Why Learn To Use A Gold Pan

A gold pan is the FIRST piece of equipment you will need to find gold, and the LAST one you will use to finish cleaning your gold, that is still the most portable, cheapest, and efficient gold finding machine out there. Learning to use a gold pan isn't hard, but it takes a little practice. Just like learning anything new, you aren't going to pick one up and automatically know how to use it. However, it doesn't take a long time to learn its' ins and outs, either. Even separating gold from black sand isn't all that complicated as long as you remember that speed and angle are everything in gold recovery, no matter what the piece of equipment is that you are using.

All gold recovery equipment that is based on water is patterned after the gold pan. Each piece of equipment developed over the centuries is merely an attempt to take the principles of the gold pan and make a larger version that will move more material as efficiently as the gold pan will. However, without the gold pan, the deposits would not have been found. Prospecting with a gold pan will tell you quite accurately where a deposit should be, and simply following the float up hill will point out the deposit on a mountain side.

Even in the desert, a gold pan can find gold for you. Dry panning for desert nuggets has been used for centuries as well, and the dry washer is patterned after the gold pan's use in desert conditions, although without quite so much dust being kicked up. HEEHEE. However, panning for nuggets in the desert can be faster than using a pan in the water, if you know the techniques. The principle of dry panning is the same as wet, to get the gold to the bottom of the pan. But without the aid of specific gravity to help you, the technique needs to be finessed a bit. You will need to put less material in the pan, shake it down, and then spin the sand off before you can turn the pan around and blow the rest of the sand off the nuggets. Simple, right?

I know many prospectors who have buckets of concentrate in their garages and can't get the gold out simply because they won't learn to use a gold pan, Other types of separation equipment can be expensive, time consuming, and not always as effective. Invest in a good gold pan with a wider bottom that isn't crowned (that means flat), and learn to use it. You'll be able to put clean gold into a vial anytime you find gold in a stream or river, and amaze everyone around you. It's also helpful to see the volume of gold you are getting to tell if you should move to another spot or not, thereby increasing the amount of gold you find. After all, your objective is to find more gold.

Get your tips on panning on our gold panning tips and learn how to use that gold pan now.

Finding Gold In the Desert

So, up don't want to learn how to pan, eh? Well, take a look at what one Arizona prospector has managed to find with just a Super Sluice, classifier, and a long screwdriver. Makes you stop and think.

I don't know about you, but I don't think I would mind having a stash like this. Using a pan is one of the only options in this area, as motorized equipment is prohibited, and knowing how to use a pan can be as fast as a sluice....maybe faster. Water is at a scarcity most of the year and having enough water to run a sluice can be a problem. With just a gold pan, a classifier and a long screwdriver to carry around, you can go just about anywhere. Check out which pan to use on the Which Gold Pan page. You'll find a review on most types of pans that are around. We review several each year, so check back and see what we have to say about them.

World's Dry Panning Competition at the Colorado State Gold Panning Championships

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