24" X 6" Vortex Dream Mat Gold Mini Back Packer Sluce Box

I took my 6X24 mini mat sluice out to the South Platte River in southwest Denver, Colorado to see how well it worked. The South Platte can be a real challenge due to the heavy black sand content and because the gold is usually 20 mesh or smaller. I ran 9 half-full bucket loads of dirt through the sluice stopping after every 3rd half bucket to clean out the concentrates. After a little over 2 hours of sluicing, I panned my cons and took home 30 pieces of -20 mesh gold. I'm very encouraged by this first test. The 6X24 was very easy to set up. The key is to watch the material clear out of the section between the flair and wait a few seconds for the rest to clear out of the mat before adding another scoop of dirt. By raising or lowering the flair, you can easily control the flow. I like how the holes at the upper end of the mat fill with nothing but black sand while the holes at the other end fill with lighter material. That tells you the gold is staying put in the upper 3rd of the mat and not migrating down and possibly out of the sluice. If you're worried about losing gold, relax. It's not going to happen with the Dream Mat. And if you want a portable sluice that can do it all from quick tests to all-day processing, the 6X24 is the way to go.