If your sluice is used to clean up black sand cons, say 20-75 mesh, then you could finish off what is not caught on a miller table. I would also run what is caught in the mat after you pan that out. If you are referring to using the sluice in the field then you might want to rethink your equipment choices.

You are talking 2 completely different types of equipment and seem to be asking which is better, but I might be mis-understanding the question.

No system is going to have complete recovery.

I am happy with about 90% recovery. Unless you're on a huge paystreak, chasing after the last 10% is just not worth it. I've spent many an hour rechecking, re-re checking, re-re-re-checking my cons to get every last speck out, but this hours and days worth of effort was not worth it. I would take the gold I found, and it would not even trip my scale which reads .01 grams. Sometimes, I would go through again, and get only a fly speck or two.

This is the way it was told to me. Would you rather get 95% recovery using a wet system, but only run a 1/4 ton a day, or would you rather run 4 tons a day with a drywasher and get 80% recovery. At one ounce per ton, and gold at 1500 an ounce the recoveries would yield:

95% wet recovery for 1/4 ton you get $265 of gold
80% dry washing recovery for 4 tons will get you $4800 of gold

For my desert area with recirculating sluice versus using a drywasher, the dry washer pushes so much more material, but will not have as good of a recovery. If I find my paystreak, I will be using a drywasher.

Andrew,

I have a Royal Gold Table and it works great for cleaning my cons. I don't use a pan to clean up anymore.
I also use a Gold Hog stream sluice. The mats capture more gold than my other two none Hog mats sluices.
Another mat to consider is called the Dream mat. I hear this is very good as well.
Hope this helps you.

Scott L.

Thank you all for your knowledge and advice. I bought some gold hog mats and I am debating on the dream mat. Where I live gold is dust and I can have noticable specs in every other pan. I have tons of pyrite white quartz Rocks and brown iron rocks with tons of pyrite in my back yard. Was wondering if its worth crushing a few and pan it. Whats the communities thoughts?

Sure, give it a try you might fine some gold ! I panned some gravel from my back yard that had black sand. Didn't find any gold though.

Scott L.

if you own the Royal Miller Table and want the finest gold I can tell you what to do that will save hours of panning and re- panning and save your back muscles.
go to Prospectors Dream web site and look for the Gold Cube Micro Mini Mat. that mat for the gold cube fits the miller table PERFECTLY.
you keep the miller table flat or with the slightest of decline and the uber fine gold will trap in the Dream Mat Micro Mini Cells and IT LOCKS THEM IN SO THEY WILL NOT MOVE and it will push out the black sand.
what stays left over in the cells with the gold you use the paint brush that came with your miller table and push the black sand out...Don't worry the gold will re settle in the dream matt cells and LOCK THEM IN AND HOLD THEM THERE.
then if you have seen those ( do not knot what they are called) clear plastic squeeze thing that looks like a clear pencil and has a squeeze bulb at the end? those work the absolute best at picking up the uber fine stuff and then you can deposit it into your vile. IF YOU TRY THIS YOU WILL NOT BE DISAPOINTED. take it from a 25 year prospector that has bought it all and tried it all. This works like a charm. this bit of information should save you the thousands I have spend on my gear and so much of it is really not needed BUT JUST DANG FUN TO OWN AND HAVE. You know us old guys......"We are just kids that all grew up but still have a peace of that youth left in our hearts."

now "Get the Gold!"

your friend and local prospector

Don Greeno