Buying a wash plant before answering basic ore and site questions usually shifts uncertainty into steel. The plant may still run, but it may wash the wrong way, classify at the wrong sizes or send most of the valuable fine fraction into tailings.
1. Is the feed genuinely free-washing?
Dry-looking material can still contain clay that forms stable lumps when wet. Test representative material in water and observe how much attrition is required to release the sand and gravel.
2. What is the largest normal feed size?
Separate normal feed from occasional boulders. This affects the grizzly, hopper, excavator practice and whether oversize needs only rejection or additional washing.
3. Where is the gold by particle size?
A visible coarse nugget does not describe the full deposit. Screen and test useful size fractions. Coarse, fine and very fine gold require different control strategies.
4. How much material will actually reach the plant?
Target TPH should reflect excavation, haulage, feeding and operating hours. Oversizing a plant can create unstable low-load operation without increasing daily production.
5. How much water is available?
Record dry-season supply, pumping distance, elevation, water quality and whether process water must be recycled. Water balance affects washing, classification and tailings.
6. What happens to tailings and oversize?
Material placement is part of the flowsheet. A compact plant can still fail operationally when oversize blocks access or fine tailings occupy the water-return area.
7. What evidence supports the equipment choice?
Ask what feed fraction each machine treats, its expected solids rate and how its tailings will be checked. A flowsheet should explain the role of every stage.
A useful first submission
Send representative photos or video, target capacity, feed-size estimate, clay observations, available test results, project country and water conditions. That is enough to define the next questions without pretending a final design already exists.