Alluvial Gold Wash Plant | Mobile Placer Gold Washing & Gravity Recovery Equipment

1. Process Overview

The alluvial gold wash plant is a complete gravity separation line designed for placer gold deposits — gold-bearing sand and gravel deposited in riverbeds, valleys, ancient river channels and beach terraces. Raw ore is fed into a vibrating hopper, washed and scrubbed in a rotary trommel to break clay lumps and screen out oversize rocks. The undersize slurry flows to a sluice box and/or centrifugal concentrator where dense gold particles are captured by gravity. Concentrated gold-rich material is then upgraded on a shaking table or panned manually to produce final gold concentrate. No cyanide, no chemicals — pure physical gravity separation, environmentally friendly and suitable for small-to-medium mining operations.

Our alluvial gold wash plants are built on a modular skid or wheeled mobile frame, allowing fast deployment to remote river sites. They are widely used by artisanal-to-medium scale gold miners across Africa, South America, Central Asia and Southeast Asia, delivering immediate gold recovery within days of site setup.

2. Suitable Gold Ore Types

Ideal Ore:

• Alluvial / placer gold deposits in riverbeds and valleys
• Eluvial gold gravel from weathered gold veins
• Beach gold and gold-bearing sand terraces
• Clay-bound gold gravel that requires scrubbing and washing
• Mixed ore with clay, sand, gravel and boulders

Requires Additional Equipment or Not Recommended:

• Hard rock lode gold (requires crushing and grinding, not just washing)
• Very fine “flour gold” in clay (requires enhanced sluice with matting and centrifugal concentrator)
• Heavy black sand with high magnetite content (needs magnetic separation downstream)
• Gold ore embedded in solid bedrock (not alluvial)

3. Core Advantages of Alluvial Gold Wash Plant

• No Chemicals, Fully Gravity Separation — Pure physical washing and gravity concentration, no cyanide or reagents, environmentally safe and suitable for sensitive river and wetland areas.
• Fast Setup & Immediate Production — Modular skid or wheeled mobile design, delivered in standard containers; on-site setup takes only 3–7 days, gold production starts immediately.
• High Gold Recovery — Combined trommel scrubbing, sluice box with special matting and centrifugal concentrator achieves 90%–95% gold recovery for typical alluvial ore.
• Handles Clay & Boulders — Rotary trommel with water spray breaks clay lumps and washes sticky ore, while rejecting oversize rocks and boulders.
• Low Operating Cost — No grinding media, no chemical consumption, low power requirement (mostly for water pumps and trommel drive), simple operation by 3–5 workers.
• Mobile & Flexible — Wheel-mounted or skid-mounted designs allow relocation when one river section is exhausted; ideal for artisanal and small-scale miners.
• Direct Gold Output — Produces clean gold concentrate / gold dust directly on site, ready for panning, smelting or sale, no intermediate concentrate shipping.

4. Complete Equipment List for Alluvial Gold Wash Plant

4.1 Feeding & Washing System

• Vibratory Feeding Hopper (grizzly bars to reject oversize boulders)
• Rotary Trommel Scrubter (with water spray nozzles inside, breaks clay)
• High-pressure Water Pump & Water Pipeline
• Loading Conveyor / Feeding Belt

4.2 Screening & Gravity Recovery System

• Sluice Box (with special gold-catching matting / riffles)
• Centrifugal Gold Concentrator (Knelson-style, for fine gold recovery)
• Shaking Table (final upgrading of gold concentrate)
• Vibrating Screen (optional, for pre-screening fine fractions)

4.3 Tailings & Water System

• Tailings Conveyor or Slurry Discharge Chute
• Water Settling Pond / Recycling Tank
• Slurry Pump (if water recycling is required)
• Motor Control Cabinet

4.4 Optional Upgrades

• Magnetic Separator (to remove black sand / magnetite)
• Mercury-free Gold Smelting Furnace (small batch doré production)
• Generator Set (for remote sites without grid power)
• Dredger / Floating Wash Plant (for river-bottom dredging)

5. Plant Floor Area & Scale Reference

Reference footprint for complete alluvial gold wash plant (skid-mounted / wheeled):

• Small portable plant (10 – 30 TPH) — 150 – 300 m² (single container / skid, towable by truck)
• Medium wash plant (50 – 100 TPH) — 300 – 800 m² (skid-mounted, 2–3 containers)
• Large modular plant (150 – 200 TPH) — 800 – 1,500 m² (multiple skids, on-site assembly)

Layout Note: The wash plant itself has a very small footprint compared with hard rock processing. The main land requirement is the feeding area, settling pond and tailings area. A water source (river, well or pond) must be within pumping distance of the plant.

6. Consumables & Wear Parts

• Sluice Matting / Riffles — Replaceable gold-catching carpet, typically replaced every 3–6 months
• Trommel Screen Mesh — Replaceable screen panels, wear depends on ore abrasiveness
• Water Pump Seals & Impellers — Routine maintenance spares
• Centrifuge Concentrator Liner & Bowl — Replaceable high-wear parts
• Shaking Table Deck Covering — Ripples / carpet replacement
• Conveyor Belt & Idlers — Routine replacement items
• No Chemicals Required — Unlike cyanide CIL or heap leach, no reagents are consumed; only water and electricity are needed to run the plant.

7. Process Flow Summary

Alluvial Gold Ore Feeding → Grizzly Pre-screening (Reject Boulders) → Rotary Trommel Scrubbing & Washing (Break Clay) → Sluice Box Gravity Capture → Centrifugal Concentrator (Fine Gold Recovery) → Shaking Table Upgrading → Clean Gold Concentrate  |  Tailings to Settling Pond

8. FAQ for Alluvial Gold Wash Plant

Q1: What kind of gold ore can this wash plant process?

A1: It is designed for alluvial / placer gold deposits in rivers, valleys and terraces — gold-bearing sand, gravel and clay. It does not process hard rock lode gold, which requires crushing and grinding equipment.

Q2: Does the plant use cyanide or chemicals?

A2: No. The alluvial gold wash plant uses pure physical gravity separation — washing, screening and gravity concentration. No cyanide, no reagents, fully environmentally friendly and safe for river operations.

Q3: What is the expected gold recovery rate?

A3: For typical alluvial ore with coarse to medium gold, combined sluice box and centrifugal concentrator achieves 90%–95% gold recovery. Very fine “flour gold” may need additional enhanced matting or more centrifugal stages.

Q4: How long does it take to set up and start production?

A4: Skid-mounted and wheeled plants are delivered pre-assembled in containers. On-site setup takes 3–7 days including water connection and electrical commissioning, and gold production starts immediately.

Q5: What capacity options are available?

A5: We offer 10 TPH, 30 TPH, 50 TPH, 100 TPH, 150 TPH and 200 TPH models. Smaller units are wheel-mounted and towable; larger units are modular skids that can be combined for higher throughput.

Q6: Can the plant handle clay-bound gold gravel?

A6: Yes. The rotary trommel scrubber with high-pressure water spray breaks clay lumps and washes sticky ore. For very heavy clay, we recommend adding a pre-scrubbing stage or increasing water pressure.

Q7: Do you provide turnkey service for alluvial gold projects?

A7: Yes. We provide plant design, containerized delivery, on-site installation guidance, operator training, water pump configuration and long-term spare parts support for alluvial gold mining projects worldwide.