Panning for Gold

For correct panning of gold you must position the pan down in the water, making certain it is covered if you are using a large wash tub or other large water container for your practice sessions. If you are on a creek or river bank, you must position the pan in some shallow area where the water is sufficiently deep to cover the pan completely. It is of utmost importance to be exceptionally cautious not to elect to choose a spot where the current is capable of being too swift due to the fact that this will make your panning difficult and risky. Grasp the pan between your legs and hold it firmly if you are on a creek and the water is too deep to place the pan safely on the bottom. This may at first seem to be difficult, but when you are in a position that you are squatting it is easily accomplished due to the fact that the back of your upper thighs will help you hold the pan and stop it from tipping in a forward direction. Due to the fact that you will generally have your feet located forward in the water and will squat or sit on some handy rock, rubber boots will keep your feet dry. You can bunker down on the shore and attempt to bend over sufficiently enough to bring about the panning if you are not wearing boots and do not have the desire to get your feet wet. (Nevertheless, every now and then this can become very tiring on your back.) 
Hurriedly plunge your hands through the gold panning material, completely down to the bottom of the pan with your pan immersed under water. You must mix the contents thoroughly, allowing the water to get the entire material wet. Be careful to wash any large rocks, roots, or moss quickly, but with awareness, and get rid of all this from the pan. If clay chunks or tale (tale is a white, sticky-looking substance, much like clay) are present, you will have to keep "squeezing" and washing these chunks with awareness until they are completely dissolved. Make sure to keep all this action directly on top of the pan to avoid any loss of gold into the open water. These tale and clay chunks are great robbers of gold (very similar to mercury), and will hurriedly gather your gold while they are in the pan. If they are discarded before being thoroughly dissolved, they will in all probability get more gold than you will be able to. The more rapidly you complete the thorough wetting of the entire material, the more rapidly the gold has a chance to settle. If you shake the pan previous to the fact that the material becomes thoroughly wet and in an entire state of liquid suspension generally accomplishes nothing but to let some of the discolored water and mud flow off. Get to the business as fast as you can of thoroughly wetting the complete contents. Only after doing so do the heavier concentrates (for example gold) have a chance to settle. The contents are now in a state which is completely liquid; the larger rocks and excess debris have (previous to being shaken) been discarded; and no more than a few seconds have been consumed. You will have become a much faster and skilled person the next time because of your becoming surer of preventing loss. You will now be ready for the next step to be taken.