By
eHow Hobbies, Games & Toys Editor
Difficulty: Moderately Easy
Things You’ll Need:
- Pans For Gold Panning
- Plastic Pill Vials
- Detailed Local Maps
- Metal Detectors
- Medicine Droppers
- Tweezers
- Magnets
- Magnifying Glasses
Step1
Buy a gold pan from a mining supply store. In California's gold country, hardware stores often carry them. Look for one that has riffles - bars or slats - and a catch hole in the bottom, since these help the gold to separate from other particles more easily. Plastic pans are generally preferred over metal pans because they are lighter, have shallower angles (which reduces the risk of gold's being tossed out of the pan), and because gold is easier to spot against plastic than against shiny metal.
Step2
Before you begin, familiarize yourself with the recreational prospecting regulations of the area in which you wish to pan for gold.
Step3
Choose a location along a river or creek to pan. Places where the water slows down noticeably, such as behind sandbars or large rocks, are usually good spots for panning. You can also ask park officials or local prospecting organizations for recommendations about the best places to pan.
Step4
Fill the pan almost to the top with sand from the edge of the creek or river. Try sand from various depths. Use a shovel to dig deeper.
Step5
Dip the pan's edge into the stream and fill it with water.
Step6
Hold the pan with one hand and swirl it to mix the sand. Any gold will start settling toward the bottom of the pan.
Step7
Swirl the pan faster. You will lose some of the water, along with lighter particles of sand, as you go.
Step8
Begin scraping the top sand out of the pan with your free hand.
Step9
Continue until much of the pan is empty, leaving only small bits of gold - if you're lucky - in a little water.
Step10
Use tweezers or a pipette to retrieve tiny gold particles and pick out larger samples with your fingers.
Step11
Keep all gold samples in plastic vials or sample bottles.
Comments
Anonymous said
on 11/22/2005 You should first go to a shallow bed or near rocks. Stay about 1 meter away from rocks or the bed and start panning.
Anonymous said
on 11/22/2005 When digging to fill your pan, try to dig as deep as you can. Get as close to bedrock as possible. That is where the gold will be!
Anonymous said
on 11/22/2005 Being involved in riparian habitat restoration, I'll tell you that responsible placer mining won't harm a waterway. In fact, dredging can be beneficial. Rivers are so dynamic that modern mining impact is erased by spring flows! Breach a dam; save a river.
Anonymous said
on 11/22/2005 Don't use a cooking wok unless you're into wasting time. Get a real gold pan from a supply store. Get a 1/4" classifying screen from the same supplier and a video, because you must be shown how to do it right. Trust me.
Anonymous said
on 11/22/2005 An EPA study proves it. Go to the Alaska Gold Forum and read for yourself. Gold prospecting is being killed by disinformation. Please research before you decide.