A buddle pit or buddle pond is an ore processing technique that separates heavier minerals from lighter minerals when the crushed ore is washed in water.[1] This technique was used in the mining industry to extract metals such as tin, lead and zinc. Many buddles seen today date from the Victorian era and are often circularly shaped. There was also a variation called the concave buddle, which had a concave bottom.[2]
The pit, often constructed from stone, cement, or brick and mortar, contained water and used a set of brushes often powered by a water wheel which rotated in the water in order to agitate the mixture. The result of which was that the heavier and denser material - i.e. the ore - tended to collect at the centre of the pit, from where it could be retrieved. The byproduct was then drained off and disposed of.[3]
Usually a set of buddle pits were used to further refine the ore, where the processed ore was put in another buddle until the achieved concentration of the desired mineral was met.[4]
The following detailed extract comes from Machinery for Metalliferous Mines: A practical treatise for mining engineers, metallurgists and managers of mines, by E. Henry Davies, C. Lockwood and son, 1902 :