Getting your gold out of the black sand you bring home is one of the more difficult chores you will have.  If you have more than a coffee can full, I would suggest using a tool that will reduce or concentrate that amount down to a cup full or less. That amount will make panning the gold out a lot faster.

There is no secret to working with super concentrate. It is like panning any other material. The key is the amount of material you put into the pan. To be able to remove the dust from the black sand you have be able to get the material spread out flat in the bottom of the pan. Whether you use a full size or finish pan, make sure it has a wide bottom. Only put a spoonful of material in the pan.

1. Shake the pan side to side, under water, and tilted so the material will settle into the crease in the side of the pan.  Tap the edge of the pan sharply to aid in getting the gold to stay in the crease.

2. Take the pan out of the water. Leave a ½” of water in the pan.

3. Tilt the pan slightly so the edge away from you is higher than the edge next to you and shake lightly from side, fanning the material out and toward the back of the pan. This will flatten out the small pile of material in the crease.

4.  Rock the pan forward and back to make the water move from the back of the pan to the front. This will carry the black sand from the front towards you. Do this slowly so only the black sand moves. If the gold starts to come down with the black sand stop this movement and, holding the pan at 9 o’clock or 3 o’clock, start tapping the top of the pan at 12 o’clock with the other hand. With a small pan, use your finger tips or the bony part of your thumb to tap with. With a larger pan use the bottom of your fingers or fist. This will walk the gold back to the crease of the pan. Keep doing these two motions until all of the black sand is off of the gold. Now you can suck the gold up to put into your vial.

This will take some practice and as you get the hang of it you can try these two motions together, rocking and tapping at the same time.

Other hints- The movement of the water should look like it is coming up each side and returning down the middle of the pan.   The water should be moving slightly faster forward toward the gold, helping to throw it back up into the crease, and slightly slower down the black sand.  Adjust the amount of water in the pan until it looks like this. Always have a small amount of liquid soap or jet dry in the water to keep the dust from floating.  Watch the amount so that you do not have bubbles that can float the gold.

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