryofCol

oradosF

lourGold

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OVERYEQ

UIPMENT

DESIGNE

DANDBU

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LORADO

Bob Butler

Buena Vista,

Colorado

719-395-2003

Iwouldliketosi

ncerelythankthe

GPOCanditsGen

eralMembershipf

or

alloftheirsuppo

rtandcontribut

ions

duringthepasty

ear.

Ilookforwardto

workingwithall

ofyouinthecom

ingyear.

Sincerely

BobButler

Prospectors Beware

Gas driven equipment is not allowed along Clear Creek in Adams County. Some prospectors have been seen

highbanking and dredging in this area. Also, our claims in the Leadville area are only open to panning and sluicing.

At present the club does not have a Plan of Operation in place which would permit other forms of prospecting.

Trout Unlimited has contracted some work in Clear Creek Canyon Park for the building of fish habitat structures

within the creek. The contractor has reported a problem with gold prospectors tearing apart the structures after thecontractors crew completes them. Jeffcos Colleen Gadd has instructed her Park Rangers to write tickets to

anyone caught destroying these structures. In addition the prospectors equipment may be subject to confiscation.

It is your responsibility to know and obey Open Space rules and regulations.Users assume liability for all

risks associated with visiting this Open Space area.Responsible use protects this resource for all citizens

of Jefferson County.

NOVEMBER ACTIVITIES

Bighorn Sheep: The Rut and Winter SurvivalEventNovember 19, 2011, 8:30 AM 4:00 PM $70Rocky Mountain Nature Association Field Seminars Center1895 Fall River Rd., Estes, ColoradoFall is a time when bighorn sheep gather in the lower altitudesto mate and survive the winter. View sheep during the rut, andlearn about their behavior. This seminar will take place in theEstes Valley/Rocky Mountain National Park area.To register for this or any other educational adventure please

call 970-586-3262. To register on-line please visitwww.rmna.org.

Boulder Walking ToursNovember 11, 2011, 2:00 PMMeet your guide outside the Hotel Boulderado, Corner of 13thand Spruce, Boulder Colorado$15 adults; $13 senior (65+ yrs.); $13 youth (11-17 yrs); $5children (5-10 yrs); no charge for children under 5720-243-1376 Visit WebsiteBoulder Walking Tours take locals and visitors alike oninnovative and exciting tours through Boulder's eclecticneighborhoods and historic districts. Our fun walks explore theexcitement, history, food, architecture, neighborhoods, parks,fountains, artwork, and just plain weird places in Boulder,Colorado. Our guides are locals who love the City, its history,lore and legends...and we're ready to share it all with you. Joinus for a walk along the streets, sidewalks, and bywaysmore

Free First SundaysSunday, November 6, 2011,12:00 PM-4:00 PMBoulder History Museum1206 Euclid AvenueBoulder, CO 80302Free admission though donations are appreciated.

In addition, our 2-dimensional collection of over 200,000photographs and 700,000 historic documents is housed at the

Carnegie Library for Local History where it is available to thepublic and researchers.

Royal Gorge BLM OfficeRoad Conditions

Information on current road conditions andspecial closuresis available 7-days a week,24-

hours a day,by calling our office at719-269-8500!
http://www.gpoc.com/http://boulderhistory.org/photographs_documents.asphttp://boulderhistory.org/event_details.asp?eventID=362http://boulderhistory.org/event_details.asp?eventID=362http://www.boulder.lib.co.us/carnegie/http://www.boulder.lib.co.us/carnegie/http://boulderhistory.org/photographs_documents.asphttp://boulderhistory.org/photographs_documents.asphttp://boulderhistory.org/event_details.asp?eventID=362http://boulderhistory.org/event_details.asp?eventID=362http://www.bouldercoloradousa.com/includes/events/index.cfm?action=displayDetail&eventid=15498http://www.bouldercoloradousa.com/includes/events/index.cfm?action=displayDetail&eventid=15498http://www.boulderwalkingtours.com/http://www.boulderwalkingtours.com/http://www.bouldercoloradousa.com/includes/events/index.cfm?action=displayDetail&eventid=15498http://www.bouldercoloradousa.com/includes/events/index.cfm?action=displayDetail&eventid=15498http://www.rmna.org/http://www.rmna.org/http://www.rmna.org/http://www.rmna.org/http://www.rmna.org/http://www.rmna.org/http://www.gpoc.com/http://www.gpoc.com/


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In this newsletter, GPOC provides links and references to other websites. GPOC has no control over information at such siteshyperlinked or referred to. These links and references are being provided for the convenience of the readers, and GPOC doesnot endorse and is not responsible or liable for the content, nature, or reliability of any linked or referenced website or any link

contained in a linked or referenced website. GPOC takes no responsibility for monitoring, updating, supplementing, orcorrecting any information on any linked or referenced website and makes no representation or warranties regarding such

information.

PROSPECTING THE INTERNET

Mining Equipment Manufacturesand Fabricators

Action Mining Services. WaveTables, Assay Kits, etc.: http://www.actionmining.com/

A e r o M i n i n g T e c h n o l o g i e s .Concentrators, Wash Plants, etc.: http://www.aerominingtech.com/

BoilerBox Mining. Manufacturer ofs l u i c e s a n d H i g h b a n k e r s a n d m o r e : h t t p : / /www.boilerboxmining.com/

Buckabilly Sluice Box: http://www.buckabillysluice.com/

Camel Mining Products. Desert Fox Separator, Mountain GoatTrommel, etc.:http://www.desfox.com/

Dahlke Dredge Mfg. Dredges and parts: h t tp : / /www.dahlkedredge.com/

D&K Detector Sales. Maker of Nugget line of equipment andretail outlet for a variety of prospecting equipment andsupplies:http://www.dknugget.com/

Falcon Concentrators. Gravity Separators/Concentrators:

http://www.concentrators.net/

Gold Dredge Builders Warehouse. Manufacturer of Dredgesand parts supplier:http://www.golddredgebuilders.com/

Golden Boy, Inc. Manufacturer of separators: http://www.goldenboyinc.com/

Gould Engineering. Gould Bazooka Trap dredges, nozzles,etc.:http://www.gouldeng.com/

Greywolf Highbankers. Manufacturer of sluices, Highbankersand more:http://greywolfhighbankers.com/home.htm

