Dry Mining Equipment
Desert gold gear designed by a chemist turned dry-placer miner
- Where
- Congress, Arizona (no storefront)
- Builds
- Snorkel 12V drywasher, Mag-Zip separator, Vibra Bucket screener
- Founder
- Mike Robinson, PhD, retired chemistry professor
- Since
- Company started in 2017
- Orders
- Online store, or call 432-559-7421
- Ships
- Nationwide, usually in 3 to 7 business days
Builder: builds the gear it sells
12V drywasher with a 6-ft clean-air snorkel, built by a retired chemist
Sells online or by order: no storefront to visit
Works from Congress, Arizona.
Builds: Drywashers · Fine gold recovery
What they sell: Drywashers · Fine gold recovery
Makes: Snorkel 12V drywasher, Mag-Zip dry magnetic separator, Vibra Bucket screener, Tilt-a-Bucket handle
Ships nationwide.
What Dry Mining Equipment builds
Designed and field-tested in Arizona; invented by founder Mike Robinson, a retired chemistry professor.
Snorkel 12V Drywasher ↗
All-12-volt drywasher built for fine gold in dusty ground · Drywashers
- Internal 12 V turbofan at 14,000 rpm fed by a 4-inch hose that draws air about 6 ft above the dust
- Linear vibrator at about 3,500 rpm
- -1/4-inch punch plate hopper screen
- 7 main riffles plus about 1,000 micro-riffles (1/4-inch holes)
- Up to 2.5 cubic yards an hour
- About 40 lb; draws about 85 W from a 12 V battery; AC converter available
- Field-tested near Stanton, Arizona, in fall 2021
Mag-Zip Dry Magnetic Separator ↗
Pulls magnetite out of dry concentrates before the final cleanup · Fine gold recovery
- Continuous flow, about 1 gallon a minute
- Weak magnets chosen so gold is not trapped
- About 80% of the magnetite out per pass, 90 to 96% in two
- Feed screened to -12 mesh
- Cuts concentrate volume by 30 to 50%
Vibra Bucket Screener ↗
Vibrating 5-gallon bucket for fine-mesh screening
- 30 W, 115-120 V AC vibrator with speed control
- Reinforced 5-gallon steel pail with a 3.5-gallon receiver
- In their test, about 97% screened in 1 minute
- Runs from a 12 V battery with an optional inverter; screens not included
Tilt-a-Bucket Handle ↗
Second aluminum handle for lifting and pouring a 5-gallon bucket
- Bent-edge aluminum ring that clears gloved hands
How to order
- Online store on their website
- Phone 432-559-7421
- Ships nationwide; delivery usually in 3 to 7 business days
Where to use your gear near Congress
176 gold spots on open public land with no claim on record, within 50 miles.
There are more on the map, some of them with a possible mining claim.
About Dry Mining Equipment
Dry Mining Equipment is the work of Mike Robinson, who taught chemistry at the University of Texas of the Permian Basin in Odessa until he retired in 2014. He consulted for the mining industry for most of his career, including teaching assay labs how to analyze precious metal ores, and after retiring he turned to placer mining dry sands in Arizona. He now lives near Stanton and has invented or co-developed the devices the company sells.
The main machine is the Snorkel, a drywasher that runs entirely on 12 volts. Instead of breathing the dust that hangs around a working drywasher, its internal turbofan pulls air through a 4-inch hose raised about six feet off the ground. A linear vibrator moves material across a tray with seven main riffles and roughly a thousand quarter-inch micro-riffles meant to hold very fine gold under the black sand. Four units were tested near Stanton in the fall of 2021, and the company says they beat the Keene 151S it had been running, which was then sold.
The Mag-Zip attacks the black sand problem from the other end. It feeds dry concentrates past weak magnets in a continuous stream, about a gallon a minute, and pulls out most of the magnetite before any gravity cleanup; the field is kept weak on purpose so gold does not get caught with it. A vibrating five-gallon pail for screening fine sand, the Vibra Bucket, and a second handle for pouring buckets round out the line.
Everything is sold through the company's online store and shipped across the country, normally arriving within a week.
Clubs and places nearby
- Weaver Mining DistrictClub · 1 mi
- Lost Dutchman's Mining Association - Stanton CampClub · 7 mi
- Wickenburg Gem and Mineral SocietyClub · 14 mi
- Gold Mine Experience (Bloo Nelly Mine)Pay-to-dig · 16 mi
- Lynx Creek Gold Pan Day Use AreaFree public dig · 38 mi
- American Gold Prospecting AdventuresPay-to-dig · 40 mi
Other shops and gear makers nearby
- Nugget Shooter Metal Detector SalesOnline shop · 25 mi
- A & B Prospecting Supplies (Prescott Valley)Shop · 43 mi
- Sedig's PlaceOnline shop · 44 mi
- Rob's Detector SalesOnline shop · 46 mi
Access
Online store; ships across the USA. No storefront.