Gold mining in the US runs the gamut from small weekend operators to large commercial mining companies. At each end of the spectrum, sluicing is the key to recovering the gold in some form. Sluices depend on mats to provide places for the fine gold particles to settle as the water washes the lighter materials away. A constant challenge is to find the best sluice mat for fine gold.
Sluice mats come in a variety of styles, types, and materials. Finding the best sluice mat for your sluice box is a matter of understanding different materials, water conditions, and sluice box setups. No one magic solution fits every situation. We’ll help familiarize you with various sluice mats and help you choose the product that best answers your needs and expectations.
Before Choosing The Best Sluice Box Matting
Sluice box matting comes in many different styles and materials. It seems that almost every serious gold miner has a different opinion on the best combination of sluice box matting, screens, and sluice box set up. The choice may depend on the style of sluice box you use. The sluice box mats in our list represent the top choices among both hobby and commercial god miners.
4 Best Sluice Mat For Fine Gold Options
Table of Contents
Miner’s Moss – ASR Outdoor Blue Miners Moss
ASR Miners Moss has been a staple with sluice box operators for years. In general, miner’s moss is a matting made of rubber or vinyl fibers woven together loosely. Some people describe miners’ moss as looking like a bunch of noodles.
By all accounts from commercial and hobby sluice box operators, miner’s moss works well in almost every sluicing situation. Miners Moss is available in a range of thicknesses and styles adaptable to nearly every sluicing operation.
ASR Miners Moss is available in a variety of colors and sizes. It is easily cut to fit your sluice box and provides several features to make your sluicing successful.
- Thousands of pores and voids provide optimal space for gold to settle and remain in the sluice box.
- Easily cut to fit any situation.
- The unbacked design offers versatility for your sluicing operation
- Accessible cleanouts for maximum gold retrieval
- Long-life for economic operations.
ASR Miner Moss Key Take-Aways:
Many long-time gold prospectors and miners swear by Miners Moss as the best overall choice for sluicing operations, especially small operators and hobby miners.
V-Groove Matting – Jobe Tuff Stuff Deep V Mat
The Jobe Tuff Stuff Deep V Mat is another sluice box mat that gets consistently good reviews and receives positive feedback from many sluice box operators. This material is popular with prospectors who move their sluice box often because of the mat’s lightweight and rugged durability.
The Jobe V Mat is only 150/1000th of an inch in thickness. The depth of the groves is 110/1000th of an inch and provides optimum space for the finest gold to settle out in your sluice box. Many sluice box operators report excellent results using Tuff Stuff mats. The comments typically fall into these categories.
- The Tuff stuff mat catches the finest gold without problem when the sluice box is used correctly.
- Lightweight and easy to handle. It makes moving my sluice box less of a chore
- Easy cleanout at the end of the day
- It seems to be well made, and the people at Jobe are helpful
Jobe Deep V Mat Key Take-Aways:
Some Jobe Tuff Stuff mat users find that the sluice box setup is more critical to success. Water flow and speed seem to be the most significant factors that affect how well the Tuff Stuff V mat works for extremely fine gold.
Riffle Mat – SE Prospector’s Choice 10″ x 27″ Trimmable Riffled Sluice Box Matting
Riffle matting is a hybrid design that utilizes three different patterns in the riffles to maximize gold retention. SE Prospector’s Choice riffle matting is available in three different configurations to meet any situation or need.
The patterns available include:
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Hungarian style with taller riffles interspaced within the mat. This pattern creates just enough turbulence behind the riffle to agitate the sand bed leaving only the fine gold.
- A V-shaped ripple pattern creates deep pockets with a smooth top that allows the finest gold particles to settle out in the shortest time.
- Square ripples work like V-shaped ripples but will catch larger pieces of gold with the flour gold.
SE Trimmable Riffled Matting Key Take-Aways:
One advantage of riffled sluice mats is the ability to trim and use different riffle patterns along the length of your sluice box to maximize gold retention. You can customize the sluice mat set up to meet the demands of your operation and situation.
Vortex Matting – Micro Sluice Matting
Vortex style matting is a relatively new entry into the sluice box matting. The creators claim the design of the traps in this matting is based on hydrodynamic principles and engineering. The design originates in Australia, where gold mining is a vast industry and hobby.
Many prospectors and miners who use Micro Sluice matting in their boxes report great returns of fine gold. Comments about the Micro Sluice Matting are very positive. To learn more about this mat, check out the post: The #1 Dream Mat Sluice Advantage For Capturing Fine Gold.
- High-quality material that lasts very well
- Easy to clean and handle
- Traps a lot of very fine gold that is easy to see in the sluice
- Handles a reasonably wide range of water flows and speeds
- Great as a finishing mat in combination with other types of matting higher in the sluice box
Vortex Micro Sluice Matting Key Take-Aways:
You may find that vortex matting is a bit more expensive than other types of mats. Therefore many miners use vortex matting at the bottom of their sluice box rather than the entire length.
Finding the Best Sluice Box Matting Solution
In the end, no one matting material works in every situation. Many miners carry different types of matting to enable flexibility when they are sluicing. They try to match the mat with the material and water conditions at their mine. Finding what works for you is the key. Matching the appropriate sluice box matting to the water conditions, material, and type of gold you expect to find is the first step in a successful operation.
