A material separator for separating at least two different materials of
differing densities and/or sizes of particles. The material separator
generally includes a tank containing a flocculent, a circulation system
for circulating flocculent within the tank and a pair of conveyors for
moving two different materials out of the tank. The tank may include an
upper chamber and a lower chamber. At least a portion of each of the
conveyors is located in the upper chamber to catch materials fed into the
flocculent. Each of the conveyors may include a mesh belt that permits
the flocculent to flow through the conveyor. The tank may include a clean
out valve that permits fines and other debris accumulated within the
upper chamber to pass into the lower chamber. The flocculent circulation
assembly may include a nozzle that can be constructed in various
configurations to create flows of flocculent of various velocities and
trajectories. In one embodiment, the lower chamber includes a drag line
assembly that removes fines and other accumulated debris from the lower
chamber.