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How to Get Rid of Black Sand When Panning for Gold

The promise of finding gold while out in nature continues to lure people into trying their hand at panning for the valuable metal. The basic process of panning for gold consists of scooping up sand and gravel with the hope that some gold is mixed in, and using water to wash away and discard the lighter rocks from the heavier gold, which remains at the bottom of the pan. However, black sand is heavier than the rest of the sand and gravel, and it can be difficult to remove simply by swirling the water. You will need to use a powerful magnet to help get rid of the black sand.

Things You'll Need

Magnet
Plastic bag

Instructions

- 1
  Obtain a rare earth magnet that has at least 50 pounds of pulling power.
- 2
  Hold your pan and dip it into the silt, gravel and sand at the bottom of a stream to scoop up some water and debris.
- 3
  Shake and swirl the pan to separate the sandy and other particles, which will rise and pour over the side of the pan, while the heavier gold particles will stay on the bottom of the pan.
- 4
  Continue swirling the pan until you have poured out all the water and most of the debris, leaving only some heavier black sand, which is magnetic.
- 5
  Pick up a magnet, place it inside of a plastic bag, and hold it above the black sand to attract it through the plastic. You use a plastic bag because it is easier to clean off than trying to remove magnetic black sand stuck to the magnet itself.
- 6
  Wipe the black sand off of the plastic bag covering the magnet and discard the debris away from the stream of water. Continue moving the magnet above the black sand and attract it until you have removed all of it from the pan, leaving behind only the gold flecks and nuggets.

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