Fluid Bed Sluices
Rock&Gem Magazine|January 2017

How Well Do They Work?

Marc Davis
Fluid Bed Sluices

An old friend with a new twist” might be one way to describe a fluid bed sluice box. I’ve been mining with sluice boxes since the 1980s, so to me a sluice box is definitely an old friend. The new twist is that fluid bed sluices do not use a set of riffles and matting to capture gold like a typical sluice. Instead, they use a fluid bed of sand and small pebbles in a collection box that is cast into the sluice to trap gold.

Prospectors who are familiar with typical sluice boxes know the commonly available version is a long metal trough with a set of angled riffles coupled with some sort of carpet or matting to catch gold. The sluice is placed in a moving stream of water and pay dirt is put into the upstream end of the sluice. The moving water washes the dirt through and out of the sluice, while the gold, which is much heavier than the rest of the material, is caught behind the riffles or in the matting.

In years past, all sorts of devices besides metal riffles have been used in sluices as gold traps: stones, wooden blocks, steel rails, and just about anything else that miners thought would capture gold. Recently, plastic sluices with molded riffles and no matting have become common (see “Sluice Box Shootout”, July 2012). Now, with the development of the fluid bed sluice, a bed of churning sand and pebbles has joined the ranks of sluice box gold traps.

Esta historia es de la edición January 2017 de Rock&Gem Magazine.

Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.

Esta historia es de la edición January 2017 de Rock&Gem Magazine.

Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.

MÁS HISTORIAS DE ROCK&GEM MAGAZINEVer todo
Rockhounding Ohio's Lake Erie Islands
Rock&Gem Magazine

Rockhounding Ohio's Lake Erie Islands

A short ferry boat ride three miles from Ohio’s Lake Erie coastline is South Bass Island, better known as Put-in-Bay or the “Key West of the North.”

time-read
4 minutos  |
Rockhound Roadtrip 2024
Iowa's Hidden Treasures
Rock&Gem Magazine

Iowa's Hidden Treasures

Exploring Keokuk Geodes: How They're Made & What's Inside

time-read
5 minutos  |
Rockhound Roadtrip 2024
Agatized CORAL
Rock&Gem Magazine

Agatized CORAL

Florida's Collectible State Stone

time-read
3 minutos  |
Rockhound Roadtrip 2024
Rockhounding Florida's Beaches
Rock&Gem Magazine

Rockhounding Florida's Beaches

Beachcombing serene stretches of Florida can reveal fascinating finds like fossilized shark teeth, sea glass, quartz, agate and even coral fragments.

time-read
6 minutos  |
Rockhound Roadtrip 2024
Collecting Staurolite
Rock&Gem Magazine

Collecting Staurolite

Hot Spots In Virginia & Georgia

time-read
3 minutos  |
Rockhound Roadtrip 2024
Pecos Valley Diamonds
Rock&Gem Magazine

Pecos Valley Diamonds

New Mexico's Ancient Attraction

time-read
4 minutos  |
Rockhound Roadtrip 2024
12 Tips for Rockhounding Tucson's Greatest Shows
Rock&Gem Magazine

12 Tips for Rockhounding Tucson's Greatest Shows

Tucson in February becomes the international hub for buying and selling colored gems, rocks, minerals and fossils.

time-read
4 minutos  |
Rockhound Roadtrip 2024
Turquoise in the American Southwest
Rock&Gem Magazine

Turquoise in the American Southwest

A Water & Sky Souvenir

time-read
4 minutos  |
Rockhound Roadtrip 2024
Touring Colorado's MINERAL BELT
Rock&Gem Magazine

Touring Colorado's MINERAL BELT

It's a Showcase of Mining History & Minerals

time-read
6 minutos  |
Rockhound Roadtrip 2024
Geology &Colorado's Taurish Traiks
Rock&Gem Magazine

Geology &Colorado's Taurish Traiks

Most of Colorado’s tourist trains today were originally constructed in the late 1800s to serve the state’s lucrative mining operations.

time-read
4 minutos  |
Rockhound Roadtrip 2024