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How to Pan for Gold Without a Pan

Gold pans are relatively cheap, whether they are metal or plastic, and are well worth the investment if you plan on panning for gold frequently. But what if you are out in the field without a pan, and suddenly you need one? During the California gold rush, the "forty-niners" used spoons molded from cattle horns. Improvising your own gold pan is certainly no new idea; nor is it very difficult.

Things You'll Need

Tub or bowl
Ore
Tweezers
River or other flowing water

Instructions

- 1
  Select a moderately sized tub or bowl.
- 2
  Fill the tub or bowl one-half to three-fourths full of ore.
- 3
  Add water to the container and break up any clumps of clay or dirt with your hands.
- 4
  Remove all rocks that are larger than 1 square inch. Wash these stones carefully so that all sand attached to them stays in the tub or bowl.
- 5
  
  Don't let gravel slip out while you shake your pan.
  
  Tilt the tub or bowl away from you and shake gently back and forth so that the gold can settle downward.
- 6
  Wash the lighter materials off of the gravel surface very slowly and carefully by allowing the lip of the container to extend below the surface of the water. Raising and lowering the tub or bowl should cause a the water to flow gently over the lip and carry light sediment back out into the river.
- 7
  Repeat both the shaking process and the process of washing the lightest material out of the tub or bowl. This procedure must be repeated many times, because gold will not always fall straight to the bowl's bottom.
- 8
  Swirl the ore gently into a crescent formation in the bottom rim of the container when only a few tablespoons of gravel remain.
- 9
  Remove large nuggets by hand and use tweezers for the finer pieces of gold.

Rocks & Minerals