ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Gold dredge

Imagine you have a big sandbox filled with dirt and rocks. You want to find some treasure, like gold, hidden in the sand.

A gold dredge is a big machine that helps people search for gold in rivers and streams. It is kind of like a big vacuum cleaner that sucks up all the dirt and rocks from the bottom of the river or stream.

The machine has a long tube, called a suction hose, that is put in the water. The hose sucks up all the sand, gooey mud, and rocks from the bottom of the river and sends them up to the top of the machine.

The gold dredge is able to find tiny pieces of gold because gold is heavy and sinks to the bottom. The machine separates the gold from the dirt and rocks using a special tool called a sluice box.

A sluice box is like a big washboard that the machine puts the dirt and water onto. It has small wooden ridges that gold can get stuck in while the dirt and rocks wash away with the water.

Sometimes people will stand on the shore and use the gold dredge to find gold. They might make a big hole in the river or stream where the machine is working. Other times, people will use the machine while standing on it, like a boat.

People who go gold dredging can find a lot of gold if they are in the right place. But it is also hard work because they have to spend a lot of time standing in the water and operating the machine.