IC 6787 Placer Mining In The Western United States - Part II. Hydraulicking, Treatment Of Placer Concentrates, And Marketing Of Gold ? Introduction

This paper is the second of a series of three on placer mining in the western United States. The first paper4 discusses the history of placer mining in the Western States and the production of placer gold, geology of placer deposits, location of placer claims on public lands, sampling and estimation of gold placers, and classification of placer-mining methods, together with hand-shoveling and ground-sluicing. This paper deals with hydraulicking, sluice boxes and riffles, recovery of gold and platinum from placer concentrates, treatment of amalgam, and marketing of placer gold. The discussion of sluice boxes and subsequent subjects in this paper applies to all forms of placer mining. The third paper deals with dredging and other forms of mechanical handling of placer gravels, and drift mining.