Anyone here pan for gold?

[David LaPell]

My son and I were looking for a fun activity to do this summer and something I always wanted to try was panning for gold. I don't have any plan to get rich, in fact here in New York, technically, we're not allowed to keep it and have to turn it over to the state (a law that dates back to the British rule when everything had to be given to the crown) but I know some who have found gold here in the past. I bought a good wet panning kit with different size pans, classifier etc. but has anyone here actually panned for gold before and what are some good tips for beginners. It's mostly something for the kid to do and to have fun trying. Sure beats being inside. We have a lot of cold streams up here to try out.

 

[Marshwheeling]

Never tried, but I own a square inch of land up in the Yukon where I can go try it anytime I want.

 

[NYlakesider]

We panned when we were in Alaska back in summer 04. I got a little color but the wife found a small nugget She traded off the nugget and my couple flakes for a nice necklace at the "mines office".(AKA gift shop)

Just pure luck we were just playing tourist and hit a good spot. I found it kind of back breaking to be truthful!

 

[labworm]

Never tried, but I own a square inch of land up in the Yukon where I can go try it anytime I want.

Could this be one of your relatives?

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WCOzqP9Dt9E[/ame]

 

[sheepdawg]

in fact here in New York, technically, we're not allowed to keep it and have to turn it over to the state

New York. No comment, I have enough dings.

 

[THE PILGRIM]

Ok.
I'll take gold panning in NY off my bucket list.
I have panned a little up in CO.
If I tell you how I did, you'll probably report me to the IRS.

 

[dave1918a2]

You have to be careful panning here in Colorado. You could be panning an innocent looking stream and actually be on some ones claim and end up innocently shot.

 

[deadin]

If you really get into it I have a membership in the GPAA/Lost Dutchman Mining Association that I could be talked out of....

 

[GKC]

I've never panned for gold, but I did get to dive for pearls a few times when I was in Navy boot camp.

 

[keith44spl]

Pan'd a litl in Colorado.......Didn't strike it rich.


.

 

[Absalom]

I'm still one-eigth of the owner of a gold claim in the mountains of Eastern Oregon. A friend still does the annual work to keep the claim current, although I have not been out there in probably a decade or more.

It's placer mining, so we panned. My friend had a small floatable dredge that sucks the sediment into buckets, so you didn't have to stand in the ice cold mountain stream while panning through the stuff, which gets old very quickly.

However you do it, make sure you have a nice spot to camp, everybody that comes along enjoys the outdoors, and there is other stuff to do, like hikes and such, especially if you take kids. Be mentally prepared to dump lots of unproductive pans before you see some color.

It takes zen-like patience to keep at it for any length of time

 

[arjay]

Bought a pan on impulse at a local hardware store.Took the kids a few times and we found some color
Hard way to make a living!

 

[rockquarry]

I actually panned gold pretty regularly below an old gold mine in the Sangre de Cristo mountains of northeastern New Mexico. That was more than fifty years ago. You could find gold every time, but the amount was incredibly small. Never kept any and couldn't imagine trying to make a living at it. Enjoyable pasttime for about fifteen or twenty minutes.

 

[Rpg]

Takes enormous patience and a great deal of time to produce enough to see with the naked eye.

Find someone who knows how and enjoys it to take you along and show you.

Panning isn't technically difficult, but hearing the stories told by your experienced guide will help pass the time.

New York wouldn't be my first choice for gold panning: I'd take a fly rod along.

 

[Iggy]

Panned a little creek in Colorado my Grandparents and I camped on when I was 4 years old.. Made about $5.00 a week. Gold was going for $32.00 an ounce back then.
I decided cowboyin' was a better occupation.

 

[Whitwabit]

on a private stake in Colorado .. and no no gold was found but the kids loved the attention given to them by a guy dressed like a 49er miner .. he showed my 3 year old how to pan and got her the best spot in the stream .. she was very happy that day ..

we also went turquoise mining on a slag heap of an old mine and found about a coffee cup full .. still have it somewhere ..

 

[crazyphil]

Back 50 or so years ago I was auditing the State Mine Inspector's office.
Conversation came around to gold panning. We were told about an old
gal, in her 80s as I recall, who was about to loose her home for back
taxes. She went out and panned about $800 worth, and paid her taxes,
in less than 2 months.
I was given instructions on how to do it, and I gave it a try. First, be
advised that it is very hard work. But if you want to try it, here are
a few tips:
Find out where gold has been found in the past and go there.
Don't trespass on private land without the owners permission.
A gold pan, of course, and all other tools you may need.
Dig on the downhill side of tree trunks above a creek where gold has been
found in the past.
Fill your pan with that dirt and place it in the water.
Work it with both hands, breaking up lumps, throwing out rocks, etc.
Hold the pan level with both hands. Make alternating rotations to
agitate the contents and allow heavy particles to settle at the bottom
of the pan.
Continue to work the pan with both hands, making circular motions,
to bring the lighter material to the top and out of the pan, while leaving
the heavy material (black sand) at the bottom.
When nothing is left but black sand, put it in a container and save it.
Later, in a more comfortable setting, spread the black sand out on
paper or cloth table cover, and look for gold color. Pick the flakes
out with tweezers.
I got a bit of gold, but it was very hard work, and I don't think I even
made minimum wage. But it was a fun experience.

 

[jag312]

There is gold in California rivers and streams. Panning ain't the way. You need a dredge, but California has banned the use of dredges. I have a way around the ban. It is still easier than panning, but it is hard work.

 

[REM 3200]

Yep, in Alaska in 1952-54, again in 1970-73 and some in Canada in 1953.

 

[deadin]

From around 2000 to 2005 the wife and I hobby prospected for gold. (A couple of years in there we were full-time in our RV.) We did the full shot, dredging in N. Cal, dry washing in Arizona & S. Cal, Detecting in Arizona and panning all over the country. Never did find much... I may have around an ounce or so stashed away, but a lot of fun (and work.)


My suggestion is if you want gold, just go buy it. If you want to make money, sell equipment, and if you just want to experience the great outdoors and the "camaraderie", become a miner.

The old saying is "if you call a man a miner, you don't need to call him a liar".