A dredge was a tool used during the 19th-century gold rush to recover gold from placer deposits. Typically made of wood or metal, it is shaped like a shallow saucer with a slightly raised bottom to facilitate sorting. Dredges play a key role in extracting placer gold.
Dredges utilize gravity sorting. First, the dredge must be in a standard position to ensure that the placer gold is evenly distributed on the bottom. Then, gravel containing the placer gold is placed into the dredge, and an appropriate amount of water is added. As the dredge vibrates or rotates, the gravel gradually disperses, and the placer gold settles on the raised areas on the bottom.
As the water scours and vibrates, the gravel gradually arranges itself into layers. Heavy gold deposits settle at the bottom, while lighter impurities are washed away. Diggers can determine the quality of the gold deposit by its weight and color. Generally speaking, the heavier the gold and the purer the yellow, the higher its quality.
After the placer gold has settled, diggers slowly tilt the dredge to allow the water to wash away the lighter impurities. To ensure the safety of the gold, prospectors typically tilt the gold panner at an angle so that the current can wash away impurities without dislodging the gold.
Finally, after the gold is washed away, prospectors can tilt the panner at a specific angle to collect the gold from the bottom of the protrusion. They can then use a brush or manually scrape the gold off the protrusion and collect it. This completes the gold extraction process.
As an essential tool for gold panning, the panner was widely used during the gold rush. Its simple and effective working principle made gold extraction more efficient and convenient. The advent of the panner greatly promoted the development of the gold panning industry and brought enormous wealth to prospectors.
