Gold in the Water: Jamie & Christine’s Wash Plant Faces Its First Big Test

Turning bush fixes into gold recovery—can water beat the dust in the Outback?

June 4, 2025 | Goldfields, Australia

🚜 Breaking Tradition: From Drywashing to Waterrun

In a remote region where drywashing is the gold mining standard due to extreme water scarcity, prospectors Jamie and Christine are taking a bold step in a different direction.

“We found that with our type of dirt, using water gives better results,” said Christine.
“Knowing your ground tells you what kind of wash plant you need.”

Instead of trucking in water for a dry system, they invested $30,000 into a custom-built, water-powered trommel—adding their own bush modifications to maximize performance while minimizing water usage.

🔧 A Test Run Begins

With the system primed, the couple launched a 4-hour test run.
Their plant starts with a 4-foot hopper, feeding pay dirt into a reverse helix double drum trommel. Rocks get scrubbed and tossed, while finer gold-bearing material is funneled toward the sluice via spiral riffles.

A key feature?
A closed-circuit water system that recycles wastewater back to the plant—a crucial design for their desert surroundings.

🚨 Early Warning Signs

But things didn’t go quite as planned.

“All that material is bouncing past the spray bar,” a team member observed.
“It’s not getting cleaned—just exiting straight out of the trommel.”

Meanwhile, experienced miner Wano took to panning the discarded tailings—and what he found was concerning: visible fine gold particles that should’ve been recovered.

“This may not look like much, but over a day, that’s 20 to 30 pieces lost. That adds up.”

💦 The Water Bottleneck

The problem? A restrictive water feed.
Jamie and Christine had modified their system to conserve water by attaching a narrow 2-inch pipe to a 3-inch pump and line—a classic bush fix, but one that might be cutting flow too much.

“They’re choking it right at the start,” said Wano.

Without enough water pressure to drive proper cleaning, fine gold was slipping away.

🛠️ The Road Ahead

Despite the hiccup, Jamie and Christine remain undeterred.
Their choice to go against the grain—relying on water rather than dust—may still prove profitable. But to get there, they’ll need to rethink their flow system and reinforce the spray bars.

Because in gold country, every flake matters.