Apparatus for dry placer mining and method of operating same

Abstract From the Canadian patent

An apparatus for dry placer mining to concentrate recoverable metallic constituents, such as gold or silver from a dry gravel mix containing same is comprised of a frame for supporting and guiding an endless belt along a path including an upwardly inclined segment for receiving gravel particulate; an endless belt including a woven mesh belt member, a plurality of riffle members disposed in spaced parallel relationship within the intertices of the mesh member, and a composite fabric member disposed in face-to-face contact with the bottom surface of the mesh member; and a fluidizing member for passing a fluidizing gas upwardly through the endless belt along the inclined segment for fluidizing …