A few panning questions from a rookie...

[Cranman]

So I read a good book on the history of gold mining in the US and it compelled me to order a pan and book from Amazon and try my luck in the local creeks. Turns out I am lucky to live in a area where there is a chance of finding gold in the right places, central NC.

So here's a few questions. My book from Amazon for beginner prospecting won't be here until next week, so bear with me...

First, if I have a BB in my pan while I'm panning, and I gradually swish out the lighter material, and never loose the BB and the heavier material at the bottom, is it safe to assume I am not losing any gold that may be in the pan? I figure any gold will be as heavy or heavier than the BB, so if I keep the BB I'm most likely not losing any gold.

Secondly, I'm having trouble with the last maybe teaspoon in my pan, I know it's not all gold, but there *may* be some fine gold in it, and I'm afraid to swish it down to the very last bit. What do I do with this last bit to seperate sand from very fine gold, assuming there is some in there?

Lastly, the light wasn't great where I was panning and it was about 4pm, I was having a hard time checking what was in my pan. How does one pan in marginal light? What if it was overcast? We seem to have alot of lighter sand, I'm not sure I would be able to see fine gold mixed in with it.

Also, I think I found a flake of gold . It's tiny, bit sure looks gold and shines like gold. Is there any way to tell if a tiny flake is gold?

Thanks for any advice! Tomorrow I head to a spot that's supossedly downstream from a old gold mine, I'm excited to see what I find.

 

Amazon Forum Fav 👍

A History of Mining on the Kenai Peninsula, Alaska - Grab it through Amazon!

[63bkpkr]

Cranman,
With the proper technique you can remove all the lighter materials and leave all the heavier materials in your pan.

There are several minerals that can be confused with gold, most will break when pushed on with a finger nail or some other object while gold will bend. Gold is very malleable! It can be bent, squeezed, pressed and will still allow itself to be worked on even more without breaking.

In Google search or any search engine, enter Panning for Gold or some form of that entry and then read what comes up. There should also be some videos about gold panning so watch them and you will learn more about panning technique and how to clear your pan of lighter materials while leaving the heavier ones.

Good Luck, 63bkpkr

 

[homefires]

Once you know what Gold looks like you will never mistake anything else for it.

Save that last little bit in you pan in a container and mess with it at home.

Even with the BB in the pan it's possible to loose or wash out the real fine gold.

Just take your time until you get it figured out.


The Tap Method works on clearing gold out of the Black sand most of the time.

Never, Never chuck out the black sands when your done.

You will be messing with it again later.

 

[tmodel]

if you know anyone that reloades his own shot gun shells. go visit him and talk him out of some of his shot i mean smaller than a BB, when you get to where you can keep all of the smallest size you will be where i am trying to get. the old lead shot would probably be better. backwash and tap is as good as videoshowes just practise a lot. Terry

 

[Cranman]

Thanks for the advice, the video was perfect also.

 

[B H Prospector]

Hi there Cranman,
Go to U-Tube and in the search type in gold panning made easy 40 + years experience. You should get a video of an old proapector showing how to pan. It is probably the best method for beginners and old timers alike. I know of several old prospectors that use this method, myself included. The video is also pretty entertaining.

B H Prospector

 

[Goodyguy]

Secondly, I'm having trouble with the last maybe teaspoon in my pan, I know it's not all gold, but there *may* be some fine gold in it, and I'm afraid to swish it down to the very last bit. What do I do with this last bit to seperate sand from very fine gold, assuming there is some in there?

Lastly, the light wasn't great where I was panning and it was about 4pm, I was having a hard time checking what was in my pan. How does one pan in marginal light? What if it was overcast? We seem to have alot of lighter sand, I'm not sure I would be able to see fine gold mixed in with it.

Even some of the pro's will pan into a safety pan to keep from losing any gold that gets sloshed out of the pan when down to the heavies, especially when panning fast to save on time.


You are going to need a snuffer bottle to suck up all the visible gold off the bottom of the pan. The rest of the black sand and heavies mixed with gold specks can be dumped into a bucket to be separated when you get home where you have good light. You are also going to need some small vials to keep your gold in.

There is only so much daylight so I try to spend as much time as possible just collecting concentrates. Sure you want to test to see if your pan has gold in it occasionally to make sure you're in a pay streak but your time in the field is precious so don't spend it all doing the time consuming stuff that you can do at home at night or rainy days and wintertime.


GG~

 

[TheNewCatfish]

It is absolutely essential that you hook up with an "expert" panner and see for yourself the result of using the "Tap Method" correctly. With a very slight drumming of the fingers on the outside rim of the pan (holding the pan at the perfect angle), with exactly the right amount of water, you will see the fine powder gold vibrate "walk" right up out of the black sand and crawl up the inside rim of your pan. The first time i saw the technique properly applied, my mouth fell open and i almost cried thinking about all the gold i tossed away my first year.

