Gold gravity separation utilizes the physical properties of gold i.e. the differences in the densities, specific gravity, size, and shape of gold and the other minerals. It is one of the most effective extraction methods.
Gold panning, or simply panning, is one of the most basic and simplest gravity separation methods to extract gold from a placer deposit using a pan. Scoop placer gold ores in the pan, and agitate gently in water until the gold sinks to the bottom of the pan.
For amateur gold miners, gold panning is economical and efficient. But it isn't going to be enough for gold mining plants. There is specialized gold gravity separation equipment that will capture large amounts of coarse and fine gold much more quickly and efficiently. Commonly used are shaking tables, spiral chutes, and jigs.
Shaking table
A shaking table, also known as a gold shaker table, is a gravity separation equipment that uses the combined action of the specific gravity difference between gold and waste minerals, alternating movement of bed surface, and transverse oblique water flow and riffle (or notch groove), to separate gold from waste minerals.
What is it good at:
Gold shaker tables are good at sorting fine-grained minerals. Shaking tables have different effective recovery particle sizes to adapt to ores with different particle sizes. Shaker tables with a maximum feed particle size of 2mm are for coarse ores, 0.5mm for fine ores, 0.15 for slime.
Gold shaker tables are often used for concentration.
What we love:
- It has high separation efficiency;
- The operation is simple, and it can be operated automatically after installation and debugging;
- It requires no reagents, thus being environmentally friendly and cost-effective;
- It has multiple models available to process gold ore with different particle sizes.
We don’t like this as much:
- Compared with spiral chutes and jig machines, it has a smaller processing capacity, occupying more space;
- It requires high assembling accuracy;
- Given that the shaker table is mostly fixed on the cement floor or steel channel, it is inconvenient to move.
Price：
For large and medium-sized gold processing plants, in order to increase the gold recovery rate, at least one large shaker table is needed, the price of which is at least $500.
For small gold processing plants, use a mini shaker table for as little as $100.
Spiral chute
A spiral chute, also called a gold spiral separator or spiral concentrator, separates minerals of different specific gravity according to their relative movement in response to gravity, centrifugal force, and other forces in the fluid medium.
What is it good at:
The spiral separator is suitable for processing alluvial gold ore, especially for gold ore with a high degree of monomer dissociation and flat shape. Besides, it is also good at dealing with fine gold ore with particle sizes between 0.003-0.6mm containing low mud content.
Spiral chutes are often used for rough concentration.
What we love:
- Compared with the shaker table, it a has larger processing capacity while occupies a smaller space;
- Chlorine plastic material makes it lighter, moisture-proof, and rust and corrosion resistant;
- Strong adaptability to fluctuation of feeding amount, density, size, and grade;
- Simple structure, easy to manufacture and maintain;
- No moving parts, no motors required.
We don’t like this as much:
- The enrichment for flake gold ore is no higher than that of the shaker;
- It is not very effective in sorting gold ore with high mud content. That can be improved by ore-desliming.
Price: 500.00$ / Set (lowest price)
Gold jig
The gold jig is a screen fixed type machine that separates heavy gold ore from light gangue minerals by using the different sedimentation speeds in vertical alternating water flow.
What is it good at:
Mineral jig concentrators are good at separating coarse-grained minerals. When processing placer gold ores with high monomer dissociation degree and large difference in specific gravity of gangue minerals, it can achieve a better separation effect.
Jig machines are often used for concentration and rough concentration.
What we love:
- Large processing capacity and high recovery rate;
- It can provide complete chemical or mercury free operation, and operate with only clean or recycled water;
- Wide range of applications. It can be used not only for the recovery of various metals and minerals from alluvial (placer) deposits but also for dredging operations in river mining projects.
We don’t like this as much:
- Lower recovery for gold finer than approximately 200 um.
Price: 1, 000.00$ / Set (lowest price)
The above three commonly used gold gravity separation equipment have their own pros and cons. In the gold processing plants, gold miners often use them in combination. For example, first use a jig to obtain rough gold concentrate, then use a shaking table to further concentrate it.
In a gold processing plant, gravity separation equipment is not enough. You may need crushing and grinding equipment to dissociate more gold. You may also need magnetic separation equipment to remove magnetic substances such as iron from the gold. You may also need flotation equipment to recover finer gold. Be sure to read our blog 8 Pieces of Gold Mining Equipment That Help You Recycle More Gold for a complete list of gold processing equipment.
