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How to Use a Gold Sucker

There are many tools prospectors use to search for gold; one of those tools is a gold sucker. This basic tool sucks up material from water, which can then be sorted or sifted through in a pan or bucket. A sucker is composed of a pump, which is often a long tube, and a plunger, which creates the pressure that forces the gravel or dredge to be sucked into the pump.

Things You'll Need

Pan or bucket

Instructions

- 1
  Put the bucket or pan near the area where you will use the gold sucker. Keep the pan as close as possible to the sucker to minimize the amount of gold that is lost when transferring the pumped material from the water to the pan.
- 2
  Place the open end, or bottom of the gold sucker pump into the water, an inch or two above the gravel or rocks that you want to pump.
- 3
  Insert the plunger into the top end of the gold sucker while its bottom end is in the water.
- 4
  Pull the plunger all the way out of the top of the pump to suck up the gravel or gold dredge.
- 5
  Shift the bottom of the pump to the pan or bucket. Allow the sucked gravel or dredge to fall into the pan. Sift the material in the pan to find gold.

Gemology