Le Trap Sluice Box for Gold Prospecting

Le Trap Sluices are 46” long and 15” wide and will hold the finest flour Gold as well as large nuggets. The sluice can be configured as either a Bank Robber or a River Robber. When you purchase a new sluice it will be configured as a Bank Robber, as that is how they come out of the mold and are safer to ship. If you take a saw and cut the back off the inlet side it becomes a River Robber. See details below.

The sluice is made of high impact ABS plastic and will take a lot of abuse, but should you ever get a crack or chip in it, it can be welded with ABS glue, available at almost any hardware store.

The riffles are two-step with a ramp. This allows the sluice to be self-cleaning. It has a self-cleaning tray on the left hand side which makes it easy to tilt up into your pan and splash water into it for the final quick and easy clean up.

When using this sluice as a bank or bar concentrator, a spray system should be used at the upper end of the sluice.

In order to operate this sluice in a stream, you need fast water. The closed end of the Bank Robber Sluice can be cut out, creating the River Robber Sluice. For rigidity, leave part of the end on both sides.

Because the sluice is approximately 4 pounds, it is easy to back pack.

In working this box, water should run through very rapidly, about 2” deep, which keeps the riffles clean and will leave the Gold and VERY LITTLE concentrates.

• Step 1 – Setting up the Sluice Locate a place in the stream with fast water and a gradual drop. Water should run fast enough to move a 1” to 2” rock through the sluice about as fast as you can walk through with your fingers. You may have to remove or rearrange rocks to provide a space for the sluice to set so as to provide approximately 1 1⁄2” to 2” of water uniformly at the proper speed. Rocks upstream may have to be arranged to divert water either in or out of the sluice.
• Step 2 – Holding the sluice in place. To hold the sluice in the river, it is suggested to put a 1 x 4 x 15” board or aluminum angle across the sluice at the narrow section. This board will allow you to place a rock approximately 5 to 10 pounds on the board to hold the sluice in place. Use just enough weight to hold the sluice in the stream. There are many other ways of making a rock holder for your sluice box.
• Step 3 – Processing the material. Deposit the Gold bearing material in the flat portion of the sluice and allow the water to wash it through the sluice. Feed the material into the sluice at the rate that will allow at least one ridge to be seen all the way across the sluice. NOTE: Sluice operation will run more smoothly if the bank material is first run through a Jobe Prospecting 1⁄2” classifier, thus eliminating the larger rocks from blocking the riffles and slowing down the processing of your material. Continue to feed the material until the bottoms of the riffles become plugged with heavy black sands which will prevent the Gold from settling to the bottom. The amount of material that can be run will vary from one location to another, depending on the types of deposits in the area.
• Step 4 – Clean out. When you have processed the bank material, allow clear water to flow through to wash out any excess lighter material. When the sluice is ready for clean out, lift the intake end out of the water first. This stops the water flowing through the sluice and drains the excess water out. Pick up the sluice and place the lower left corner into a bucket or Gold pan. Keep the sluice tilted to the left side, splash or pour water, washing the concentrates into the container. At this time you can see the Gold laying in the riffles. If there is Gold in the lower end of the sluice, the angle or the water flow can be changed to correct this.