Alluvial Gold Wash Plant: A Complete Rainy-Season Setup

An alluvial gold wash plant combines a scrubber, a trommel, a fine screen, a centrifugal concentrator and a sluice or jig into one system, so both coarse and fine gold are recovered and clay-bound, wet-season ore does not defeat the plant. Bought as separate machines they are five purchases; put together correctly they are one plant with a single job, recovering the gold in your ore whatever the weather is doing.

Gold Processing & Recovery·13 min read·Updated 2026-09-14
Alluvial gold wash plant with scrubber, trommel and sluice in operation

Alluvial Gold Wash Plant Specifications

The figures below describe typical industry specifications for this class of equipment rather than a single fixed model. Use them to scope a requirement, then confirm exact figures against the supplied unit before purchase.

Typical specification range for the Alluvial Gold Wash Plant
SpecificationTypical value
Typical capacity10–150 t/h feed, by unit sizing
StagesFeed hopper → scrubber → trommel (10–16 mm) → fine screen (<2 mm) → concentrator + sluice/jig → table
Concentrator feedScreened to below 2 mm before the centrifugal concentrator
Coarse gold recoverySluice or jig, treating the 2 mm and above fraction
Water use3–8 m³ per m³ of feed in heavy clay, recycled through settling ponds
PowerDiesel or electric by stage; sized as one load, not per machine
FootprintSkid or trailer-mounted stages for a mobile plant; static frame for a fixed site
Wet-season provisionCovered stockpile, sized settling ponds, pit dewatering pump

Alluvial Gold Wash Plant: Uses and Applications

  • Alluvial and eluvial gold operations running through the rainy season
  • Clay-bound gravel that a single machine cannot process cleanly
  • Reprocessing old tailings and amalgamation waste
  • New ground where both coarse nuggets and fine gold are present

Maintenance Schedule

Most premature failures in this equipment class trace back to a missed routine check rather than a design fault. The intervals below are a practical starting schedule; adjust them to your duty cycle and the manufacturer manual.

Recommended maintenance intervals
IntervalTask
Every shiftConfirm water is reaching every stage evenly; check each screen for blinding and each concentrate point for security.
WeeklyInspect scrubber and trommel liners, fine screen panels, and sluice or jig riffles for wear.
MonthlyService settling ponds and water recycle pumps; inspect concentrator bowl and fluidisation holes.
Rainy season startCheck pit dewatering pump, stockpile cover and pond capacity before the rains, not after the first storm.

Frequently Asked Questions

What should the plant actually look like for muddy ore?

Feed hopper with a grizzly, a rotary scrubber to break up clay, a trommel at roughly 10–16 mm to reject stones, a fine screen under 2 mm to prepare the concentrator feed, a centrifugal concentrator for the fine material followed by a shaking table, and a sluice or jig for the 2–16 mm fraction. That split is what lets the plant catch both coarse and fine gold instead of losing one to protect the other.

Do I need every stage from day one?

No. Many operations start with a trommel and a sluice, add a scrubber once they see how much clay their ground actually has, and add a centrifugal concentrator and table once fine-gold losses justify it. Tell us your ore and budget and we will sequence the build rather than sell you everything at once.

What recovery can I expect overall?

On liberated gold, a well set-up plant recovers 85–98% on the fine fraction through the concentrator and a broadly similar range on coarse gold through a properly run sluice or jig. The honest answer depends on your ore, so we recommend a sample test before finalising the setup.

How is this different from buying the machines separately?

The individual machines can each work well and still under-perform together if the sizes between stages do not match: a fine screen too coarse for the concentrator, or a scrubber undersized for the trommel behind it. Specifying it as one plant means every stage is sized against the one before and after it.

Supply and Delivery Across Tanzania

Bart Mining supplies alluvial gold wash plant and related equipment to mining operations throughout Tanzania, with primary coverage of the Lake Victoria Goldfields (Mwanza, Kahama, Geita, Shinyanga and Bukombe), alongside the Lupa Goldfields around Chunya and Mbeya, and delivery nationwide from Dar es Salaam.

MwanzaKahamaGeitaShinyangaBukombeNyangʼhwaleTaboraDodomaArushaMbeyaChunyaSongweDar es SalaamMorogoroMtwaraKigoma
Specification note. The values on this page are industry-standard ranges for the equipment category, published so buyers can scope requirements before enquiring. They are not a quotation and do not describe a specific stocked model. Contact us with your duty, site conditions and power supply for a specification and quotation against your actual requirement.

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Need a alluvial gold wash plant specified for your site?

Tell us your duty, depth or throughput and available power supply. We will come back with a specification and price, and flag anything on site that needs to change to make it work.