How to pan for Gold

Next step will be to hold the pan under the water and to move the whole pan in a circular motion at the same time. This needs to be done in a firm and strong way but you will need to be careful to not let any of the contents fall or slip out into the water, not at first at least. You will notice that at the beginning only the water on the top of the material will start to swirl, however as you continue you will notice that the contents in the whole pan will start to swirl as well. When this happens, the gold has the chance of settling down to the bottom of the pan.

After you see that the material inside the gold pan is completely loosened; this may be after around six or ten vigorous motions, place the pan down and go over the second step again by getting rid of the bigger rocks and other objects, and make sure to wash the objects before you get rid of them. This can be done very quickly if you allow the smaller rocks to sit through your fingers back in the pan. Continue swirling.

Once all this has been done you will able to start spilling some of the water out. Do this very slowly and only spill out a little bit of water at a time over the downward rim of the pan. Spill it out with the riffles of the pan downward on the opposite side of the pan from your body, as this will allow all the lighter material to pass over the riffles. Keep on doing the swirling motion under the water while at the same time carefully allowing the clean and smaller rocks and sand to spill out over the lower edge of the gold pan.

You can also move the pan from side to side or combine both the swirling and side to side motions. There is not a specific way this needs to be done or a right way. Every panner has their own way of doing this and once you get the hang of it and feel comfortable and confident with how you are doing it you will notice that it is not difficult. What you do need to remember is that the most vital movement you will need to give the pan is to tilt the pan forward edge every once in a while back up towards you. Doing this will allow the material to go back to the center or bottom of the pan and it will also help to gather the concentrates and keep them buried under the loose overburden and protected form being discarded.

As we mentioned before, gravity will definitely be there to assist you so let it do its work. As you go spilling out the unwanted contents, the pan will become lighter and it will get easier to do. Remember that no matter how you decide to master this technique, to allow gravity to do its work. Do not raise the edge of the pan above the water until all of the contents have water in them.

Some people do panning very quickly while they are spilling out packed damp sand and this is certainly not the way to do the job. The materials have to be completely covered in water otherwise the gold cannot settle down, no matter what type of fancy moves you try to do; water plays a major role and not having it there will just cause the gold to slide off along with sand that is discarded.

Ok, so once you have gotten this far, your pan should be around one fourth or half full. You will need to continue doing the circular and side to side motions while watching the contents at all times. When you start to see black sand on the top material, it is time to regroup and settle the contents again. To do this you will need to tilt the forward rim on the pan, upward and take the material back toward the centre of the pan while shaking it at the same time. Obviously all the material still needs to have water in it. Tilt the pan forward once again while you are shaking it and keep on spilling off the top layer of the lighter sand and gravel that is on the top. Remember that the lighter material will float upwards while the heavier material will settle down to the bottom of the pan. Just make sure you keep a constant eye on the material that you are spilling out of the pan. Once you start to see black sand appearing make sure to very quickly place the contents of the pan back to the middle and repeat the shaking and spilling motions again.

Don’t allow yourself to be rushed. Yes, this does take some time and it’s best you learn that this is better. Slow is safer. Remember also that after you have mastered this that you will be able to do the job a little quicker because you will be more confident about how the material looks etc. remember also that going slowly will ensure the gold stays in your pan and this alone should be motivation enough for you not to speed. You are not in a race with anyone.

Gravity is able to trap the gold in front of a sharp ninety degree riffle but the gold needs to come into contact with it before this happens. If this does not occur in some cases the gold will keep on floating on the top with the rest of the gravel and debris in the same way it would on the bottom of the stream bed.

This will allow you to see how the idea of the gold “settling” inside your gold pan is the same that allows the forces of gravity to help trap the gold in small little cracks and crevices in streams. It is not common to find gold trapped in bedrock that is smooth and the same applies when it comes to gold pans that do not have any riffles. There are people that do know how to use these types of pans but they are more recommended for the highly experienced prospectors.

As you continue doing this whole process over and over you will soon realize that you will work quicker than before and eventually you will be able to cut the time down to where you don’t feel like a turtle in this part of the panning. The gold will settle down very quickly if it is given the time and opportunity to do so, so be patient.

By this stage you should have around two or three cups of gravel and mixed concentrates left in your pan. Keep in mind that during the last step you will need to have kept the pan underwater or at least part of it that contained the material.