Heckler Fabrications. Manufacturer of Sluices, High-bankers,Trommels, etc.:http://www.hecklerfabrication.com/

Honcoop Highbankers. Manufacturer of High-bankers, etc.:

http://www.honcoophighbanker.com/Jobe Wholesale. Manufacturer and Distributors of a widevariety of mining gear they do not sell retail:http://www.jobewholesale.com/

Keene Engineering. Manufacturer of Sluices, dredges, pumps,High-bankers and a Variety of other prospecting equipmentand supplies:http://www.keeneeng.com/

Kendall Mining & Equipment Co. Manufacturer of smallsmelting furnaces, etc.: http://www.kendallmines.com/

Lost and Foundry. Manufacturer of small smelting furnaces,etc.:http://foundry101.com/

Oro Industries. Manufacturer of a wide variety of miningequipment:http://www.oro-industries.com/

Proline Mining. Manufacturer of the Proline sluices, dredgesand Highbankers:http://www.prolinemining.com/index.html

Wild BoarProspecting. Manufacturerof the Javeline Trommel:http://www.wildboarprospecting.com/

Feathers Can Defeat

Mercury

World Placer Journal2008, volume 8 page 45

Can mercury be eliminatedfrom the final cleanup? Indeedit can. Across Mongolia andthe former Soviet Union it hasalready happened. The authorwas astounded to see, as a matter of daily routine, placer goldconcentrate being cleaned using a combination of steadygentle blowing by mouth, coupled by gentle stroking with ahand-held feather.

Observation and inquiries show that the blow+feathertechnique is daily routine at virtually all the 135 placer goldcompanies in Mongolia at their >200 placer gold mines,producing over 10 tons a year of clean concentrate that issmelted to make ingots of dore gold for sale against assay tothe Central Bank and commercial banks.

The procedure is rapid and straightforward. A table in a goldroom is scrupulously cleaned and if desired is covered in alayer of greaseproof paper using paperclips. Moregreaseproof paper is bent and clipped to create a three-sidedopen top tray. Alternatively a smooth clean aluminum tray isused. Overhead illumination is very bright. Perfectly dryconcentrate is added to the tray and the operator blows gentlyto dislodge some of the unwanted particles. A weak hand-heldmagnet may assist. However the most important activity is thestroking of the concentrate with the vane of a feather. There isno preference in type of bird, but the feather of necessity isquite large and commonly is a flight or tail feather. Thestroking action separates the dense gold particles from thelighter particles. Experienced users tilt the feather and makeuse of the extreme end of the feather.

This blow-and-feather routine is ubiquitous in the gold roomsof the placer mines in Mongolia. Enquiries confirm itoriginated in the Soviet gold mines in Siberia and plausiblymay be of great antiquity. However it probably became routinefollowing Order No. 124 of 29th of December 2988 by theChief Department of Precious Metals and Diamonds of theMistry Cabinet of the USSR that prohibited mercury indredges, wash-plants and placer mines generally. Mongoliafollowed suit shortly thereafter. From the moment, all Sovietresearch into amalgamation technology ceased. The monthlyissue of mercury by the Soviet authorities to the placer minesabruptly terminated. The blow-and-feather technique becameroutine.

Yet the blow-and-feather routine seems confined to the formerSoviet Union and Mongolia, and seems to be unknown in theYukon and Alaska where placer mining companies andrecreational miners struggle to create a clean smelt-ableconcentrate and resort to all manner of gravitational devicesand convoluted chemical methods to achieve the same endresult.
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6/17


1894 News Article

What! Gold right in the very streets of Boulder?Has the flood, which washed so vast an amount ofsand and mud down the mountains, proved a

blessing in disguise? It is said that successfulsluice mining is being done at Woodburys place onValley Road, every yard of which has paid well forthe work of digging and sluicing. That veraciousyoung man, Sam Woodbury, points to his sluiceboxes with pride and exhibits some fine nuggets hedeclares were taken from the flood deposit in frontof his fathers house

Boulder Camera Fort Collins CourierDecember 20, 1894

Sluice Box and RifflesFairplay Flume, April 21, 1881, Front page

Colonel Eddy, of Nevada, Colorado, claims to have originated thesluice box and riffles in placer mining, the first being evolved as amatter of necessity, and the latter owing their origin to accidentaldiscover. He gives the following account of his connection withthis important discovery: In the spring of 1850, when all operationswere carried on by the aid of the long tom and the rocker, helocated a claim in the ravine just above Nevada. There wereseveral claims below him, the holders of which refused to permithim to run tailings on their ground. So he made a trough leadingfrom his location through theirs to a point below. On the bottom ofthe sluice, where the different sections joined, he nailed woodencleats to keep the water and gravel from leaking out. At the lowerend of the sluice he placed a rocker, and for one day manipulatedthe dirt that came down to it. At the end of that day he found thatthe rocker had saved scarcely any gold. Going along up the sluice

he fund behind each of the cleats numerous sparkling particles ofgold that had lodged there. He abandoned the use of the rocker,increased the number of cleats, and then commenced what he saidwas the first sluice mining ever carried on in California, and

probably in the whole world, so far as he knows. The sluice andriffles soon became popular, causing the price of lumber toadvance rapidly. The Colonel says the only thing he regrets abouthis discovery is that he didnt have it patented, and thus win fameand fortune.

Editors Note: It wasnt Nevada, Colorado as stated in thisarticle. It was Nevada, California.

President Ben Higley

Vice-president Wayne Wittcopp

Secretary Stacey Smith

Treasurer Bill Smith

1 Year Trustee Dianne Anderson

2 Year Trustee Jim Blankenship

3 Year Trustee

Dick Margeson

Newly Elected GPOC Board Members for 2012San Juan Mountains Wilderness Act

This act could affect areas you can prospect in.

Udall, Bennet re-introduce Wilderness Act(10/05/11): Late last week, officials from San

Miguel, San Juan and Ouray Counties, commendedSenator Mark Udall (D-CO) for reintroducing the

San Juan Mountains Wilderness Act, which includes

legislation in Naturita Canyon near Norwood.http://www.sanjuancitizens.org/wildsanjuans/

northernsjmtswilderness.shtml

3,170 acres will be added to the existing LizardHead Wilderness Area in San Miguel County

21606 acres will be added to the existing Mt.Sneffels Wilderness Area in San Miguel andOuray counties.

