Nuggets of News Blog 

Do you work on a small gold mining crew that’s relatively new to the mining world? Would you be happy to be filmed while you work?

Raw TV, the producers of the Discovery Channel's popular TV show GOLD RUSH -- starring Parker Schnable, Rick Ness, Fred Lewis and Tony Beets -- is looking for the next generation of gold miners to appear on a new TV show! Gold Rush is a reality television series that follows the placer gold mining efforts of various family-run mining companies, mostly in the Klondike region of Dawson City, Yukon, Canada. The show is in its 12th season as of 2021.

A producer at Raw TV in London would like to hear from miners who work on a placer gold mining operation based anywhere in the lower 48 states, Alaska, Yukon or British Columbia, who would be happy to filmed as part of a brand new TV show. The producers are looking for people who have been mining for at least one season and have a crew of at least three. You would need to have an existing camp set up with your own heavy equipment in place including wash plant, excavator etc.

If you, or anyone you know, might be interested, get more information and complete the online form before February 28, 2022 at: https://www.raw.co.uk/takepart/2387

Are you relatively green to the mining game and hungry for gold? Do you know any young guns out there who are mining? Or any old-time miners whose son or daughter is setting up their own small operation? If so, this just might be the fun opportunity of a life-time! Given the popularity of Gold Rush, numerous "aftershows" and specials and spin-offs have been produced that document behind-the-scenes action featuring additional footage, as well as studio interviews with miners and crew. Some of these spin-offs  include:

• Gold Rush: White Water series follows the "Dakota Boys"—Dustin and his father, "Dakota" Fred—as they mine McKinley and Cahoon Creeks in Haines Borough, Alaska, using an unconventional dredging method: diving into whitewater collection pools at the base of high country waterfalls.
• Gold Rush: Dave Turin's Lost Mine follows Dave Turin, formerly of the Hoffman crew, as he looks to start new mining operations at disused gold mines in the Western United States.
• Gold Rush: Parker's Trail followed Parker Schnabel on trips to other countries such as Guyana, Papua New Guinea, and Australia.
• Gold Rush: Winter's Fortune featured Tony Beets, Rick Ness, Dave Turin, Fred Lewis, and Dustin Hurt starting their off-season prospecting, scouting, and preparing for the 2021 season.
• Hoffman Family Gold is a new standalone series that will premiere in February 2022, focused on Todd Hoffmann's return to gold mining. It will take place 100 miles north of Nome, Alaska and will include his father, Jack, and son, Hunter.

As you can see, gold mining spin-off shows are plentiful and now might be YOUR turn to become a gold mining TV celebrity! If you, or anyone you know, might be interested, get more information and complete the online form before February 28, 2022 at: https://www.raw.co.uk/takepart/2387

Sluicing is one of the most popular gold-recovery methods, and a sluice box  is often a miner’s first purchase after a basic gold pan. There are many options to consider— riffles, matting, brands, and sizes.  You might want to stick with traditional z-riffle sluices with ribbed matting and miner’s carpet, try the new mini or vortex Dream Mats without riffles, or a combination of different types of miner’s moss. No  matter what you choose or upgrade to, sluicing techniques are fairly straight forward. The three main things to concentrate on for best gold capture are: proper selection and set up, material classification and processing, and monitoring. These three key steps will allow you to maximize gold recovery.

Proper Set Up.  This is by far the most important aspect of gold separation and recovery and includes angle, horizontal leveling, and water flow. Improper sluice angle is probably the most common error most miners make. The old rule of thumb of setting your sluice to “one inch per foot” is just a starting point and can result in too much water velocity. Too much water leads to improper breakdown and separation of heavy concentrates and material moving through the box too quickly, which can mean loss of fine gold. A Sluice Setter Digital Pitch Gauge can help, and so can focusing on water velocity instead of just the angle. Try the “one second per foot” method. Measure 12 inches down your sluice and mark that spot. As you feed material into your sluice using a side-to-side motion, count “one thousand one.”  Your material should be passing the 12 inch mark as you finish that count. If it needs to be faster, increase the rear angle. If it needs to be slower, decrease the rear angle. As material travels down the sluice, be sure you are utilizing the entire capture area. If material is being forced to one side or the other, leaving one side clogged with too much material, while the other side is not processing at all, it could mean the sluice is not properly leveled horizontally.

Material Classification and Processing.  In order to capture small gold in quantity, finer classification is usually necessary, even though it’ll take more time to do so. Processing speed and the volume of material to put into the sluice (by hand or by scoop) must be matched to the volume and velocity of the water. If too much material is introduced into the flow, the water velocity will slow down causing the sluice to back up and lose gold. Gradually add smaller amounts of material to the flow using a wide scoop.

Monitoring Your Sluice.  When using stream flows, you are bound by the characteristics of that waterway—water speed, depth, and the ability to change your sluice angle. Mechanical flow is not limited by nature since you can control it. But no matter who is controlling the water (you or Mother Nature) monitor two factors while running gold-bearing material: how the sluice is processing the material, and the capacity of your sluice. How much can the sluice hold before it loses the ability to separate heavy materials and capture gold? If you see movement of heavy material down the sluice or movement of captured gold, it’s time to remove your sluice from the river, clean it, and reset it. When processing difficult material, set up a regular cleaning schedule so you don’t lose gold.

Applying these three main techniques while sluicing — proper selection and set up, material classification and processing, and monitoring — will allow you to adapt to changing conditions no matter the type or brand of sluice box you prefer. And remember that old saying "practice makes perfect" — using the same gold-bearing paydirt over and over again means you can learn these techniques and tips much quicker and recover more gold!