Institute of Mining, Far East Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, Khabarovsk, Russia:

R. S. Seryi, Senior Researcher, Candidate of Engineering Sciences, Ruslan_ssr@mail.ru
V. V. Taganov, Engineer
K. V. Gevalo, Engineer

Percentage of alluvial deposits containing fine and lamellar gold is constantly increasing, and fields with a large content of clay particles and heavy minerals are involved in mining. As a result, there is an increase in metal losses and, in general, a decrease in the efficiency of development of such deposits. The currentness of the studies aimed to reveal and evaluate the factors that infl uence efficiency of placer sand sluicing and sifting is emphasized. The investigations carried out at several placer deposits revealed the causes of gold losses in gateways of fine and deep filling and allowed recommendations on their elimination. Upgrading of sluice-type washing machine considerably reduced losses of fine and very fine gold in tailings. Generally, efficient processing of natural minerals and waste using gateway-type washing machines is possible if it ensures:
– maximum dissociation of rocks in flow sifting;
– uniform load on each gateway of fine filling;
– optimized inclines of such gateways under any specific conditions;
– application of catching covers with maximum gold extraction and in-line rinsing of concentrate;
– control of suspended solids in recycled water.

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