DRYBLOWER

Used air pressure and gravity to separate heavier gold from dirt and rock. Consists of a solid wooden frame supporting three includined screen-plates made of wood and metal. The top tray (in which dirt is placed) has a lever on the side which moves a metal plate at the bottom end and allows the contents to pour through a funnel or hopper beneath, into the second inclined tray. The top of this tray (sheet iron punched with triangular holes) has perforations whcih allow the fine metal to pass through, and channel wherby the coarse material and rocks and stones are discharged over the end. A 'shaker' attached to this tray and the base frame allows the prospector to move the screen from side to improve the sifting. The finer material is channeled through another hopper onto an unfixed riffle box which has a bottom covering itfrom wide screen with layer of hessian on top. Riffle bars (wood bars across horizontally) are attached above this horizontally to catch sediment. The riffle box is the gold-saving part of the dryblower. Bellows section is beneath this. The working of the bellows eases puffs of air to come through the permeable bottom under the dirt, lifting it a little each time and moving it towards and over the end. The heavy particles of gold tend to settle behind the riffles. This concentrate is blown in a dish to separate sand and gold particles.

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