8,614 acres of the McKenna Peak WildernessStudy Area in San Miguel County, located in theDisappointment Valley, will be designated aswilderness (representing the first designation inthe lower Dolores River watershed).

It would also extend new protections toimportant wild lands:

21,697 acres in San Juan and San MiguelCounty including Ice Lakes basin outside ofSilverton and the high alpine peaks near Ophirwill be designated as the Sheep MountainSpecial Management Area. Existing usesincluding Heliisking will be allowed to continue,but no new roads or other development will bepermitted. The area will automatically becomewilderness should the Heliiski company cease

to operate in the area.

6,595 acres will be withdrawn from eligibility formineral leasing in Naturita Canyon, nearNorwood in San Miguel County.

Please visit the MDHTALK web site for some greatinformation! The Quillis available on the MDHTALK siteunder the newsletter search menu tab under GPOCs

name. http://www.mdhtalk.org /
http://www.mdhtalk.org/http://www.mdhtalk.org/http://www.mdhtalk.org/http://www.mdhtalk.org/http://www.mdhtalk.org/http://www.sanjuancitizens.org/wildsanjuans/northernsjmtswilderness.shtmlhttp://www.sanjuancitizens.org/wildsanjuans/northernsjmtswilderness.shtmlhttp://www.sanjuancitizens.org/wildsanjuans/northernsjmtswilderness.shtmlhttp://www.sanjuancitizens.org/wildsanjuans/northernsjmtswilderness.shtmlhttp://www.telluridenews.com/articles/2011/10/05/norwood_post/news/doc4e8baed803487542444629.txthttp://www.telluridenews.com/articles/2011/10/05/norwood_post/news/doc4e8baed803487542444629.txthttp://www.gpoc.com/http://www.gpoc.com/


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Board Sluice

While the majority of historical discussion of placer mining with sluices is in California, the process was being used acrossall mining districts. The evolution of placer mining first employed the traditional gold pans, then the rocker, progressing tothe Long Tom and finally sluice boxes. Sluicing was done on readily accessible gold deposits that lay close to bedrockunder a thin layer of gravel. It has been estimated that close to 12 million ounces were recovered in California during thefirst five years of mining with the above mentioned processes.

The board sluice was developed after the Long Tom and proved tobe three times cheaper than the tom to operate. An article in the

Sacramento Daily Union, April 14, 1853, stated that Long Toms wereno longer being used and sluices had been substituted in their placeThe board sluice was a simple innovation that required littleinvestment, transforming the mining industry and allowing even moreground to be worked. With the sluice, miners worked lessindependently and more in groups, revolutionizing the miningcommunities. With the development of each advancement in miningtechnology larger capital investment and the use of resourcesincreased. Most mining techniques were adapted to a particular siteand may have been dependent on the resources and capitaavailable with creative innovations to methods being developed.One of the first descriptions of the sluice in California wasmentioned in the Sacramento Transcriptof May 2, 1851, as being a

new and profitable process and having been in operation for 3months.1 Some claimed that the sluice, like the rocker, originated in Georgia, and was first used by a Dr. Kinsey, aGeorgian, on Lairds Hill, Nevada City. (Nevada City, Nevada County, California) Bean discusses the sluice being usedsomewhere around 1850-1851 in Nevada County, CA.2 Others site a W. Elwell who constructed a sluice at Nevada Cityin the spring of 1850; while others point to a Mr. Eddy of an accidental discovery of the sluice method in California. Hesupposedly used a sluice to carry dirt and water from his claim, across the claim of a contentious neighbor, to his rocker.Ground sluicing was discussed in 1853 on Lost Hill diggings in California.

While the sluice may not have appeared on the mining scene until about1850 in the United States, the use of a sluice was discussed by GeorgiusAgricola (Pliny)in De Re Metallicain 1556. Pliny, an ancient Latin historian,born A.D. 33, stated hydraulic washing was known to the Romans. Plinysaccount describes: The gold-seekers, first of all take off the surface

soil, which indicates the presence of gold. This is put into a cradle orchannel, the sand is washed, and an opinion is formed from the sedimentthat remains...Another task of even greater costliness is that of conveyingstreams of water, even 100 miles in length, to wash this rain on the top of themountains. These they call canals; and the labour consists in this, that thewater must be conveyed to a height from whence it may force its passage in;accordingly it is carried to the greatest possible heights. Dykes are hollowedout below for the water to flow into; these are strewn with a shrub called ulex,or rosemary, which is rough and retains the gold. This ulex is afterwardsburnt, and its ashes are washed in order that the gold may form a deposit.3

The sluice was either man-made or natural. Historically, an account from1867 describes sluices being made of rough sawn wood planks that would

swell when filled with water. Clay would also collect in the joints making thesluice watertight. The processed dirt would pit and roughen the wooden planks which would aid in the retention of goldUnlike today, copper amalgamated plates and the induction of mercury was frequently used to capture the fine gold.

An old practice was, if during the working, assays would show too much gold in the tailings, the sluice was lengthened. Itwas assumed that the longer the sluice the better the gold recovery because there was more of an opportunity for thegold to settle. Also, a longer sluice could aide the movement of the tailings to a distant dump so that they would notinterfere with the mine operations. Early on sluices were twelve feet long because of the standard lumber length that wasfurnished by the saw mills. The sluices could contain thousands of feet of lumber and could be thousands of feet longbuilt in sections twelve to fourteen feet long. By being made in sections, the sluices could easily be dismantled andrepaired or moved to another location. The length of the sluice would vary and was determined by the physicacharacteristics and quantity of the gravel, the fineness and character of the gold, the amount of water to be used, theamount of funds available for building and maintenance and the grade of the ground.4

From De Re Metallicain 1556
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The boards were sawn one and one-half inches thick and were four inches wider at one end than the other so that thenarrow end of one box would fit into the wider end of another. The bottom of the sluices were built with grooved plankssecured with driving in a soft pine tongue.5 Where the boxes were joined they would be caulked with old rags and toughclay to prevent leakage. The depth was from one-third to one-half of a sluices width.6 These boxes were from 8 inchesto two feet high, allowing the water to be from ten to twelve inches deep to cover any large rocks sent down the sluice.The sides were lined with additional lumber to protect the wooden sluice from the scouring action of the gravel and rocksand would be replaced when worn. These giant board sluices were operated by four to twenty men who could work twoto five cubic yards of dirt a day. A run, which was from the beginning of washing until the cleanup, lasted six to eight daysin very large sluices. If a sluice was too wide it would clog with material because the waters velocity was too slow and too

shallow. (Holland)

The constant scouring of the wood boxes and riffles rapidly wore them out and when the sluice boxes and wood riffleswere no longer fit to be used, they were dried and then burned. By washing the ashes, enough gold could be obtained tosometimes afford a new set of boxes. While the supply of wood for building sluices was usually readily available, sluicesmade of wood did have faults. Frequent repairs were necessary because the wood would swell and warp. If the miningoperation was suspended for any length of time the wood would dry and shrink, along with not holding up to beingtransported for any distance. Their joints were difficult to keep tight and as a result gold and mercury were lost.

