New Zealand Gold Prospecting & Metal Detecting Forums Archive

Hi there, Here are some pics of a little sluice I made for back packing into remote places. 32" long X 9" wide 3" high. Works fine just like that but I have made another section the same length that will fit inside this so takes up no more space in the pack, but I can slide it out, bolt it in place & I can almost double the length of the box.



Here it is in the back pack, only this has now been adapted to take a 3" suction nozzle on a very short length of suction hose. You will see the orange thing sticking out of the pack as well, this is an old road works cone that I have made into a flare that bolts onto the front of the sluice box complete with a dampner on it. So a mini 3" suction nozzle set up that runs off a little 2.5 hp 2 stroke that is also in the pack.



These are all the items that fit in my pack. Motor/pump, Crevicing tools, 20X Magnifying glass, Little shovel, prying bar, Hand trowels, Crevice sucker, sluice box, flare, petol bottle, under water viewfinder, gold pan, snuffer bottle, scrubbing brush, nosey parker crevice tip that can be sliped onto the suction nozzle end, smoko bag which apart from food has in it a little camp cooker for boiling water & heating or cooking tucker, In the bucket are spare nuts & bolts, Roll up pressure hose, screwdrivers, hose clamps, duct tape & that sort of stuff. I can carry all this in one go & with the short suction hose works great.



Here we have the flare attached with the dampner folded up & over the flare so you can see into it. The two bolts sticking up are for holding the classifyer screen that goes down to just before the first riffle.



Bit of a side view with the dampner down in place.



With hose & nozzle attached





Happy golding

JW

I believe all the public gold fossicking spots are owned by DOC and usually have signs up saying you can use non-motorised equipment only.

Probably best to ask DOC though.

Hi Guys, Yes the "legal" size for a sluice box in a DOC managed recreational area is 1 meter long by 200mm wide.
Gavin.....you will know that my boxs are 230mm wide but only 800mm long....so you can argue that the square meterage is still less than a 1m X 200mm box. But if you add on a flare that I am now makimg for my boxs then you will be over the size. But then that said, it isnt by much & how hard do they police it??
MOTORISED gear is a NO NO though. You use it at your own risk & the problem is there are people out there who WILL dob you in. If using a motor/pump, & yes I am guilty of this. Use your head & dont do it in an area where you are going to be seen or heard or really piss some one off. That can be pretty difficult but commen sense will guide you. Just make sure you arent on any ones claimed or permitted ground. That is most important.
There are no recreational areas in the north island but where I go up the Coromandel I never see any one up there. That is how remote & difficult the access is but that is a bonus in more ways than one. Less flogged for gold & a motor/pump isnt a problem. YET any way.

Happy hunting

JW

Hi all,

Good sound info JW,

Did you manage to try your Gold Master out?.

In reguard to motorised gear in a DOC area, these are the words of a DOC worker when I asked him the question on this matter,

First offence, Formal warning, and on there black list ( ok that not so bad,is it??).

Secound offence, Fine of up to $1,000 ( emm, ok now they have got my attenion).

Third offence (by this time they are really pissed) confiscation of all affending gear including your mode of transport to the river, (some real fast talking to the wife required, im sure I locked the car!).

A date in the court house to be given a large fine and depending on the severity of the offence a real good chance to check out the local slammer.

The same goes if you are caught detecting outside the active river bed, although I dont know any one that has been locked up for a detecting offence!.

My view is if you want to use small motorised gear and have some fun you best stay out of DOC Assigned areas,there are plenty of lasped claims ect that could be checked out.

Hope some of this is usefull,

Happy Hunting

Steve

Hi Guys, Oppppsssss......then I shouldnt have detected here then. Wont say where it was now. I knew better but the devil made me do it.....



Found this:



& this: 1884 one penny







JW

G'day Kiwisouth, Crickey.....you prattle on....whatabout me LOL :) :)
I tell you what. If I hadnt dug those things up....how long do you think it would be before they totaly rotted away....& then what bloody use are they???? You wouldnt even know where I had been after I had back filled & covered my tracks. They were buried in the ground. it isnt like I am smashing down the stone work or anything. Not like some wankers have done to the old Otago Hotel ruins up at Skippers. Or this old wooden building up at Macetown that some f%&kwit tourists camped in for a night & lit a fire in it & burnt the whole bloody thing down. It is just a pile of ash....well no it isnt even that now. Bloody discraceful. Doc are spewing & for once I agree with them. It is the top photo. Now no longer with us & the sad part is that its history isnt evem known. It was the last remamining timber dwelling left that wasnt scavanged for material over the years. What a sad wasteful end.



JW :)

I went to jones creek doc area years ago there was a sign restricting the size of sluice you could use there, I didn't remember seeing this information on the crown minerals website, so
i gave them a call, it seems doc and crown minerals who actually set these public areas up are not on the same page, crown minerals said there was no restriction on size of sluice, just that it was none motorized and hand held. Anyway take it for what it is.

Nathanial