High
Bankers
Power Sluice machines can be used at the waters edge to process gravel from a stream bank, used as portable dredge, or taken to remote areas from the waters edge where gold often occurs in greater abundance. Rather than bring the material to be processed to the waters edge you can now take a lightweight machine to the source of the gold with far less effort.
Although the Power Sluice Concept has been around for over 70 years, Jerry Keene built the original prospector’s Hi banker nearly thirty years ago, in an effort to offer a portable gold separating device that could bridge the gap between a sluice box and a dredge.
Today, the Power Sluice has been developed far beyond the original concept due to their popularity. They are made to be more powerful, more productive and are offered in a wide variety of configurations.
The most popular design is offered by Keene Engineering. This model is pictured above showing one man dumping a 5 gallon bucket into its hopper. This machine is Keene Engineering Model HBCK52. It is powered by a small light weight Honda engine and pump and is equipped with 25 feet of pressure hose for delivery of water to the sluice that is adequate in most conditions. Longer extensions to the pressure hose can be added up to 200 feet in length.
The hopper comes with a large classifying screen that separates the larger material from the smaller. The classifier consists of long steel rods that are spaced approximately 1/2 inch apart, allowing only a minus 1/2 inch material to enter the recovery section. It is capable of washing away clay and debris that are often attached to the gold bearing material. This is accomplished by a high pressure spray mechanism that is mounted inside of the hopper. The high pressure water strikes the material and breaks up any compacted material, dissolving clay that may hold gold values.
The high pressure spray also assists in carrying the oversized rock away from the classifier screen. All the undersized material that is minus 1/2 inch is converted into a slurry state where the sluice box can do its job providing maximum gold recovery.
Attached to the spray mechanism is a metering valve to adjust the amount of water required to break up any unwanted material. A garden hose port is attached to the valve for washing out crevices and cracks in the bedrock and is also handy for cleaning the sluice for processing the concentrated material from the sluice box. It is designed to fold up easily for backpacking and carrying.