Riffles

The most common method used to create a cavity or pocket on the bottom of a sluice is a riffleThe cavity or pocket created by a riffle produces an area where the energy of a sluice is

reduced, allowing heavy minerals including gold to settle. Riffles came in many styles and weremade from a variety of materials such as: rocks, wood, steel, iron, wool blankets, carpet, gunnysacks, grass sod, logs, and any readily available material. However, the durability, shape andsize of riffles needed to be considered. Wood from lumber mills or small logs were frequentlyused but the scouring action of the gravel would soon wear the wood down and cost formaintenance and repair became a consideration.

The kind of riffle used was often determined by the building material that was readily availableand not by scientific studies. Miners relied more on mercury to amalgamate the gold in sluice boxes rather than rifflesRiffles were relied upon to save the wear and tear on the bottom of sluices. In a book written in 1918 it was stated thatthe operation of a riffle is not well understood. They knew that the strength and shape of the eddies created by a rifflewere affected by the shape and spacing of riffles, their position with respect to the direction of flow, and the velocity of thecurrent. They also understood that a riffles role was to retard the material moving over them giving it a chance to settle, toform pockets to retain gold, and to form eddies which helped to classify the material.7 A large number of variations in thestyle of riffles, some of them patented were introduced. It was very common for several systems to be used in the samestring of boxes, thus: slats at the head, with alternating sections of block and rock pavement below. The choice of materia

and form was governed by cost, by the character and the quantity of the gravel sluiced and bythe fineness of the gold. A further discussion of riffle systems will be discussed in future articles(see rock sluice)

Initially, the most common form of paving consisted of blocks of wood,made from the heart (inner wood of a mature tree) of the sugar pine,cut across the grain of the wood and placed vertically with the grainstanding up. The sugar pines range is in Southern Oregon andCalifornia and it is a soft wood.8 Pitch pine made the best riffle

because it was long grained and broomed up which would retain thesmall particles of amalgam and gold. ( Pitch pine was a term applied toevery species of hard resinous pine in the United States.) Gibsonstates that the wood was soft and brittle and found mostly in the

Eastern states which leads me to question whether this was the wood being used for riffles inWestern states or if it was a general slang term. The life of a block depended upon the quality ofthe wood, the grade the sluice was set on, the character and quantity of the gravel, and theamount of water being used. The larger the amount of water (on the same grade) in proportion tothat of gravel, the less the blocks would wear. The quality of the wood varied greatly in differentlocalities. Hard timber (such as oak) would wear smooth and was not desirable because itwould not broom up. The most desirable wood was from the nut pine (Perry s nut pine,pion,Mexican Pinon)8 but it was hard to secure. Usually, the price of lumber determined the wood

that was used.9

Sugar Pine


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Wood block riffles were either square block riffles or round block riffles.Square block riffleswere from six to twelve inches thick and twelve to eighteen inches square, with roundedcorners. The more rare, round block riffles, were blocks sawn off from the trunks of treesand set on end in the sluices.10 Wood block riffles were held in position by boards (rifflestrips) typically one and one-forth inches thick by two to three inches wide, fastenedcrosswise on the sluice bottom by headless nails, and made secure by a cleat on the side ofthe sluice that was one and one-half inches x three inches. The spaces in which theamalgam collected were from a fraction of an inch to four inches in width. Later, block riffleswere held with soft pine wedges which were driven between the side of the sluice and theblocks.11 When wedges were used the sides of the blocks needed to be square where they

joined. The cost for the wood blocks in a box fourteen feet long and thirty inches wide wasfour to five dollars.12 In average mines the block riffles lasted less than one monthamounting to increased mining costs. The blocks were turned after each run and reused ifthey were not too worn. If a block was worn to four or five inches it was not reused. The

wooden block worn down the most was placed towards the head of the sluice.

Rock riffles were more durable and were substituted for wooden blocks in many localities. Theprimitive riffles used by the South American gold-washers, consisted of steps cut in the bare bedrock. Rock required morewater and a steeper grade than wooden blocks. Their initial cost was less because they were readily available, but the

cost of labor to maintain and repave them was higher than wooden blocks . The rock commonly used was basalt, but

quartz and other materials were also used. Another class of rock riffles was selected from water-worn boulders ocobblestones, that might have been collected from an iron grating in the sluice, and arranged in sections of about half thelength of an ordinary sluice box, facing slightly downward, with pieces of lumber securely fastened between them. Rockriffles were desirable for sluices that did not require frequent cleanups such as the tail sluice. When a combination owood block and rock riffles were used it helped to reduce the wear of the riffles.

One company, in 1854 found that attaching, at each end, a loose board onto the bottom of their sluice, an inch of spacecreated an artificial crevice between the sides of the sluice and the loose planks. The gold was deposited in the crevicesalong the sides and under the planks.13

The adoption of longer lasting riffles was delayed due to the abundance of cheap timberand rock riffles. Iron capped riffles were invented to add durability, and iron or steel railswere sometimes substituted. The development of these types of riffles was to cut the time

required for cleanup, to lengthen their life and reduce costs and not necessarily in theirefficiency. In some mining districts wood was more expensive than iron or iron-capped

riffles.14

Longitudinal riffle bars, six feet long, two to four inches wide and three to seven incheshigh were placed in the bottom of some sluices. Two sets per twelve foot box were placedan inch to an inch and a half apart. Sometimes the riffle bars were put in diagonally in thesluices box running from one side to the other.15

Rock Sluice

Initially, rocks were placed in a random manner in the bottom ofsluices imitating the bottom of a stream. Stone, in a regularpattern, was later used to pave the sluice and was moredurable than the wooden false bottoms. Wooden riffle barswere rapidly worn and could cost $20 to $30 per day to replace. It was also felt that rock sluices were better at catchingfine gold than wooden riffle-bars. The stone bottoms, instead of wooden riffle-bottom sluices, made it more difficult fothieves to steal the gold. With the rock-sluice the amalgam was buried by sand between the stones and had to bewashed to be removed. However, the rock sluice was more difficult and tedious to cleanup, costing more man hours tomaintain. It was recommended that the stones weigh twenty pounds each so that they would not be dislodged by theforce of the water. Ten feet of a double sluice could weigh 8 tons!16 The stones were hard, oval and flattish and six toeight inches at their widest diameter. Sometimes squared granite rocks would be used.

