How to Mine for Gold Using a Sluice Box

Find a location in the stream that allows approximately 1 inch of drop per foot along the length of the sluice box. Place the box in the water so that the water runs along the length but only fills the trough about halfway. Find a heavy weight to anchor the sluice in place.

Select a shovelful of sand and gravel to add to the sluice. The most likely spots for concentrations of flakes or nuggets are in the lee (downstream side) of obstructions and drop-offs. If you've spotted some likely "color," that's a good place to start digging your raw material.

Sort the material from the shovel by hand. Pick out any large rocks and discard them.

Pour the sand and gravel from the shovel into the upstream end of the sluice slowly and steadily. Allow the running water to wash all the material through the sluice. Repeat this process until there is a visible concentration in the lee of all riffles in the sluice.

Lift the sluice from the water and cautiously tilt the downstream end into a large bucket. Pick any visible gold from the sluice and store it away. Wash the remaining concentrate from the riffles, capturing all sediment in the bucket. Commercial sluices usually have removable riffles and perhaps a liner on the floor, so disassemble the sluice as needed and rinse carefully.

Re-assemble the sluice and reset it in the stream. Repeat the process of feeding sand and gravel, sluicing and rinsing the sluice box.