Choosing a Gold Pan

Although there are different types of pans available, some more exotic than others, there are in general three sizes in which they come in. The first one is the smaller one that is around six to eight inches wide, then you have the medium sized pan that is around twelve to fourteen inches wide and a lot of beginners say this is the easiest one to use, and finally you have the large or professional size pan that is sixteen to eighteen inches wide. It is not recommended to try to use the big one to start off with because you will notice how it collects a lot of material which will not be easy to pan, besides this, it’s plain downright heavy. 

The explanations that are given in writing about gold panning seem a lot more complicated then it actually is. The best way to learn is to just sit and watch how an experienced gold panner does his or her work. In some cases this is not always possible though so we suggest you try it out by doing it in your back yard to start off with along with some water, sand and small teensy pebbles. Also if you live in a place that does not have any placer gold and you have a stream available we suggest you practice there, as it will help you get started with the basics at least. Almost all the streams in the west have sand in them and almost all of them have some black sand that is a form of iron that weighs more than the normal stream sand. In learning how to concentrate the black sand you will be able to get an idea of the principles of how to concentrate gold. The funny thing is that when you actually do start concentrating real gold, the black sand will then turn into a bit of a nuisance.

If you live in an area where there are not any streams with black sand, or if you do not have any streams in your area at all, there is another way you can learn to pan gold. You can mix little pieces of lead into normal sand. This is suggested because lead is heavier than the sand and is not difficult to concentrate in a gold pan.

The main secret of recovering gold in a gold pan is a physical fact that is well known of. Remember that gold is heavier than the sand. Gold has a specific gravity of 15 to 19.3 in comparison to the normal gravity of sand, which is of two or three; therefore there is a big difference. Black sand is a bit heavier than common sand though and averages around five to seven, however it is still lighter then the specific gravity of lead which is eleven and is definitely lighter than the gravity of gold.