The lower compartment of a jigging machine used in mineral processing. As crushed ore and water are pulsed through a screen, the heavier valuable minerals fall through the mesh and collect in the hutch below, while the lighter gangue is washed over the top. The concentrated material drawn from the bottom is known as the hutch product.
Check the screen mesh on the primary jig, because we're getting too much oversized waste dropping into the hutch.
In Scottish mining terminology, a hutch also refers to a small mine car or tub, but in mineral processing, it strictly means the collection box under a jig.
Related terms
Jig
A mechanical device that separates crushed ore from waste rock using pulsating water.
Jigging
A gravity separation method that pulses water through a screen to sort crushed ore by density.
Concentrator
A facility or machine that separates valuable minerals from waste rock.
Gangue
The commercially worthless rock or mineral matter mixed with valuable ore.