"stbenge" <UN### [at] hotmailcom> wrote in message news:4b81a3c6@news.povray.org...
> stbenge wrote:
>> faster rate than panning alone. With gold prices the way they are, it 
>> looks like we'll be able to make up for the lack of real jobs available 
>> to us!
>
> Oops, gold prospecting *is* a real job; I meant to say "regular job" :)

I know someone up in Alaska whose waiting on the thaw ... he's had his eye 
on what he thinks is a pretty good sized nugget in a stream, but hasn't had 
the courage to go after it just yet!

Jim

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Jim Holsenback wrote:
> "stbenge" <UN### [at] hotmailcom> wrote in message news:4b81a3c6@news.povray.org...
>> Oops, gold prospecting *is* a real job; I meant to say "regular job" :)
> 
> I know someone up in Alaska whose waiting on the thaw ... he's had his eye 
> on what he thinks is a pretty good sized nugget in a stream, but hasn't had 
> the courage to go after it just yet!

Well, those things don't stay put. The longer he waits, the deeper he 
might have to dig to get at it.

I can't wait for the thaw myself. I found some granite pegmatite nearby, 
and with pegmatite there is always a chance of finding tourmaline, 
aquamarine and other great things! But the trail leading to this place 
experiences a particularly deep freeze, and the snow is covering up 
everything :(

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"stbenge" <UN### [at] hotmailcom> schreef in bericht 
news:4b819605@news.povray.org...
> Thomas de Groot wrote:
>> Is there still some gold left?  :)
>
> Yes, there is quite a bit of gold left. The current town my brother and I 
> are prospecting is said to still have 70% of its placer deposits intact. 
> When we checked it out the other day, I was seeing color in every pan I 
> tried, which is a good sign.

Interesting. I thought that most had been dug by the end of the 19th 
century, ending the gold rush. But then, I am no expert at all  ;-)
I suppose that all placers have not been exploited and erosion is uncovering 
new sites.

> When the sluice is finished we'll be able to retrieve gold at a much 
> faster rate than panning alone. With gold prices the way they are, it 
> looks like we'll be able to make up for the lack of real jobs available to 
> us!

Good luck to you two. It is not an easy job (not like romantic stories want 
to make us believe).

Thomas

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>stbenge  on date 19/02/2010 20:12 wrote:
> Hi,
> 
> This is a quick render of a sluice box that I hope to build mostly out 
> of materials available to me. The proportions are not exact; this is 
> just a concept to explore how it might fit together using flashing, 
> narrow metal edging, and rivets. I'll have to buy the miner's moss.
> 
> How are the light levels? I just got a new LCD monitor, so I'm having 
> difficulty getting my rendered images to look correct.
> 
> Happy Raytracing,
> 
> Sam
> 
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> 
Hey, stop posting photos here, Sam! ;-)
Are you searching a different approach to data mining? Data filtering? ;-)

Paolo

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I think the treehouse looks really cool too.

I don't recall posting the landscape design renderings, but that's a great idea.
Maybe someone will be inspired in some small way by them as I'm often inspired
by everyone's pictures here. I'll post the pictures in a separate article so as
not to interfere with your posting.

Regards,
Dave Blandston

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I wonder if the overlapping of the metal plates forming the side should 
be reversed - so that flow from the top down does not encounter the 
edges of the metal as now.  You want to minimise wear and the 
possibility of clogging that is inevitable when gravel and sand is 
washed through the device.

Similarly it would be better to replace the separate plates and rivets 
at the base with a single plate.  Better yet have an 'insert' plate that 
can be replaced as needed covering the base.  Wear and tear is a major 
consideration for sluice boxes.

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Paul Fuller wrote:
> I wonder if the overlapping of the metal plates forming the side should 
> be reversed - so that flow from the top down does not encounter the 
> edges of the metal as now.  You want to minimise wear and the 
> possibility of clogging that is inevitable when gravel and sand is 
> washed through the device.

Actually, they are set up in consideration of the water flow. The 
material/water will start flowing from the funneled end.

> Similarly it would be better to replace the separate plates and rivets 
> at the base with a single plate.  Better yet have an 'insert' plate that 
> can be replaced as needed covering the base.  Wear and tear is a major 
> consideration for sluice boxes.

We are using the materials available to us. We don't have any large 
plates of sheet metal, so we are forced to use several pieces of flashing...

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Paolo Gibellini wrote:
> Hey, stop posting photos here, Sam! ;-)
> Are you searching a different approach to data mining? Data filtering? ;-)

Hehe, yeah. I can't figure out to turn a profit from data mining, so I'm 
turning to real mining ;)

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Thomas de Groot wrote:
> "stbenge" <UN### [at] hotmailcom> schreef in bericht 
> news:4b819605@news.povray.org...
>> Thomas de Groot wrote:
>>> Is there still some gold left?  :)
>> Yes, there is quite a bit of gold left. The current town my brother and I 
>> are prospecting is said to still have 70% of its placer deposits intact. 
>> When we checked it out the other day, I was seeing color in every pan I 
>> tried, which is a good sign.
> 
> Interesting. I thought that most had been dug by the end of the 19th 
> century, ending the gold rush. But then, I am no expert at all  ;-)
> I suppose that all placers have not been exploited and erosion is uncovering 
> new sites.

I thought most of the gold had been found too, since the town in 
question was extensively dredged back during the Gold Rush. But for some 
reason they stopped. Every once in a while somebody will find a large 
nugget washed out onto the road from the alluvium.

>> When the sluice is finished we'll be able to retrieve gold at a much 
>> faster rate than panning alone. With gold prices the way they are, it 
>> looks like we'll be able to make up for the lack of real jobs available to 
>> us!
> 
> Good luck to you two. It is not an easy job (not like romantic stories want 
> to make us believe).

Thanks! You're right, it's not easy work, but a sluice box will multiply 
our efforts ten-fold. Hopefully we can continue paying rent :S

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