Gold Panning Information
Placer mining is prospecting valuable minerals from a placer by washing or dredging. It
is more commonly known as gold panning, and is sometimes called "Poor Man's Mining" because is doesn't
require expensive equipment. A basic  panning kit should include a fourteen-inch plastic pan
with molded washboard-type riffle insets; a small hand shovel; a rock hammer; a sturdy long-bladed screwdriver
or pry-bar; a whisk broom; tweezers and a sniffer bottle. The sniffer is used to suction the small flakes out
of the pan.
The simplest technique to extract gold from placer ore is panning. In panning, some mined ore is
placed in a large metal pan, combined with a generous amount of water, and agitated so that the gold particles,
being of higher density than the other material, settle to the bottom of the pan. The lighter ore material such as
sand, mud, gravel, and other minerals are then washed over the side of the pan, leaving the gold behind. Once
a placer deposit is located by gold panning, the miner usually shifts to equipment that can treat volumes of sand
and gravel more quickly and efficiently.
The most common size of gold pan in use today is 14 inches in diameter. Other common sizes range
anywhere from the little 10" cleanup pans on up to the big 17" heavyweights, but again, the 14s are by far the most
popular size among people who know their panning. The 10s are great for kids to start panning with. The 17s are
generally good pans, but they're just a bit too big. Loaded with material, they're a beast to lift, let alone spend
a day panning with. They're also not likely to fit in your backpack, so best to start with a 14.
For equipment that can treat larger volumes, there is the sluice box. Sluice boxes work by
essentially creating a straight, consistent channel, with regularly spaced slow spots created by riffles. Each
riffle creates an eddy, a backflow of water that allows the gold to settle out. Material is placed at the top of
the box and carried in suspension down the channel. The gold drops out of suspension as the water slows on the
back side of the riffles.
Running a sluice box is a favorite method of prospecting for many. With relatively little
equipment to pack in, a prospector can move a lot of material and develop a good amount of concentrates in a day.
Sluices also have the advantage of being hand fed, non-powered equipment, so no gas to pack, no smoke to inhale and
no noise to spoil a quiet afternoon on the stream, plus the added advantage of far fewer regulations. Powered
equipment is fun too, but nothing beats a sluice box for production in lightweight, hand-fed equipment.
Pack out your trash, fill in your holes and best of luck sluicing for gold!
Our trusted Feature Merchant:
|