Power generators create the electricity needed for much of the machinery used by today's gold miners. Most of the equipment is small and compact, and designed to utilize only a 12-volt hook up. The power sluice has evolved, from the 1850's of gold mining equipment, to force water through a trough via a 12-volt pump. By simply plugging in the power sluice to the power generator, a gold miner can wash gravel for gold. The sluice washes away any sediment to leave only the heavier particles. These particles usually contain gold and other heavy elements important to the gold miner. The power sluice has made it possible for the average person to mine for gold, because with a power generator and this machine, an individual can process the same amount of river sediment as a gold miner that diverts a stream to do the same process. The power generator has even made it possible for the gold miner to mine in places where there is no water to utilize in a sluice. The drywasher is an electrical machine that is used in place of a sluice to do the same type of job. The drywasher is usually powered by a 12-volt hook up and is used to separate dirt and sand from the heavier gold particles. The power generator supplies electricity to the dry washer machine, so that it can create a stream of air that acts like the stream of water, to separate the valuable gold from the worthless sand.
In the next step, the drywasher has a compartment that the material passes for further processing. Here, the material is placed on a tray that vibrates to further separate the gold from the sand. While this process usually takes longer than using a power sluice, it still yields a good amount of gold product. The machine is not large and a smaller generator can easily power the 12-volt motor. The power generator used by the gold miner should usually be of this smaller variety, as the miner usually has to move around a lot in the wilderness in order to properly mine the potential veins of gold ore. These examples just go to show how the power generator can be used in two completely different gold prospecting environments, one where water is plentiful and another where water is not available to mine for gold.
The amount of gold a miner has collected is always an important number for the gold miner to know. This can be accomplished using an electric digital scale. There are many varieties of electric scales that can be powered by a small power generator that the gold miner would most likely use. A 12-volt current can power the electric scales, just as the other electrical mining equipment can utilize the 12-volt power supply. The digital scale is important for the miner, so that he knows how much gold he has collected and having the electric scale at the dig site is much more convenient than having to tote his gold ore to a reliable scale far away. Most power generators can power all of the equipment needed for a mining dig with current to spare, while still being portable enough to take it out, deep into the wilderness. The power sluice powered by a 12-volt current provides the same function as a stream, however the miner does not have to divert part of a stream, because an electric pump does the work or sorting the sand and the silt. Using an electric air pump, connected to a power generator, in the dry washer can accomplish the same work as one would expect to get from the water sluice, but you no longer need water to complete the task. The power generator has allowed the gold mining industry to become a profession that can be taken up by the average person. If one has the gold bug, there are no more excuses as to why that person should not pursue his or her dreams. With a power generator, any person can go out into the wilderness to search for gold with some simple mining equipment and possibly strike it rich.