Iron-cap riffle

Designed by J. B.

Rock riffles held in place with cleats on the side.


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The time consuming task of laying the stones would take one man one dayto pave eight hundred square feet. Another publication stated that it couldbe rapidly accomplished by one man paving twenty-five boxes, fourteenfeet long and thirty inches wide in one day. Once the sluice was inoperation the stones would be secured by the sand that collected betweenthem, or strips of board five and one-half inches wide were nailed on eachside of the box and a crosspiece was wedged under the strips at the end oeach box. Cleanup, after ten to twenty days, was accomplished by loosingthe stones with a pick, washing them off by allowing ten or twenty inches owater to flow through them, and they were then laid out while the boxes

were washed down and cleaned.

Double Sluice

Double sluices were double the width of a regular sluice and wereconstructed from two sluice-boxes side by side. The double sluice wasused so that the operation would not be interrupted or by two companiesworking side by side. They would wash one side and then the other withouhaving to stop operations for cleanup. They could be used where there wa

a large or small supply of water. In the winter, when water was more plentifulboth sides were operated and in the summer when water was scarce one side

would be operated. By using a double sluice expenses were less. (refer totail sluice and fantail sluice)

Tail Sluice (tail race)

The tail sluice was used to wash tailings from other sluices and wassometimes used to open railroad cuts. It was also used in areas with a rapiddescent. Tail sluices could collect an even greater percentage of the goldfrom the waste material than a regular board sluice. It was a large, longsluice paved with cobblestones, or wood placed on end, and was run formonths without cleaning up. The paving stones in a tail-sluice were larger

than those in a regular sluice. A tail-sluice was placed at an angle of oneinch per foot.17 It was placed in the bed of a creek and was left alone untilcleanup time. Because the tail-sluice was fed dirt and water from othersluices emptying into it, it could produce large profits. Some tail-sluices weredescribed as being twenty feet in width! The Teaff sluice in Dutch Flats,California was 5,500 feet long. 2,500 feet of the sluice was five-half feet wideand twenty-six inches deep, and 3,000 feet of this sluice was six feet wide. It was paved with boulders fourteen incheshigh. The boulders were worn away at the rate of two inches in three months. The Teaff sluice took over four years tobuild and cost $55,000.18 The currents velocity in the Teaff sluice was capable of handling boulders ten to twenty inchesin diameter and could move them at the rate of ten miles an hour. A grating would capture large rocks where they wereexamined for their suitability as pavers. A standard unit of measure for mercury was the flask which was equivalent to 76pounds of mercury (quicksilver). Fifteen to twenty pounds of quicksilver were used on a daily basis to aide in the processIt was claimed that the mercury was recycled, which is probably true due to its costs, however, how much was lost? Onetail-sluice by the Palmyra Mining Company in California was 6 miles long!19

Fantail Sluice

Modifications to the tail sluice were made to capture fine gold. The sluice was divided at the centerof its length, shifting the lower part on one side a distance of half its width, and placing anothersluice of the same size beside it, so that the two tail-sluices, cover equal parts of the lower end of thesluice. A grating was placed at the end of the single or head sluice to prevent coarse gravel fromwashing into the double or tail-sluices. It was found that be dividing the stream of water after it leftthe head-sluice its velocity was decreased aiding in capturing the fine gold. The fantail-sluice was asimilar design, subdividing the tail-sluice with a second grating, further reducing the water velocityand depth.20 The design of the fantail sluice is used at the head of modern sluices to control thevelocity of the water.

Rock riffles ready to be placed into a sluice.

Tail Sluice in Brown''s Flat, Tuolumne County, CA 18Lawrence & Houseworth, publisher


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Ground Sluice-Bedrock Sluice

The ground sluice had been used in California since about 1852.21 The ground sluice was used in natural and artificia(tailings) placer ground. It was applied where the water had a rapid descent. The ground sluice had no box, the water ranin a ditch or on the ground. The unpressurized water was sometimes used to cut the ditch down to bedrock. The groundsluice was a ditch in a gully cut into the mining ground (sometimes 60 to 70 feet deep 22), sometimes cut to the bedrocksometimes not to the bedrock, in areas where the dirt was too poor or shallow to pay for washing with a board sluice. The

most favorable conditions for ground sluicing were found on the benches and upper reaches of the creeks. It was alsoused where the surface was too steep to use a board sluice. If the sluice was to be constructed in a hydraulic operation a

giant (nozzle) was used to make the bed for the sluice. This was more economical than creating a bed by hand. Theresults were determined by the amount of water, the character of the dirt and the grade (incline). Ground sluicing requiredmore water than regular sluicing, sometimes its cost prohibiting ground sluicing. Natural erosion of the banks would occuas well as being assisted by miners. Miners would extract the dirt from the banks which would fall into the ground sluiceA sluice fork was used to remove some of the rocks from the ground sluice, while some rocks were left to help catch thegold. A sluice fork was like a manure fork with five blunt tines, three inches apart, about a foot long, of equal width all theway down. The blunt end of the fork prevented the tines from catching in the wooden sluice, and the equal widthprevented rocks from being caught in the tines.23 A November 9th, 1854 ad in the Sacramento Daily Union listed a sluicefork for $60 to $65. The ground sluice would be worked for several weeks or months before it was cleaned up with aboard sluice. It was claimed that part of the cutting of the Sacramento Valley Railroad was done with a ground sluicewhere the ground contained gold and paid for the labor. It was also purported to be used to sluice the streets of ForesCity of deep snow as well as cleaning streets of mud.24

Another description of a ground sluice described diverting the streaminto a flume that was built on a trestle. Because the bottom of the creekwas free of water, boulders were piled along the banks creating achannel that confined the stream and increased its velocity aiding it inmoving material that otherwise could not have been moved. At times,the water was again diverted into the flume so that rocks could beremoved. The gold was concentrated on the bed rock which wascleaned up with board sluices. An account in Placer Times, July 20,1849, described several of these flumes on the American Forks.

