|
Trommels are made in a wide variety of sizes, from small recreational units to very large ones for commercial mining operations and other commercial uses. They also can be made into recirculation units for use in areas with little or no water. Some varieties act mainly as a classifier with the revolving action being used to break up clay and separate any gold that might be caught in organic material or stuck to other rocks. Others are combined with a sluice to also separate the heavier concentrates from the lighter materials.
They are used in mining to size, wash, and classify gold or other precious metals from larger sized waste materials. Gravel and sand are feed into the hopper and washed down into the trommel barrel, which rotates. As the barrel turns the material is washed with a constant stream of water from a spray bar and classified by screens or holes that are punched into the barrel. This causes the larger sized waste rock to be discharged out the end of the barrel and allows the gold to be distributed to a secondary recovery system such as a sluice or spiral wheel. These concentrates can be examined for gold at any time.
|
