Hobbies And Interests
Things You'll Need
Instructions
Study where gold has been found before. Your regional Bureau of Land Management office has lists of old mine sites open to the public and sometimes records of their production. You can also visit the Bureau of Land Management's website to research their interactive data base.
Join a gold prospecting club. Several clubs around the country have their own gold claims or have made arrangements for club members to work the tailings on privately owned mining claims. Learn from the experience of fellow prospectors, watch panning and equipment demonstrations and participate in mine tours.
Purchase basic equipment from a mining shop. The knowledgeable folks who sell mining equipment are always pleased to provide instruction and expertise. You will need a gold pan, trowel, shovel, rock pick and gloves.
Verify site ownership. Gold panning is permitted on most streams and rivers running through public lands managed by the USFS (United States Forest Service) or the BLM (Bureau of Land Management). Always obtain a local map and determine if the mining site you wish to prospect is on public or private land. Gold prospecting on private land without permission of the landowner is considered claim jumping and is punishable by steep fines and imprisonment.
Be careful. Many old mines are hazardous locations with the potential of open mine shafts, crumbling timbers and protruding metal. Do not venture into abandoned tunnels or mine shafts. Often wildlife uses these old sites as dens. You may stir up a nest of rattlers or disturb a sleeping carnivore.
Prospect the tailing piles of abandoned placer mining claims. The equipment available to the miners of old was crude and basic. Today's modern metal detectors, sluice boxes and dredges will capture minerals previous missed.
Pan for gold in creeks, rivers and streams in proven gold bearing areas. Old mine sites are good locations to test pan.