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One of the few relics from those days is a dredge operated from a barge on the nearby Taieri River in 1896. Patearoa, 17 kilometres south of Ranfurly, had its goldrush in the early 1860s. Gravel scooped up by a chain of buckets was washed over sluice boxes and gold tables and the waste or tailings deposited at the rear of the dredge, something that environmentalists would not tolerate today. The Kanieri, the last of the 150 gold dredges that worked the West Coast, was still operating on the Taramakau River in 1990. In the boom period of dredging, about that time, efficient dredges secured as much as 1,000 ounces of gold in one week’s working. It is considered to have been the greatest assembly of gold dredges the world has ever seen.
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This success was followed several years later by another pioneer – “The Fourteen Mile Beach Dredge” – which was the first electrically-operated dredge in the world driven by a three-phase alternating current supply.īy 1900 there were 187 dredges at work among the gravels of the Clutha. The dredge was a complete success, the electrical equipment performing its work faithfully. This dredge operated on the Upper Shotover River, Central Otago, power being supplied at 1,300 volts to operate the plant on what proved to be the first electrically operated gold dredge in the world. The former of these, “The Sandhills Dredge”, was designed and put into operation in 1889–90 by RC Jones who later became one of the founders of the firm Turnbull and Jones. The first successful gold dredge was commissioned through the vision and perseverance of Sew Hoy of Sew Hoy Big Beach Mining Company and was built by Kincaid and McQueen, Dunedin.īoth the first electric dredge and the first to be electrically-operated from a three-phase alternating current supply were built and operated in New Zealand. Important changes however, have been the introduction of steam dredges about 1882, and electric dredges in 1890, and the accidental but very profitable discovery at the very end of the century, that often there were rich gold-bearing deposits concealed beneath a hard layer which was apparently the bottom of the river bed. Five years later the bucket type of dredge was introduced, and this, in various forms, has been used ever since.
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The earliest “spoon-dredges” were employed in 1863 and for a time they won a considerable amount of gold with very simple appliances. All warranty and service requests should be directed to the mfg.By means of dredges, wash-dirt was obtained from the beds of large rivers. We do our best to keep everything up to date, however, Gold Fever Prospecting is not responsible for pricing errors or changes in design specs or costs from our mfg. As such, a re-stocking fee may be imposed by the mfg. Suction dredges are custom made upon order. Prices do not include shipping or CA sales tax. Proline dredges have greater suction power, require less horsepower for operation, cause fewer rock jams, and feature improved recovery of fine gold.Īll of the steel parts are plated for corrosion resistance as well as good looks, their aluminum is aircraft grade quality, and completely TIG welded for maximum strength. Each is carefully crafted by hand in the USA with only quality materials. Proline Mining Dredges and High bankers are well known in the gold mining community as being among the finest you can own. It was with all of those criteria in mind that they developed their line of modern gold suction dredges.
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The folks at Proline understand the importance of performance, as well as reliability, serviceability, weight, appearance, and cost. Many years of research and development, along with decades of gold dredging experience, have gone into the dredges Proline builds today. PROLINE UNDERSTANDS THE NEEDS OF GOLD DREDGERS AND THE IMPORTANCE OF PERFORMANCE, RELIABILITY AND COST.
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