A vast quantity of earth has been washed here by the hydraulic method.

One of the principal claims is owned by Mr. Laird, formerly of Georgia,

who has made an extensive excavation backwards in the side of a hillformed of the drift. In washing this earth, the ground-sluice has been

extensively used. They are cut in the surface of the granite and converge

from the base of different parts of the bluff until they all unite and deliver

the water into a board-sluice below. These ground-sluices are said to catch and retain the gold more effectually than

those made of boards. The gold is, however, not so readily obtained or "cleaned up" from them. The operations in Nature

the concentration of gold in the beds of streams, from a wide areais thus imitated by these ground-sluices.25

Early in the development of mining in California, ground sluicing produced some of the largest amounts of gold, howeveradvancements in hydraulic mining superseded the method because it could produce higher returns at a lower cost.26 Asrich ground became exhausted the ground sluice became more profitable. 27 No mercury was used in ground sluicing andit was not done during times when heavy floods would sweep away the sluices or gold, nor was it done during dryseasons when the wooden sluice boxes would warp and crack. The ground sluice was constructed on the sound theory

that gold concentrates onto the bedrock of a stream.

Booming or Gouging

Booming was a variation of ground sluicing in which water stored in reservoirs was sporadically released in largeamounts. It was supposed to be an improvement on ground sluicing. Booming was effective in areas where the watesupply was insufficient. A dam would be placed across a stream to store the water. A floodgate on the dam could beopened and would produce a torrent of water that would cut away the stream banks and move large rocks or bouldersGround sluices would be used in the final process. In one operation described in the Mining Press, Vol 17. Page 50, sixthousand inches of water were released every few hours carrying huge boulders and trees along with its force. Themethod of booming was considered wasteful because fine gold was lost because of the velocity of the water. Large lakesand dams could develop in some streams which would give way, carrying with them life and property.
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The Romans in the first centuries BC and AD used a process that was later calledhushing to mine gold. They would store a large volume of water in a reservoir abovethe area they wanted to mine. The water would be released quickly, removingoverburden and exposed bedrock, allowing gold veins to be mined after which watepower was used to remove debris. The method is well described by Pliny the Elder inBook XXXIII of his Naturalis Historia from the first century AD. It was used during theRoman period for hydraulic mining of alluvial gold deposits, and in opencast veinmining, for removal of rock debris. He describes how tanks and reservoirs were builtnear the suspected veins, filled with water from an aqueduct, and the water suddenlyreleased from a sluice-gate onto the hillside below, scouring the soil away to reveal

the bedrock and any veins. A second mode of obtaining gold is by sinking shafts orseeking it among the debris of mountains. The persons in search of gold in the firstplace remove the "segutilum,"4 such being the name of the earth which givesindication of the presence of gold. This done, a bed is made, the sand of which iswashed, and, according to the residue found after washing, a conjecture is formed asto the richness of the vein.

Blanket Sluice

Black sand, gold, quicksilver and amalgam were concentrated in a sluice onto a blanket that was placed in the bottom of the sluice.The blanket would capture the quicksilver that escaped the mill and sulphurets which were heavier and richer than the rest of thetailings, but resisted amalgamation. In the Daily Alta California, March 24, 1853, a description of a complicated sluice having a variety

of falls and riffles, and with some parts very wide allowing the water to spread out very thin is given. In addition, a description of thebottom being covered with old pieces of tacked down woolen blankets is given as to the effectiveness of capturing fine gold. The writerdraws attention to this improvement advising other miners to adopt it.

Some blanket sluices were shallow having sides an inch or two high with a small incline of six to twelve inches in twelve feet. Becausethey did not need to handle unconcentrated material they did not need to be as strong or as large. Their incline was less and if rifflebars were used they were not as deep as in the board sluice. Two sluices could be placed side by side or one wide sluice was dividedinto several narrow longitudinal compartments by parallel strips of wood. The tailings from the mill and water, would flow over theblankets, which retained the gold, amalgam and quicksilver. A worker with a broom would keep the material evenly distributed andexposed to the waters current by sweeping the sluices.The operation was aided by a man with a broom, who lightly swept the sluiceskeeping the material evenly distributed and exposed to the action of the current. Two or three times a day the blankets were removedand washed.

The blanket sluice was used in a stamp battery. The blanket material was usually made especially for this purpose and was a strongcoarse, thick and hairy wool. They had a nap only on one side and the other side was shorn and placed against the bottom of thesluice. The blanket was about thirty inches wide to cover the bottom and to hang over the sides. There were usually several troughsabreast so that when the blankets of one trough were being washed the operation could continue. The upper blankets would be theheaviest and were washed every hour or more frequently. The blankets in the additional troughs did not need to be washed as oftenBlanket sluices in Virginia City were described as having tailings estimated to be 600 tons a day. The sluices were 22,000 feet in lengthand cost $20,000 in 1867.28 The blankets would wear out at one and one-fourth yard per stamp per month and cost from $1 to $2 peryard.29

The Sluice Tunnel or Tunnel Sluice

A tunnel-sluice is a sluice in a tunnel. The natural rock floor of a tunnel may serve as a sluice, but more commonly the tunnels are fittedwith large, substantially built wooden sluices, having rock riffles of basalt, wooden block riffles, or old railroad iron and faced with ironThere might have been a lot of water running thru a tunnel and by constructing a sluice at the bottom of the tunnel the dirt would easilybe removed and washed. The tunnel was cut with a small grade which allowed the water to run out. Because of the low grade

transverse riffle bars were used because they did not pack as easily as longitudinal riffle-bars or stones, but they did require closersupervision than other kinds of sluices.

