INTRODUCTION TO GOLD PANNING

First some basic equipment

1. gold pan
   • There are many different sizes and colors of gold pans. Find one that feels comfortable and fits your hand well. You want to be able to use it easily with one hand. I prefer a large blue pan with a wide bottom and at least five riffles on it.
2. classifier
   • I like to use a wire mesh 1/4" classifier.
3. sniffer bottle
   • used to collect small gold flakes
4. shovel
5. hand trowel

        Fill your pan with water and set your classifier inside the pan. Use your shovel to take some material from the streambed and dump it in the classifier. Shake the classifier to get the smaller material into the pan. The material in your pan should be about 1" deep. Look through the material left in the classifier to make sure there are no nuggets, then throw that material to the side. With the pan full of gravel and water, vigorously shake the pan, making sure not to lose any material over the side. This action gets all the heavier material to sink to the bottom. Gold, being the densest material in the pan, will go to the very bottom of the pan. Holding the pan at an angle, partially submerged in the water, use a back and forth or circular motion to make the water wash the top layer of material away. Do not push the material out of the pan...let the water do the work. Stop frequently to shake the heavies back down to the bottom of the pan. As you continue, you will notice that the material is getting smaller, and darker in color. When the material turns almost black, stop. You now have what is called black sand, made up mostly of hematite and magnetite. Your gold is also in this material. With a small amount of water in your pan, twirl the pan slowly with two hands so that the water washes away the black sand is it goes around the pan. It is at this point that you should begin to see your gold. You can continue to pan down your black sand as far as you feel comfortable of not losing the gold. When it is panned down as far as you want it, use your sniffer bottle to suck up the gold.

What part of the stream is likely to hold the most gold?

• Gold travels more or less in a straight line. Draw an imaginary line down the stretch of stream that you are checking. Look to see where the line would come in contact with the streambank, such as where the stream makes sudden turns. This is where the water moves most slowly, dropping the heavy gold as the water slows down. Often there will be a gravel bar in these places.
• Check gravel bars in the middle of the stream. The water has slowed down in these places.
• Look for obstructions that would cause the current to change, such as large boulders. Gold may be immediately ahead of, behind, and under these obstructions.
• Places where the streambed suddenly drops.
• Bedrock. If you are on bedrock, you will notice many cracks and crevices in it. Often, a lot of gold is deposited in these crevices. You can use a prybar to break them open. Then use a small digging tool, even a spoon, to gather the material from the crevice and pan it out. If the crevice is in the water, you can use a turkey baster to suck the material out, then pour it into your pan.
  

  In the future, I will be making beginners tutorials on sluicing and dredging as well. For more information on gold mining, check out the gold mining links.
  May your pan always turn yellow.