In response to my question, one of our more informed members sent me a copy of the California Department of Fish & Game’s (DFG) current suction dredge regulations which clearly state that “A person is suction dredging as defined when all of the following components are working together: (A) a hose which vacuums sediment from a river stream or lake and (B) A motorized pump and (C) A sluice box.” The regulations further state, “Every person who operates the suction nozzle of any suction dredge shall have a suction dredge permit in his or her immediate possession.” These regulations are current now, having been formally adopted in California on April 27, 2012. This is the area I believe will make for good above and below water crevicing. There is at least a half-mile stretch of faster, shallower water on the upper portion of the claim that, to my knowledge, has never even been sampled. Since they operated an 8-inch dredge, they remained on the lower, slower portion of the claim. They were only in there a few years before they retired. You pretty much have to suck that up, or you will be there all year with a pair of tweezers! The original claim owners were recovering six and seven-ounce days (sometimes more) in places along this claim. But I have seen crevices on this particular mining claim that were loaded with a zillion pieces of gold, much of it in fines and flakes. We would simply free those up with some hand tools and pick them out with a set of tweezers. It would be one thing if we were just uncovering an occasional gold nugget or two. The question I posed to our forum members is how to get the gold up and into a catch container without using a suction dredge. In my announcement, I pointed out that there is nothing in California’s dredging moratorium that prevents us from crevicing underwater using a motorized hookah air system, or even using a water pressure system to help blow gravel out of cracks. We have actually acquired several very rich properties, but I will save that for the coming newsletters. This discussion began on our Internet Forum where I announced that we have recently acquired the richest dredging claim along the Klamath River near Happy Camp, which will also provide some fantastic surface and underwater crevicing opportunities because of the gentle slope of exposed bedrock which is extending off the side of the river where the gold path is located. Having said that, I will also inform you that our attorney has reviewed the following explanation and agrees that government officials are bound by the very language that they enforce upon us – and that my reasoning here is sound. You guys are free to form your own opinions and take responsibility for your own actions. So the material here should just be taken as my own opinion based upon the factual material which I will present to you. Therefore, I am prohibited by law from providing legal advice. Let me begin this by informing you that I am not a licensed attorney. It is for this reason, we have now switched over to underwater blow mining. Therefore, the underwater suction gravel transfer systems outlined here will no longer be allowed until we overcome the suction dredge moratorium. Our Dredges are easy to assemble, transport and handle.ĭragflow extensive Sales and Service Network worldwide is backed with experienced engineers to help end-users in the selection of the right size and type of equipment and to offer after sales service, maintenance, support, and spare parts supply.Important note: Since writing this article, over the period of a year, the State of California has adopted new regulations which no longer allow any type of vacuum or suction to excavate material off the bottom of a waterway. We offer Dredges with Hoist, Dredges with Telescopic Boom, Dredges with Ladder, Amphibious Dredges and Remote Controlled Dredges with capacities ranging from 80 to 6,000 US-GPM. Dragflow Slurry Pumps deliver massive solids production at very low operational costs. We offer the highest head submersible, heavy duty slurry pumps available on the market. Dragflow North America offers the toughest Dredges and Heavy Duty Agitator Submersible Slurry Pumps, Dredge Pumps, Sand Pumps, Gold Pumps and Sludge Pumps in the Industry, capable of handling sand, gravel, solids and all kinds of sludge in diverse applications related to the dredging, construction, oil and mining industry as well as marine, energy, and industrial sectors.
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