Here's another tip. Most prospectors think magnets are the best way to seperate gold from black sand. Not true. Magnetic force is too strong. Even a weak magnet will pull the black sand toward it with enough force to trap the gold against the magnet. The result is, you arn't seperating anything and wasting lots of time. Instead, think about gravity. Use a wet vac with a flexible clear plastic hose about the size of your finger taped to it. Make loops in the hose (about five or six) and stick the end in a bucket of water and concentrate. When you get the speed right, the black sand makes it over the top of the loops and the gold slides back and collects at the bottom. THIS WORKS. AND IT'S INEXPENSIVE. AND IT'S EASY.

 

[TheNewCatfish]

Back in the Ole Days, prospectors would wait for a strong wind (You don't have to wait long in New Mexico), and spread their concentrate out on a wool blanket. Two guys would then simultaneously flip the blanket into the air. The black sand would blow away and the gold (being heavier) would fall back onto the blanket. Of course you don't need to wait for wind if you already have a shop fan.

 

[Goodyguy]

Back in the Ole Days, prospectors would wait for a strong wind (You don't have to wait long in New Mexico), and spread their concentrate out on a wool blanket. Two guys would then simultaneously flip the blanket into the air. The black sand would blow away and the gold (being heavier) would fall back onto the blanket. Of course you don't need to wait for wind if you already have a shop fan.

Back in those days if the flour gold blew away with the black sand they didn't care. They were after the heavies

 

[TheNewCatfish]

I would think with an "adjustable" powered fan you would be able to lower or raise the wind velosity so ONLY the black sand was removed. The ole timers also used to heat their black sand in an iron skillet over a campfire and dowse the red hot skillet with cold creek water. The idea was to fracture any black sand that was silica non-magnetite based and release any gold trapped there. And i'm pretty sure they weren't using either of these methods looking for nuggets.

It's not surprising contemporary prospectors would dismiss methods used over 100 years ago without even trying them. In the 60's modern engineers had to reinvent ways to waterproof concrete and poor it underwater, even though the Romans achieved the same technology over 1,500 years earlier.

 

[Goodyguy]

I would think with an "adjustable" powered fan you would be able to lower or raise the wind velosity so ONLY the black sand was removed. The ole timers also used to heat their black sand in an iron skillet over a campfire and dowse the red hot skillet with cold creek water. The idea was to fracture any black sand that was silica non-magnetite based and release any gold trapped there. And i'm pretty sure they weren't using either of these methods looking for nuggets.

It's not surprising contemporary prospectors would dismiss methods used over 100 years ago without even trying them. In the 60's modern engineers had to reinvent ways to waterproof concrete and poor it underwater, even though the Romans achieved the same technology over 1,500 years earlier.

Using a wool blanket would also create a static that would help trap the fines to be sure, however nowadays with the invention of modern recovery methods the "winnowing" method is crude at best, because you would still have to extract the fine trapped gold and other heavies out of the blanket fibers. Of course in lieu of modern equipment the blanket and wind would definitely be better than nothing

GG~

 

[Keppy]

Did he the one in the video panning put jet dry in his pan before he started to pan ? How about the hex pan any good................

 

[Hoser John]

#1 rule of panning is like all other forms of mining-CLASSIFY to prosper or lose way too much gold due to larger rocks. Yes gold is heavy BUT you lose your specific gravity edge with sizing and adios your gold. I pan only 1/4" minus and pan larger seperately or chuck it in a sluice because a 1/4" nugget ain't going nowhere once your seasoned. tons a au 2 u 2-John

 

[Goodyguy]

#1 rule of panning is like all other forms of mining-CLASSIFY to prosper or lose way too much gold due to larger rocks. Yes gold is heavy BUT you lose your specific gravity edge with sizing and adios your gold. I pan only 1/4" minus and pan larger seperately or chuck it in a sluice because a 1/4" nugget ain't going nowhere once your seasoned. tons a au 2 u 2-John

Good advice John

 

[TerryC]

Did he the one in the video panning put jet dry in his pan before he started to pan ? How about the hex pan any good................

Jet dry in a pan is really not needed. What IS important ,though, is AGITATE. Keep the contents MOVING. I do that for about a minute then push pretty much half the pan out. Don't spend too much time lookin' for the big'un in one place. Move around and sample. TTC

 

[Keppy]

Did he the one in the video panning put jet dry in his pan before he started to pan ? How about the hex pan any good................

Jet dry in a pan is really not needed. What IS important ,though, is AGITATE. Keep the contents MOVING. I do that for about a minute then push pretty much half the pan out. Don't spend too much time lookin' for the big'un in one place. Move around and sample. TTC

Terry .. i am so new at this gold prospecting that any info i get is appreciated .....

 

[TerryC]

Some good authors to seek out are Jim Straight ( he posts here on occasion), Chris Ralph, Jim Klein, Roy Lagal, Garrett.... etc. You can easily go broke collecting their books... like I am! TTC

 

[Keppy]

Yes i go a few of those books an they are not cheap......