1(52 SIBEKIA. 



tlicio is iiii iiK-liiH-fl pl;iiic. wlidsc iippi'i- portion is ijiviiicil by lont/iliitiiiial \)<-,un- into scvithI 

 parts on wliidi llidi' aiv transversal rilllcs lor rctaininK the pil<l. 



IJcsidi's lliis, iitliiT aiiaii^'i'inrnts siicli as biusliwood or cloth aro platT'tl upon tli<' in^'lincd 

 plane, ior retaining,' llii' liner parlicles ol pild. The lenf.Mh ol this inelined plane rji- sluice is 

 I'roni yo to 40 lee 1 ami it is ^/eneially made with a rather steep incline, 'i'lie watci lor washing 

 the sand is intKMlnrnl jnin tiic barivl by means of several hoses, sometimes lonrteen in number, 

 which diicH'l the watvr into various parts ol' the baiiel. Tlie water and inside lilting' ol the 

 biirnd Kiiml the sand tof^'elhef in the bairej. the graved pa.ss(!S (»nfy through the wide end. and 

 the slime, through tin' orilires nl the barrel into the sliii(;e. 



'J'lie waslieil sand and giavel, the so-called tailings Tail tlirongli special trapdoors into 

 carls or trncks and are iliimpe(l on llic ua^le molinds. The bairel machines ar<,' made 

 single or double. At the present time, (jne luiirel i aii ua^li Irnin lorty to lil'ty thousand 

 {)ouds (d' light sand or twenty-live id thirty llmusaiMl jKiiids ol' pasty, clayey .sand per 

 day. The gold is collected from the sluices twice a day, and either umlergoes a pndiminary 

 concentration on so-called <.Arneiicans^> or else goes straight to the buddies where it is 

 washed tree IVom all foreign matter. The more pasty sands cannot be satisfactorily washed 

 in liarivis, and thineloro other ai langements are employed in their treatment, the most common 

 being a pan IVoni 8'/^ 1o 16 feel in diameter having an edge one foot high and covered with a 

 sieve with holes from V'a to V' ii't'li in diameter. The sand tlir(jwn on the sieve is rubbed by smeral 

 rcivolving rows of iron shoes, and washed with water. I'nder the coniliiiied action (d' the >lioes ami 

 streamof water, the sand is rubbed together and the finer particles pass through the .seive and fall 

 upon a sluice in the same manner as with the barrels. The gravel left upon the seive is let 

 through a special orifice from lime to time. About lilteeii to twenty thousand pouds of sand 

 can be washed on ilies(> pans per day. In liotli the barrel and pan machines a small quantity 

 of mercury is always supplieil near the head nf the sluice in order to collect the small 

 particles of gtdd. 



The koulit)inka consists of a system of two parallel sluices, on which th(,' sand is 

 washed by its motion in a current of watei; The sand and waters enter the chief sluice 

 together. The width ol this sluice vaiies from 2 to 3 feet, according to the amount of water 

 and the extent of the washing; it has an inclination of 5 to 7 inches per sagene. The 

 bittldin ol the sluici^ is entirely covered with an inm grating, which assists the washing of 

 the sand and arrests the gold, anialgani and schlich. Transversal cuts five inches wide and 

 covered with an iron sieve with interstices of one inch between the bars, are made along the 

 length of the sluice at distances of 12 to 14 feet. The line gravel and water fall througli 

 these sieves and pass along a small inclined conduit into the seeuiid sluice, which is parallel 

 to the first but at a. lower level. This sluice is covered with a wooden grating for retaining 

 the gold and amalgam. At its head, this sluice is from Vli to 2 feet wide, and it has a uni- 

 form incliinilion cd' o'/j inches per sagene. This second sluice widens out somewhat towards the 

 bottom, as tlH> amount of sand falling through the cross cuts in the first sluice increases. The 

 first sluice on the contrary is made wider towards the head. In both sluices, a fresh supply of 

 water can be added it re((uired according to the statt> of the division of the sand. The first 

 sluice terminates in a sieve inclined at 45 dt\grees over which the coarse gravel ndls into a 



