How do use a gold pan?

The basic method for cleaning your ore, or the dirt that you've dug up from what you hope to be a gold-producing area, is by panning it. A gold pan is a simple device, basically a 10" or larger bowl. There are many different types on the market, but I prefer the green plastic ones, as the gold really stands out against that particular color. Get a couple of different sizes. Use the larger one for your primary clean-up, then as you start getting down to the black sand, dump it into your smaller pan. When you've run all of your ore through the larger pan, put the big pan in the pond or stream right below where you are panning, weight it with a rock and then work with your smaller pan. That way you won't lose anything if you mess up. I prefer to pan in water that is moving just fast enough to keep itself clear as you pan. You may need to set up a temporary dam to help you with this.

Before you pick up your gear and head out to strick it rich, it would be a really good idea to practice a little first. Lead or steel shot, filings from heavier types of metal, BBs, even cut up lead fishing sinkers all make good substitutes for gold when you are practicing. Just count out a few of whatever you are using and drop them into your pan with a shovelful of dirt. Pan it out and count them. Hopefully the counts will match. If not, keep trying until they do, then do it again and again until you get a good feel for what you are doing. There are even some very helpful instructional videos on the market for panning techniques, but you will inevitably develop your own style. As long as it works, go for it. The most difficult part is the last little bit. You want to look and see if you have gold in there, you are excited, but you are also worried about losing your gold. Take it from me, if your practice sessions went well, you won't lose much gold, and you shouldn't lose any larger pieces. Just remember to keep your catch pan below you just in case.

If you're in the Breckenridge area, you can get some hands-on instruction at a real gold mine. The Country Boy Mine was a real, producing mine years ago, and could be again if the price of gold goes up high enough to make it profitable. I highly recommend paying them a visit before you head off on your own. They not only have a mine tour, but you also get to pan for gold in Eureka creek, and best of all, it's FINDERS-KEEPERS!! Their friendly staff will also give you pointers on panning.

If you're not in the area, or are even more hard-headed than me (which I doubt) and want to just dive right in, I'll try to explain panning a bit. Once you've been doing it a while, though, you'll agree that it's hard to explain how to do it, it's more of a "feel" kind of thing.

Start out with your pan about half full of dirt, or concentrates, and don't forget to put another pan underneath to catch anything you might accidentally drop. People that have been panning for years still use catchpans. Then, put your pan right on down into the water, maybe six inches deep, or so, and shake it as vigorously and quickly as you can without dumping anything. What you're trying to do, is to liquefy the contents of the pan, and allow the gold to settle to the bottom. I prefer a fast, side to side motion, holding the pan with the riffles away from me, and tipping the pan slightly away, as well. Then, increase the angle of the pan away from you, and quickly lift it right up out of the water, allowing the flow to remove the top layer of dirt from your pan. Don't be scared to let alot of material go at this point of the process... if you've shaken the pan well, there's no way the gold's going to go anywhere just yet. If you just let the dirt go a spoonful at a time, as most beginners do, you'll be working on that pan for about an hour, and missing out on the opportunity to find more gold. Plus, if you've got a catchpan under your work area, you're not going to lose anything anyway. If there are any large rocks still left in the pan, go ahead and flick them out, as well.

Then, put your pan back down in the water, and repeat the process until you get down to about a half cup of remaining material. At this point, most of what's left will likely be black sandy material. I usually spread it around in the bottom of the pan, and look for nuggets at this point, then dump it into a cup for more detailed cleanup at home. I've got a huge plastic flower pot that I scrubbed with dishwashing detergent, (remember, oils are your enemy in gold panning) then I glued some plastic plugs over the drain holes. I fill it with warmer water than you'll find in those icy streams... it helps with the patience factor! You're probably going to want to clean it up right away, though.

Now for the hardest part of the whole process... the final cleanup. By now, you'll likely have nothing but black sand (and gold) left in your pan. Don't be disappointed that you don't see bling-bling all over the bottom of your pan, there's probably gold in there, but not enough to see just yet... I prefer to work with the pan just about half full of water, and slowly move the pan in a circular motion so that the water creates a gentle whirlpool effect. This will swirl the top (lighter) layers of sand around most, and the bottom (heavier) layers a bit less. The gold, being the heaviest, won't move unless you're swirling too hard. As you continue to swirl the water, keep your eye on the trailing edge of the sand. If there's gold in your pan, you'll see it there. Here's where a sniffer bottle becomes necessary. Sniff the gold you see right on out of the pan and then dump the rest into a cup for further inspection at your leisure. I've even dumped these remains into my next sluice run, but I suppose that's not the best idea.

Hopefully you get as much enjoyment out of prospecting as I have. Like I said, you're not likely to retire from it, but it is a fun and healthy way for a family to spend a day.