![]() Panning – This is the simplest form of placer mining. The use of dredges is also accompanied by the use of sluices to separate the gold from gravel and debris. The most common type of dredge used in gold placer mining in the early 1900s was a bucket-ladder dredge that is a chain of continuous buckets rotating around a rigid adjustable frame called the ladder. Placer mining takes advantage of gold’s high density, which causes it to sink more rapidly from moving water than the lighter materials it is found in.ĭredging – The most important placer-mining method today, this involves the use of a floating boat or barge with either a series of buckets to scoop gravel or a suctioning apparatus to vacuum gravel from the bottom of a creek or river. Placer mining also includes dredging and hydraulic methods. This is the oldest method of recovering gold from alluvial deposits and is also the easiest, including panning, sluicing, using a rocker, or if lucky enough, simply picking up what lies on the ground. The word placer comes from the Spanish word meaning “sandbank,” and refers to mineral deposits, particularly gold and gemstones found in alluvial deposits - sand and gravel found in modern or ancient stream beds. Placer Mining – Pronounced plăs’ər, this type of mining involves the obtaining of minerals from placer deposits by washing or dredging. In some cases however, there was so much water that a mine would have to be abandoned. These types of mines almost always eventually flooded as they got closer to the water table, at which times pumps were used to remove the water. Deep shafts were generally accompanied by a head frame standing above them to support the hoists. Shafts and tunnels were often supported with large timbers to prevent cave-ins, but accidents were prevalent in early mining days. Shafts and tunnels might go straight down into the ground or advance horizontally into mountain faces. The simplest form is utilizing picks and shovels, but rock drills and dynamite were often used as well. Hardrock Mining – This mining method requires digging into solid rock to find minerals in their ore form. ![]()
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