Gold Pans

The first, most basic and most essential tool for everybody that is just starting out in prospecting consists of a gold pan. A gold pan is not only used for concentrating placer gold and gold nuggets but it is also excellent for recovering a lot of other kinds of minerals and gems. A gold pan is a wonderful testing device when working at placer deposits and it is indispensable in almost all kinds of lode prospecting. A gold pan has the aspect of a dishpan that has been flattened out. The sides of a dishpan slope up at an interesting angle but the reason for this is to allow the gravel that is not wanted and water to slurp over the edge. This allows it to stay clean so that it is easier to see and so that the gold does not get covered in flecks of rust. Gold flakes are teensy in size and often very difficult to see; a good magnifying glass will help point them out though. Even though the pan is such an old thing, it is still a basic element in prospecting both for people that are just taking up this hobby or as a profession, as well as for the experienced professionals. In the past during the gold rush people would use all kinds of things as gold pans. The first gold pans to have been used in the gold fields consisted of a pan that the Mexicans called “batea”. The Batea was wood carved and it was around sixteen inches wide, around eight inches deep and was quite heavy. The modern pans we now have are mainly made out of plastic, steel or copper. The most popular are the plastic ones though given the fact that they are lightweight and they have riffles in them which helps to trap the gold. People that are just getting into prospecting it would probably be wise to use the plastic pan due to several things: Plastic pans are molded with a set of riffles in the pan. The ridges on the pan help to keep someone new at the job from losing the gold by trapping the gold. A lot of the plastic pans are made in black because the color contrast will allow you to see the gold better and it makes it easier to separate it from the concentrates.