Go Back To The Land With A Gold Pan

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Gold panning is a form of what's known as "placer (rhyme it with passer, not pacer) mining". Every winter, rains wash small pieces of gold down the sides of hills and into creeks and rivers. Such flakes of the precious mineral-which is nearly 20 times heavier than an equal volume of water, seven times heavier than sand, and four times heavier than most other metals-bump along the river bottom until they sink in a slowing current or get lodged against some obstruction in placer deposits: bits of metal mingled with grit and gravel.

Consequently . . . the inside curve of a river or stream, crevices, tree roots, and rough bedrock can snare substantial amounts of the heavy ore. (A big boulder in the middle of a gravel bar can yield particularly rich finds.)

"Mossing" is another easy way to pan a lot of "color". When mossy rocks are covered by high winter waters, they'll often trap nearly all the gold that passes over them. (The thicker and older the growth, the more precious metal it might be hiding! ) Dry stream beds can be loaded with gold flakes, too.

PAN HANDLING

After you've located a promising spot, dig up a couple of handfuls of sand and gravel and put them in your pan. (If you're working a crevice, be sure to scrape out all the little nooks and crannies.) Then cover the accumulated grit with water and remove all the bigger rocks and pebbles, making sure that no dirt (and possibly gold) sticks to them.

If you're "mossing", carefully cut or scrape the plants off a rock until you have enough to cover the bottom of your pan. (Remember that moss has a role to play in the balance of nature . .. so always leave a few patches to allow the greenery to grow back.) Crunch up the growth to separate it from the dirt . . . add water . . . and continue to mash the moss until there's nothing clinging to it.

Now ... You're ready to pan. First, hold the shallow receptacle in one hand, be sure it contains enough water to put all the ingredients in a state of liquid suspension, and tilt it away from you at about a 30-degree angle. Then, move the pan rapidly back and forth with a slightly oval motion. (If you're using a plastic container, make your movement more like a seesaw.) Keep the action vigorous . . . but be careful not to spill any sand. About 30 seconds of this agitation will sift all the gold and heavier materials to the bottom of your pan.

Next, find a calm stretch of water . . . and submerge the container's sand-laden end. Then draw the pan out slowly . . . allowing the water to carry the lighter sand, sticks, moss, etc. over its edge. You can usually do this about three times before you have to shake down the gold again. (It may take a few tries to get the hang of this panning technique.)

Continue to remove any of the bigger pieces of rock, while you keep an eye out for nuggets. Work the contents of your pan down until you have mostly gold and black sand left. (This black sand, which often accompanies placer gold, is a type of iron compound, usually magnetite. A red sand-actually ground-up garnets-is also found in some gold-producing streams.) Swish the sand back and forth to see how much color you have. It's been said that seven flakes of gold in one pan is the mark of a good spot . . . and don't let the minute size of those flakes get you down. They'll add up fast . . . ten troy ounces of gold take up only one cubic inch of space!

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