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Fill the pan 3/4 full with dirt.tread mark in dirt image by robert mobley from Fotolia.com
Fill the pan about three-quarters full with dirt or gravel. Pick out larger rocks, twigs and other debris by hand, but be careful when handling things like moss, which small bits of gold can hide in. - 2
Find a place to do the panning.stream image by Marek Kosmal from Fotolia.com
Select a place to do the actual panning. Find water that is about 6 inches deep and has a mild current to whisk away any silty water arising from the pan but not moving so fast it carries away everything. Carefully submerge the gold pan under the water. - 3). By hand, break up any solid mass in the water, like clumps of mud or dirt, bits of moss and detritus, and masses of gravel. Make sure everything is completely broken up and suspended in the water, freeing concealed gold pieces. Silt and mud will float up and out of the pan, but gold, due to its weight, will begin to sink to the bottom.
- 4). After everything has been broken up, firmly shake the gold pan back and forth under the water. The matter in the pan will continue to break down and the gold will proceed to work its way to the bottom of the pan. With one hand, brush away the rocks and stones on the pan's surface. Make sure any clay, which can contain bits of gold, is not removed but further reduced. Continue shaking the pan and removing rocks until most are gone.
- 5). Tilt the pan upward so the material collects near the rim. Continue to shake it without spilling the contents so the gold moves toward the bottom edge of the pan. Gently shaking the pan back and forth, allow some water to wash away the worthless bits that have surfaced. Only allow for a little bit of the contents to be washed away at one time so the light bits are removed and the heavier gold remains. Discard any remaining large pebbles or rocks.
- 6). Continue shaking the pan and running water over its contents, removing the light material and working down to the heaviest, usually comprised of black sands. Add a half-cup of water to the pan and tilt it forward again before placing it level once more. Then, swirl the water around gently and look for particles of gold.
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