Panning With The Right Tools

brought to you by:

     Unlike many activities that require a sizable investment, gold panning is inexpensive.  Most of the tools needed are commonly found around the home. The usual equipment needed is: 

     1.  Small bottle. For storing the your gold.  Almost any small bottle will do so long as it can close tightly and is water tight.  A good example of this is a baby food container however, be careful not to drop it!  35 mm film containers work well and don't break.  Glass gold vials are available at prospecting stores and come in a variety of sizes from 2 DWT (pennyweight) to several ounces.  They work well for estimating how much gold you have accumulated and for showing off your gold.

     2.  Crevice Tools:  Paint brushes, slotted screwdriver, tablespoon, garden trowel and/or commercial crevice tools.  These tools help clean out the crevasses to get out all of the material contained within.  Remember, the gold is very dense so it will settle to the bottom of the space. 

     3.  Garden shovel 

     4.  Utility bucket.  A 5-Gallon bucket is handy for carrying and organizing your collection of tools.  It also can be used to transport the materials to be panned.  These are very inexpensive or even free. 

     5.  Magnet.  May be used to remove magnetic black sand in a plastic pan. 

     6.  Optional items include a classifier, sniffer bottle, and ice pick.  Sniffer bottles (also called snuffer bottles or sucker bottles) are very handy for removing the gold from your pan. They may usually be purchased wherever gold pans are sold. 

     7.  Gold pan

          Gold pans are available in some commercial locations or through mail order. The pans themselves come in at least two materials, black plastic and unpainted steel. Several pan diameters are also available.  These pans are designed for the specific purpose of panning and it is highly recommended that they be purchased.  The strength of the prospector should be the determining factor as to which diameter to choose.  The larger the pan, the more material can be searched but it will be heavier. This disadvantage in weight is an advantage in the chance of success.  The larger the amount of material searched, the greater the chance of success.  

          As to the pan material itself, each has their pros and cons.  Steel is most often associated with the old time prospector.  The prospector also could heat up food and water in his pan.  If panning and heating water and food seems to make sense to you, then steel could be the better choice.  Since many streams contain mercury either naturally or from previous mining operations, using a gold pan for cooking can be very dangerous.  Both pan materials have their advantages and disadvantages and with a little thought the prospector will choose the style which best suits his needs.  Steel pans will sink while plastic pans usually float.  If a steel pan is dropped in deep water, it will quickly sink to the bottom but it will stay put in shallow water and will not float away.  If a plastic pan is dropped in fast water, it must be retrieved immediately or it may have to be chased for some distance.  Steel pans must be protected from corrosion or they will rust although some prospectors believe a thin layer of rust creates a rougher surface, which helps retain fine gold. 

          The best way to prevent rust is to allow the pan to dry out when not in use.  Leaving damp concentrates in a steel pan will cause it to rust rapidly.  New pans usually have a thin coating of oil to prevent corrosion.  This oil can cause the loss of fine gold by adhering to the small particles making them float out of the pan.  The oil can be removed by heating the pan at least until it turns blue and stops smoking.  Paint thinner or other solvent may also be used.  Steel pans may also be used to heat up concentrates to dry them.  The plastic pans are generally black, green or blue in color. Small gold flakes and black sand are more easily identified against the contrasting colored background. They do not corrode and are generally less expensive than the steel pans. 

          Pans come in two basic shapes: the regular flat bottom and the drop center bottom.  The drop center bottom retains the heavy material at the bottom and helps prevent it from moving up the side of the pan but it will make it more difficult to remove this material and pan down to just gold.  The drop center pan is probably the best choice for beginners.  Various types of gold traps called riffles are often molded into the side of plastic pans.  These traps usually cover about one third of the side to help keep the heavier material in the pan.  They can look like stair steps or ridges.  The stair step type will allow faster panning initially but at some point they will get in the way and the smooth side of the pan will have to be used to finish up.  There will be less material left in the pan with the ridge type of riffle when this point is reached. 

          All the different varieties of gold pans have their advocates and those who find fault.  It probably all comes down to which pan one starts with.  Since they don't cost very much, it may be best to purchase two or three types and determine which pan is best for you.  The extras may be used by family members and friends or as a "safety pan."  A safety pan is placed under the pan being used especially when panning concentrates to catch any gold that may inadvertently slide over the lip of the pan.  It may also be used to check panning technique by re-panning the safety pan. 

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Basics First:  How to Pan for Gold               Next Page

Skip to Page 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10

Back to - How & Where to Find Treasure               Treasurefish HOME