Tunnel sluices were used in hydraulic mining when the shallow placers were exhausted and a method for mining the deeper placerswas needed. Tunnels and shafts were cut in the bedrock to access the gravel. The size of the tunnel depended on the size of thesluice. It was usually two to three feet wider than the sluice.The tunnel would be six feet wide and seven to eight feet high and itslength varied from a few hundred feet to several thousand. These proportions permitted the proper construction of the sluice and gaveenough room for the workers when cleaning up. Fifty to one-hundred feet below the under surface of the gravel was the end of thetunnel. A shaft was sunk through the gravel and bed rock, intersecting the tunnel. A two-half foot wide sluice of strong planks was builwith block riffles. Once the hydraulic process started, the material was washed down the shaft into the tunnel and into the sluiceAdditional reinforcement of the tunnel was done by timbers if there was to be a lot of use and wear. If the sluice was on soft groundand could be undermined the bottom of the tunnel would also be reinforced.
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To prevent the tunnel from clogging up with gravel the tunnel needed to be three to four feet higher than ordinary and thenit tapered to the normal height of the main tunnel in about fifty feet. The shaft was placed to one side of the tunnel if thetunnel continued past the shaft. This was necessary so that the sluice would not be damaged by the shaft being used forwashing the material or running waste water. It was recommended that the sluice be placed to one side of the tunnel toprovide room for the cleanup.

The tunnel was continually being extended as well as the shaft to prevent any delays in the washing. The shafts couldbecome too deep in the bedrock, they could loose their grade as well as becoming too long.30

Undercurrent Sluice-Secondary Undercurrent

Resources for easy placer mining became exhausted and larger amountsof gravel had to be moved, exceeding what could be handled by rockers,Long Toms and board sluices. Hydraulic mining was used to remove richdeposits of gravel washing it through larger sluice boxes. The origins ofplacer mining are controversial, with many claiming to be the inventor.One article claims that it was introduced into California by miners fromDahlonega, Georgia in 1850. Hydraulic mining was first introduced inMarch 1853 at American Hill, near Nevada City, in the Grass Valley camp.Although many people claim to have invented hydraulic mining, a miner,Edward Mattson, with assistance from Anthony Chabot, a sailmaker, andEli Miller, a tinsmith are accredited.31The undercurrent sluice was introduced in California as a result of the giant sluicing

operations there. The undercurrent sluice separated the current in the main sluices so that the muddy coarse materialswould move on and the heavier concentrates could drop through a grating on the bottom of the sluice into sluices of alower grade furnished with fresh water. In the undercurrent, the water was shallower and was spread over a greatersurface, slowing its velocity; this slower current allowed the finer gold to settle in the riffles. A grating of hard cast ironbars, with an opening of an inch wide and eight inches long, was placed in the bottom of a box, near the lower end of asluice. Under the grating there was another sluice with a lower grade, that was supplied with a moderate supply of clean

water. The grating allowed only fine material to fall through allowinggold that would have been lost to be saved. There were timeswhen the material from the undercurrent box was fed back into themain sluice. The undercurrent sluice could be from twenty to fiftyfeet in width and forty to fifty feet in length with sides sixteen incheshigh. They were usually ten times wider than the main sluice.They were placed on a steep grade to one side and below the main

sluice. The bottom of the undercurrent sluice was paved with stoneor wooden blocks which were smaller than the regular sluice.Mercury was also used. Hydraulic mines broke down placer oreswith giant monitors into a slurry. Sluices and drainage tunnels wereused to process the slurry with liquid mercury which formed a gold-mercury amalgam. The loss of mercury in this process amounted toten to thirty percent per season (Bowie, 1905). The amount ofmercury used varied from 0.1 to 0.36 pound per square foot.

Because sluices used in hydraulic mining contained severalthousand feet, several hundred pounds of mercury were used at the initial startup of the sluices. During a typicaloperating season of six to eight months, additional 76-pound flasks of mercury were added weekly or monthly. In the late1800s Averill estimated that optimum operating sluices lost about 10% of the mercury that was added per season, butBowie stated that the annual loss was about 25% in average conditions. This could mean a sluice may have lost severalhundred pounds of mercury during its operating season.32

R.Dunning claimed to be the inventor of the undercurrent sluice and described itas: by means of two or more iron bars at the termination of a section of sluiceboxes, forming a right-angle grating, a portion of the dissolved earth, fine graveland water is separated from the lumps of hard earth, cobble stones and gravel, anddrops into a set of more gently graded sluice boxes beneath, when they flow slowlyoff in another direction, while the body of water and coarse material dashes down adump or fall, to be again taken up in sluices with the tailings from theundercurrent, and subjected anew to separation.

Undercurrents in Humbug Creek, South Yuba, CA


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This process insured a more thorough amalgamation and saving ofthe particles of gold, the most of which dropped through the gratinginto the undercurrent, where, being subject to a less violent motionand passing through a greater variety of riffles, they were morelikely to be finally arrested. It also allowed a large saving of rustygold, which did not readily amalgamate.

On hillsides, where there was plenty of space, undercurrent sluiceswere a valuable addition to tail-sluices; where the latter terminatedat the rivers edge, and would otherwise discharge all of theicontents into the stream. In some mines there may have been 25undercurrent sluices being used.

SecondariesAlong with saving the fine gold, the undercurrent wasalso effective in saving rusty gold which did not amalgamate

Sometimes, the material flowing into the undercurrent sluice was divided into a second system of low-grade boxes calledsecondaries that were advantageous in catching the quicksilver (mercury). The secondaries were about thirty incheswide and had a grade of fourteen to fifteen inches per box. The water they received was less, about one-fifteenth of thewater in the undercurrent sluice. The grating used in a secondary was finer - three-eights of an inch wide and five incheslong. A secondary was effective in steep canyons.

Kirkartrick, T.S.G. The Hydraulic Gold MinersManual. London; E. & F.N. Spon., 1897


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Footnotes

1. Royce, Josiah. California, From the Conquest in 1846 to the Second Vigilance Committee. Cambridge; Houghton, Mifflin and Company, ThUniversity Press, 1886. Page 308.

2. Bean, E.F. Bean's History and Directory of Nevada County, California. Nevada;Printed at the Daily Gazette Book and Job Office,1867. Page12.

3. Hargraves, Edward Hammond. Australia and Its Gold Fields. London; H. Ingram and Co., 1855. Pages 139-146.4. Rose, Thomas Kirke. The Metallurgy of Gold: Being One of a Series of Treatises on Metallurgy. London; Charles Griffin & Company, 1894

Page 49.

