Gold panning, or simply ''panning'', is a form of

placer mining Placer mining () is the mining of stream bed (Alluvium, alluvial) deposits for minerals. This may be done by open-pit mining, open-pit (also called open-cast mining) or by various surface excavating equipment or tunneling equipment. Placer minin ...

and

traditional mining Traditional mining, also known as old-school mining, is a mining method involving the use of simple manual tools, such as shovels, pickaxes, hammers, chisels and pans. It is done in both surface and underground environments. Until the early 1900s, ...

that extracts

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...

from a

placer deposit In geology, a placer deposit or placer is an accumulation of valuable minerals formed by gravity separation from a specific source rock during sedimentary processes. The name is from the Spanish word ''placer'', meaning "alluvial sand". Placer mi ...

using a pan. The process is one of the simplest ways to extract gold, and is popular with geology enthusiasts especially because of its low cost and relative simplicity. The first recorded instances of placer mining are from

ancient Rome In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–509 B ...

, where gold and other precious metals were extracted from streams and mountainsides using

sluices Sluice ( ) is a word for a channel controlled at its head by a movable gate which is called a sluice gate. A sluice gate is traditionally a wood or metal barrier sliding in grooves that are set in the sides of the waterway and can be considered ...

and panning. However, the productivity rate is comparatively smaller compared to other methods such as the

rocker box A rocker box (also known as a cradle) is a gold mining implement for separating alluvial placer gold from sand and gravel which was used in placer mining in the 19th century. It consists of a high-sided box, which is open on one end and on top ...

or large extractors, such as those used at the

Super Pit gold mine The Fimiston Open Pit, colloquially known as the Super Pit, was Australia's largest open cut gold mine until 2016 when it was surpassed by the Newmont Boddington gold mine also in Western Australia. The Super Pit is located off the Goldfields ...

, in

Kalgoorlie, Western Australia Kalgoorlie is a city in the Goldfields–Esperance region of Western Australia, located east-northeast of Perth at the end of the Great Eastern Highway. It is sometimes referred to as Kalgoorlie–Boulder, as the surrounding urban area include ...

, which has led to panning being largely replaced in the commercial market.

Process

Gold panning is a simple process. Once a suitable placer deposit is located, some alluvial deposits are scooped into a pan, where they are then wetted and loosed from attached soils by soaking, fingering, and aggressive agitation in water. This is called stratification; which helps dense materials, like gold, sink to the bottom of the pan. Materials with low

specific gravity Relative density, or specific gravity, is the ratio of the density (mass of a unit volume) of a substance to the density of a given reference material. Specific gravity for liquids is nearly always measured with respect to water at its densest ...

will rise upward, allowing these to be washed out of the pan, whereas materials with higher specific gravity, sinking to the bottom of the sediment during stratification, will remain in the pan allowing examination and collection by the prospector. These dense materials usually consist of

black sand Black sand is sand that is black in color. One type of black sand is a heavy, glossy, partly magnetic mixture of usually fine sands containing minerals such as magnetite, found as part of a placer deposit. Another type of black sand, found on ...

with whatever stones or dense metal particles that may be found in the deposit that is used for source material. Because of the stratification process, gold panning is used in the

assaying An assay is an investigative (analytic) procedure in laboratory medicine, mining, pharmacology, environmental biology and molecular biology for qualitatively assessing or quantitatively measuring the presence, amount, or functional activity of a ...

process in which portions of paydirt (processed mining material) is analyzed for the amount of gold contained (parts per ton). Assaying is an important aspect of mining, especially for large commercial mining operations. Although gold panning is considered by many an outdoor

hobby A hobby is considered to be a regular activity that is done for enjoyment, typically during one's leisure time. Hobbies include collecting themed items and objects, engaging in creative and artistic pursuits, playing sports, or pursuing oth ...

, it is still a source of income for many who live in parts of Alaska. While an effective method with certain kinds of deposits, and essential for prospecting, even skilled panners can only work a limited amount of material, significantly less than the other methods which have replaced it in larger operation. Pans remain in use in places where there is limited capital or infrastructure, as well as in

recreational gold mining Recreational gold mining and prospecting has become a popular outdoor recreation in a number of countries, including New Zealand (especially in Otago), Australia, South Africa, Wales (at Dolaucothi and in Gwynedd), in Canada and in the United S ...

. In many situations, gold panning usually turns up only minor gold dust that is usually collected as a souvenir in small clear tubes by hobbyists. Nuggets and considerable amounts of dust are occasionally found, but panning mining is not generally lucrative. Panning for gold can be used to locate the parent gold

veins Veins are blood vessels in humans and most other animals that carry blood towards the heart. Most veins carry deoxygenated blood from the tissues back to the heart; exceptions are the pulmonary and umbilical veins, both of which carry oxygenated b ...

which are the source of most placer deposits.

Pans

Panning Gold in the Early Colonial Period, 1535

Gold pans of various designs have been developed over the years, the common features being a means for trapping the heavy materials during agitation, or for easily removing them at the end of the process. Some are intended for use with mercury, include screens, sharp corners for breaking ice, are non-round, or are even designed for use "with or without water".

Edward Otho Cresap Ord, II Edward Otho Cresap Ord, II (November 9, 1858 – April 4, 1923) was a United States Army Major who served with the 22nd Infantry Regiment during the Indian Wars, the Spanish–American War and the Philippine–American War. He helped direct ...

, a former Army officer and co-owner of several mines, patented several pan designs including designs for use with mercury or dry.Note: Call number 90A469 in four series. Series 1 deal with correspondence 1940 to 1963. SERIES: 5. E.O.C. Ord II: Patents and Printed Materials. Pans are measured by their diameter in inches or centimeters. Common sizes of gold pans today range between , with being the most used size. The sides are generally angled between 30° to 45°. Pans are manufactured in both metal and high-impact plastic. Russia iron or heavy gauge steel pans are traditional. Steel pans are heavier and stronger than plastic pans. Some are made of lightweight alloys for structural stability. Plastic gold pans resist rust, acid and corrosion, and most are designed with moulded riffles along one side of the pan. Of the plastic gold pans, green and red ones are usually preferred among prospectors, as both the gold and the black sand stands out in the bottom of the pan, although many also opt for black pans instead to easily identify gold deposits. The ''batea'', Spanish for "gold pan", is a particular variant of gold pan. Traditionally made of a solid piece of wood, it may also be made of metal. Bateas are used in areas where there is less water available for use than with traditional gold pans, such as Mexico and South America, where it was introduced by the Spanish. Bateas are larger than other gold pans, being closer to half a meter (20 inches) in diameter.

Yuri-ita

The yuri-ita (揺り板), Japanese for "rocking plate" is a traditional wooden gold pan used in Japan. Unlike other gold pans, it is rectangular in shape with a concave cross section and is sealed off at one end with the other end open. As the Japanese name implies, the gold is panned with a rocking motion.

References

{{Extractive metallurgy Panning Traditional mining Gold prospecting