California gold prospecting in the San Bernardino Mtns. Part 3Gold drywashing cleanup and panning to show the gold. The simplest technique to extract gold from placer ore is panning. In panning, some mined ore is placed in a large metal or plastic pan, combined with a generous amount of water, and agitated so that the gold particles, being of higher density than the other material, settle to the bottom of the pan. The lighter gangue material such as sand, mud and gravel are then washed over the side of the pan, leaving the gold behind. Once a placer deposit is located by gold panning, the miner usually shifts to equipment that can treat volumes of sand and gravel more quickly and efficiently. Fine gold recovery for the weekend California gold miner is very hard work. *This is part 3 of 4 parts |
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