5. Bowie, Augustus Jesse. Hydraulic Mining in California . Printed for the Author, 1878. Page 22.

6. Hittell, John Shertzer. Mining in the Pacific States of North America. San Francisco; H.H. Bancroft and Company, 1861. Page 134.

7. Peele, Robert. Mining Engineers Handbook. New York; John Wiley & Sons, Inc, 1918. Page 783.8. Gibson, Henry H. American Forest Trees. Chicago; Hardwood Record. Page 31,706.9. Bowie, Augustus Jesse. A Practical Treatise on Hydraulic Mining in California. New York; D. Van Nostrand, Publisher, 1885. Page 224-228.10. The Colliery Engineer and Metal Miner, Volume 16. Scranton, PA.; The Colliery Engineering Co., May 1896. Page 222.11. Bowie, Augustus Jesse. Hydraulic Mining in California. Printed for the author, 1878. Page 23.12. Hittell, John Shertzer. Mining in the Pacific States of North America. San Francisco;H.H. Bancroft and Company, 1861. Page 139.13. Sacramento Daily Union, Volume 7, Number 1028, 11 July 1854.14. Mining and Scientific Press. San Francisco, 29th May 1897.15. Hittell, John Shertzer. Mining in the Pacific States of North America. San Francisco; H.H. Bancroft and Company,1861. Page 134.16. Lock, Charles George Wamford. Practical Gold-Mining: A Comprehensive Treatise on the Origin and Occurrence. London; E. and F.N. Spon

1889.Page 335.17. Phillips, John Arthur. The Mining and Metallurgy of Gold and Silver. London; E. & F. Spon, 167. Page 147.

18. Blake, WILLIAM P. Notices of Mining Machinery and Various Mechanical Appliances in Use. New haven, Conn; Chrales C. Chatfield & CO

1871. Page 9.

19. Cronise, Titus Fey. The Natural Wealth of California: San Francisco ; H. Bancroft & Company, 1868. Page 572.

20. Lock, Charles George Warnford. Practical Gold-mining: a Comprehensive Treatise on the Origin and Occurrence ... London; E. & F.N. Spon

1889. Page 180.

21. Wide West, 1 December 1854.22. Bowie, Augustus Jesse A Practical Treatise on Hydraulic Mining in California. New York; D. Van Nostrand Company, 1900. Page 245.23. Hittell, John Shertzer. Mining in the Pacific States of North America. San Francisco; H.H. Bancroft and Company, 1861. Page 134.24. Hittell, John Shertzer. Mining in the Pacific States of North America. San Francisco; H.H. Bancroft and Company, 1861. Page 142.25. Blake, William Phipps. Report of a Geological Reconnaissance in California. New York; H. Baailliere, 1858. Page 268.26. Crane, Walter Richard. Gold and Silver: Comprising an Economic History of Mining in the United States. New York; John Wiley & Sons

1908. Page 358.

27. Smyth, Robert Brough. The Gold Fields and Mineral Districts of Victoria. Melbourne; John Ferres, Government Printer, 1869. Page 129

28. Raymond, Rossiter Worthington. Statistics of Mines and Mining in the States and Territories West, Volume 2. Washington; United States

Dept. of the Treasury. Government Printing Office,1870. Pages 697-698.

29. Warnford Lock, Charles George. Practical Gold-Mining: A Comprehensive Treatise on The Origin and Occurrence. London; E & F. N. Spon

1890. Page 704.

30. Brigham, H.A. Engineering and Mining Journal, Volume 86. December 26, 1908. Page 1260.

31. Young, O.E. Western Mining. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press,1970.

32. Alpers, Charles N., Hunerlach, Michael P., May, Jasopn T., Hothem, Roger L. Mercury Contamination from Historical Gold Mining in CaliforniaUSGS Publication Fact sheet 2005-3014.
http://www.gpoc.com/http://www.gpoc.com/


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Title: Hydraulic Mining - hauling Sluice Blocks, for theBlue Gravel Claim, Smartsville, Nevada CountyCreator(s): Lawrence & Houseworth, publisherDate Created/Published: (published 1866)Medium: 1 photographic print: half stereograph, albumen.Reproduction Number: LC-USZ62-26907 (b&w film copy

neg.)Rights Advisory: No known restrictions on publication.Call Number: LOT 3544-50, no. 1401 (item) (P&P)Repository: Library of Congress Prints and PhotographsDivision Washington, D.C. 20540 USA

Title: Hydraulic Mining--The Tail Sluices, Yuba RiverCreator(s): Lawrence & Houseworth, publisherDate Created/Published: (published 1866)Medium: 1 photographic print: half stereograph, albumen.Reproduction Number: LC-USZ62-27089 (b&w film copy

neg.)Rights Advisory: No known restrictions on publication.Call Number: LOT 3544-50, no. 807 (item) (P&P)Repository: Library of Congress Prints and PhotographsDivision Washington, D.C. 20540 USA

Note large sluice blocks being unloaded from the wagonthat are cut round logs.

Title: Hydraulic Mining--The Sluice BlocksCreator(s): Lawrence & Houseworth, publisherDate Created/Published: (published 1866)Medium: 1 photographic print: half stereograph, albumen.Reproduction Number: LC-USZ62-27094 (b&w film copy neg.)Rights Advisory: No known restrictions on publication.Call Number: LOT 3544-50, no. 800 (item) (P&P)Repository: Library of Congress Prints and PhotographsDivision Washington, D.C. 20540 USA

Note the individual sluice blocks of cut round logs that rundown the sluice

Photo from Alexander Turnball Library,Wellington.

Notice the wooden riffles and the directionthey run in the bottom of the sluice box.
http://www.loc.gov/pictures/related/?fi=name&q=Lawrence%20%26%20Houseworthhttp://www.loc.gov/pictures/related/?fi=name&q=Lawrence%20%26%20Houseworthhttp://www.loc.gov/pictures/related/?fi=name&q=Lawrence%20%26%20Houseworthhttp://www.loc.gov/pictures/related/?fi=name&q=Lawrence%20%26%20Houseworthhttp://www.loc.gov/pictures/related/?fi=name&q=Lawrence%20%26%20Houseworthhttp://www.loc.gov/pictures/related/?fi=name&q=Lawrence%20%26%20Houseworthhttp://www.gpoc.com/http://www.gpoc.com/


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