Breaking up wet clay?

Hey guys, just looking for some tips on the best way to break up clumps of wet clay for a highbanker.
All I can think is sitting it on fine mesh and letting it dry before crushing??? How long would it take to dry?

Can you post some pics of what you are doing and with what? I pic is worth a thousand words

The miners in the USA use a product called 'CLAY BEGONE' to dissolve the clay, not sure what the chemical is but others might know.
How long would it take to dry? depends on the type of clay, moisture content and weather conditions.
You could put it in a drum with water and paddle it like the old timers.
Another method that could work is using 1/2'', 3/8'',1/4'' and 1/8'' sieves stacked together over a drum and with a high pressure spray from a fire fighting nozzle, nozzles are cheap and you can adjust them to suit the conditions. When all the paydirt is in the drum you then would keep pumping water into the drum until the water is clear.
Some of the worst clays I have dealt with is the grey clay, its almost like plasticine. 
cheers Tezz

cement mixer works well too. 
but in saying that unless you have one and are going to take thw clay home or take it with you and a genie

http://www.prospectingsupplies.com.au/products/224-clay-puddler.aspx
See the link, anyone used one of these puddlers, does not include pump or sluice box, price $750,
Don't know if its made in OZ or overseas.
Tezz

You need to determine if there's gold in the clay and to what extent, just meaning, sometimes the returns don't warrant the effort!
Clay hay, this is why some of us have gone with the Banjo style HB! the gold pays for our stay, what clay we say.  

P.s. whatever method you choose keep it small, it's far easier to process a small amount than to be overwhelmed with a 44 drum full of sludge!

XIV wrote:cement mixer works well too. 
but in saying that unless you have one and are going to take thw clay home or take it with you and a genie

Would that be considered mechanical mining?

Wayne.

Digginerup wrote:

XIV wrote:cement mixer works well too. 
but in saying that unless you have one and are going to take thw clay home or take it with you and a genie

Would that be considered mechanical mining?

Wayne.

Yes of course it would and taking home the clays to process is illegal as well!!! God give me patience !!!!!

If  motorised trommels are allowed  so is a cement mixer as long as you shovel the clay in.

tezz wrote:If  motorised trommels are allowed  so is a cement mixer as long as you shovel the clay in.

I stand corrected Tezz !!! You are correct as long as to hand load it !!!  Speed reading is a curse ! My appoligies to the poster ! But my comment stands on the taking home the clays !! Well in Vic any way as I got pinged for it yrs ago !

what is he to do with the clay to dry it out as that could sometimes take days

Ark said.....But my comment stands on the taking home the clays !! Well in Vic any way as I got pinged for it yrs ago !

I've taken the odd bucket of pay dirt or quartz home for testing and thought nothing of it until I read a US article that stated it is highly illegal to take rock from an area (and after it was found to be worthless) is dumped in a different area, my thoughts were why would this be and after thinking about this the rocks were taken from a certain geological age eg. Pleistocene, he dumped the rocks in a eg. Devonian area, so when some geologist in the future finds these alien rocks he starts scratching his head.
Not sure what the real law is in Vic.
Tezz

It's on your miners right ?

loop hole?!
IF you take enough of it you can always say it is for making mud bricks lmao
maybe yes/no??

Might be safer to say the clay is for pottery but when they see mining equipment in the vehicle......
''Oh I'm just collecting a bit of clay for the wife''

Thanks a lot for the suggestion guys will post some pics of what I'm looking to break up and how I go with it
Cheers

I know many years ago my father used a non motorized cement mixer as a Puddler, that was in the sixties

Tezz, as qualified forest ecologist, and having prepared Work Plans for Victorian Mining Licences, I can say one concern is the spread of soil borne plant diseases when soil is transported from one location to another.

Earthmoving machinery is required to be cleaned of excess dirt prior to transportation between sites for this reason (among others)

Cheers Cal