Thanks, Eduardo! I just got back from the Peg Leg mine, again. Had no luck looking for gold, or silver, but did find more of the coppery pyrite mineral cubes. A big gold company is now exploring in that area, and filed many claims. Jim
I was awarded a patent on this in December. It can be looked up on the USPTO (US Patent & Trademark Office) website, or on Google Patents. The Patent Number is US10159988 B1
Great little machine you developed. My only concern is the material handling capacity..... Doesn't look like you would be more than a few, maybe 5 buckets an hour. What have your tests revealed in that regard?
Yes, William, that's about right. depending on material, about 20-50 gallons/hour. This size is for prospecting, not mining. I can build these in any size a person wants. I settled on the 18" as a good compromise between capability, and portability. The prototype is 22", which adds about 34% to the feed rate. A 24" would increase the volume by 78%. A 36 incher would quadruple the volume over the 18". Also, running wet greatly increases the feed rate. Jim
Thank's for the info Jim. I am going to get a hands on look at your machine pretty soon.... friend of mine just bought one from ya and he will be bringing it to the coast and we will see how it does on our fine beach gold.
I'm not too concerned about recovering fine gold, but AM concerned about recovering it, dry, from black sand. I will be watching how you guys do with the SJ. Dry recovery is tough when there is little difference in specific gravity between the country material and the desired metal. It will be a tough test. So far, the jig has passed every tough test I've given it. We'll see how it does recovering gold from black sand. A point I forgot to mention on the feed rate is funnel height. The higher the funnel above the pile, the faster the feed rate. but, it comes as a compromise. If the pile slopes at more than 10*, you may start to lose some of the flour when running dry. Jim
Hi Jim. The problem with beach gold is all the material is of similar size -100 and smaller. the bulk of it being -100 to +200 with size going clear down to invisible to the naked eye. The magnetite and other heavy components in the sand are pretty much round where the gold is usually flatter and so it will tend to float among the heavies... There will be some settling but it is still a tuff combination. I think Gold hogs video of proportional force explains the problem pretty well.
The problem is know as "granular convection". I fought it for years trying to come up with a dry recovery of gemstones. The packaging industry has been fighting it for many decades. It's also known as the "Brazil nut effect". Smaller materials always float out larger materials, assuming there is less than a 4:1 ratio of specific gravity. The problem with the black beach sand is the ratio is only about 2.5:1, so it falls in the problem area. Add to that the shape factor negatives, and it get6s very difficult. Jim
Yup...this machine is the nuts! Works wet or dry, and only weighs 11lbs. I really like how quiet it is, and the fact I don't have to classify the material. I have the patent applied for...waiting on the Patent Office. I can build them in any size, too. Jim
Que legal
Thanks, Eduardo! I just got back from the Peg Leg mine, again. Had no luck looking for gold, or silver, but did find more of the coppery pyrite mineral cubes. A big gold company is now exploring in that area, and filed many claims.
Jim
I was awarded a patent on this in December. It can be looked up on the
USPTO (US Patent & Trademark Office) website, or on Google Patents.
The Patent Number is US10159988 B1
Esse som de pássaros
Yeah..the drive system has some squeaking, for sure. It does sound a bit like birds...LOL
Great little machine you developed. My only concern is the material handling capacity..... Doesn't look like you would be more than a few, maybe 5 buckets an hour. What have your tests revealed in that regard?
Yes, William, that's about right. depending on material, about 20-50 gallons/hour. This size is for prospecting, not mining. I can build these in any size a person wants. I settled on the 18" as a good compromise between capability, and portability. The prototype is 22", which adds about 34% to the feed rate. A 24" would increase the volume by 78%. A 36 incher would quadruple the volume over the 18". Also, running wet greatly increases the feed rate.
Jim
Thank's for the info Jim.
I am going to get a hands on look at your machine pretty soon.... friend of mine just bought one from ya and he will be bringing it to the coast and we will see how it does on our fine beach gold.
I'm not too concerned about recovering fine gold, but AM concerned about recovering it, dry, from black sand. I will be watching how you guys do with the SJ. Dry recovery is tough when there is little difference in specific gravity between the country material and the desired metal. It will be a tough test. So far, the jig has passed every tough test I've given it. We'll see how it does recovering gold from black sand. A point I forgot to mention on the feed rate is funnel height. The higher the funnel above the pile, the faster the feed rate. but, it comes as a compromise. If the pile slopes at more than 10*, you may start to lose some of the flour when running dry.
Jim
Hi Jim.
The problem with beach gold is all the material is of similar size -100 and smaller. the bulk of it being -100 to +200 with size going clear down to invisible to the naked eye.
The magnetite and other heavy components in the sand are pretty much round where the gold is usually flatter and so it will tend to float among the heavies... There will be some settling but it is still a tuff combination.
I think Gold hogs video of proportional force explains the problem pretty well.
The problem is know as "granular convection". I fought it for years trying to come up with a dry recovery of gemstones. The packaging industry has been fighting it for many decades. It's also known as the "Brazil nut effect". Smaller materials always float out larger materials, assuming there is less than a 4:1 ratio of specific gravity. The problem with the black beach sand is the ratio is only about 2.5:1, so it falls in the problem area. Add to that the shape factor negatives, and it get6s very difficult.
Jim
Interesting gizmo you have there....
Yup...this machine is the nuts! Works wet or dry, and only weighs 11lbs. I really like how quiet it is, and the fact I don't have to classify the material. I have the patent applied for...waiting on the Patent Office. I can build them in any size, too.
Jim