Volume 8 : May 2008 | ||
| Bucket-line gold dredges are still made and launched in Siberia, Mongolia and China, and are at the cutting edge in terms of efficiency, effectiveness, reliability and profitability. Local manufacturers of large dredges have cut costs and adopted new ideas, while simple workshops produce small bucket-line gold dredges in large numbers. The study assesses large, medium and small bucket-line dredges in terms of mining and impacts. The study draws attention to small changes in design that allow large bucket-line dredges to be ‘Best Available Technology’ (BAT) sufficient to satisfy stringent environmental concerns. | ||
| BUCKET-LINE GOLD DREDGES DOMINATE GOLD MINING IN RUSSIA, CHINA AND MONGOLIA |  | Robin Grayson |
SPECIAL TOPIC - Mercury alternatives. | ||
| Pen balls from old ball-point pens are shown to be ideal tracers for testing gravitational recovery of heavy minerals, enabling miners to improve gold recovery and find a local alternative to mercury. The paper also notes Soviet 'best practice' that produces tons of placer gold a year in Russia and Mongolia by using bird feathers - mercury is not necessary. | ||
| PEN BALLS ARE THE CHEAPEST WAY TO TEST GOLD PANS AND SLUICES |  | Robin Grayson Pen balls and feathers help gold miners fight mercury and poverty. World Placer Journal 2008, volume 8, pages 42-46. |
