wire-line dredging

Wire-line dredging is a method used for underwater excavation, particularly for mining beach and offshore deposits. In this technique, digging tools or buckets are suspended on a steel cable. These buckets are lowered to the sediment surface, where they are loaded and then retrieved. Grab buckets, also known as clamshells or orange peels, are a type of digging device used in wire-line methods. They consist of a hinged mechanism that bites into the sediment when closed, holding it within the shell. The loaded bucket is then hoisted to the surface and opened to dump its contents. This method is effective for extracting valuable minerals like gold, diamonds, tin, and platinum from placer deposits.1