The dredge floated in about nine feet of water and could move anywhere in the valley because it carried its pond with it, digging a pond for itself to float in as it moved by scooping material in front and filling in behind. The entire process took place in water and used water: at the front, buckets brought gravel and rock into the dredge while water poured into the hole left behind, and the material was processed using water. At the end of the process, tailings, rock and gravel with no gold in it, went onto the 96-foot chute of the stacker and were deposited behind the dredge in piles. From the control area, the operator set the cables to determine how deep the bucket line would go, pulled them back to engage the bucket line, and began dredging. After the dredge finished scooping away a swath of bank, the operator used the cables to drag the dredge forward again, and the process started over.