What role do high-pressure water jets play in gravel-pump tin mining?

In gravel-pump mining, which is a primary method for extracting tin from alluvial fields, high-pressure water jets are used to break up and dislodge the tin-bearing sand. Once the material is loosened, a submerged gravel pump collects the resulting slurry of mud and water and transports it to sluice boxes, or palongs, for further processing.1

While high-pressure water jets are also utilized in hydraulic mining to fragment coal seams, their function in tin processing is specifically focused on the mechanical dislodging of ore from alluvial deposits.12