For maximum recovery while panning, said Michael Silva, “Placer Gold Recovery Methods,” Special Publication 87, California Department of Conservation, Division of Mines and Geology, “…the material to be panned should be as uniform in size as possible. Panning is best done in a…pool of still, clear water. First, fill the pan one-half to three-fourths full of ore or concentrate. Add water to the pan or carefully hold the pan under water and mix and knead the material by hand, carefully breaking up lumps of clay and washing any rocks present. Fill the pan with water (if not held underwater) and carefully remove rocks and pebbles, checking them before discarding.

“Tilt the pan slightly away and shake vigorously from side to side with a circular motion while holding it just below the surface of the water. Removal of lighter material is facilitated by gently raising and lowering the lip of the pan in and out of the water. The pan may be periodically lifted from the water and shaken vigorously with the same circular motion to help concentrate materials. Large pebbles should be periodically removed by hand. Panning continues until only the heaviest material remains. Gold may be observed by gently swirling the concentrate into a crescent in the bottom of the pan. Coarse nuggets are removed by hand, while finer grained gold may be recovered by amalgamation [a process in which the gold is mixed with mercury, concentrating it for later recovery]. An experienced panner can process one-half to three-quarters of a cubic yard in 10 hours.”

In addition to using a pan to work stream deposits, some prospectors employ equipment such as a rocker, which is a box-like structure equipped with screens for sorting gold from stream deposits; a shaking table, which is a motor-driven flat structure with riffles for separating gold from the deposits; or a sluice, which is a channel structure lined with riffles to separate the metal.

Where Should You Look for Gold in the Desert Southwest?

If you are an aspiring prospector, you might consider first exploring public lands under the jurisdiction of the U. S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service or the U. S. Department of Interior’s Bureau of Land Management. You will, of course, have to contact the agencies for information about authorized prospecting areas and governing rules and regulations in the area where you wish to work.

A U. S. Department of Interior pamphlet called “Staking a mining claim on Federal Lands” says that “Public land records in the proper BLM State Office will show you which lands are closed to mineral entry under the mining laws. These offices keep up-to-date land status plots that are available to the public for inspection.”

If you wish to prospect on private lands, you will obviously have to secure the permission of the owner.

Alternatively, you might consider joining one of the gold prospecting associations or clubs in the Southwest. The Gold Prospectors Association of America, for instance, connects you with the community, offering information on site availability, traditional and new tools, training opportunities and local support. The GPAA also publishes an informative bi-monthly magazine called Gold Prospectors & Treasure Hunters in the Great Outdoors.

Where Can You Sell Gold?

You will discover on the Internet numerous companies, for instance, in the U. S., Australia, Thailand, Zambia, South Korea, Nigeria and Ghana, who purport to buy gold. Unfortunately, as one company said, “There is a very high amount of fraud in this industry” That suggests that one should check references and recommendations very carefully before committing to a sale to anyone. There are reputable companies you can sell gold to for a guaranteed price. Established online gold buyers such as goldkings.com offer free gold appraisals and are active Jewelers Vigilance Committee and Better Business Bureau members.

The price you would receive from a reputable buyer for your gold is based, not only on the prevailing price at the time, but also on its purity, rated as follows:

Purity (%) Karats Fine

100 24 1.000
75 18 0.7500
58 14 0.5883
50 12 0.5000
42 10 0.4167
33 8 0.3323

Will You Get Rich?

Although the search is inevitably exciting, getting rich won’t be easy.

“Many believe that it is possible to make wages or better by panning gold in the streams of the West, particularly in regions where placer mining formerly flourished,” Harold Kirkemo said in a U. S. Geological Survey paper called “Prospecting for Gold in the United States.” Gold is, after all, trading at near-record highs, some $950 per ounce as of April 2008.

“However,” said Kirkemo, “most placer deposits have been thoroughly reworked at least twice—first by Chinese laborers, who arrived soon after the initial boom periods and recovered gold from the lower grade deposits and tailings left by the first miners, and later by itinerant miners during the 1930’s.” Modern investigations by geologists suggest that “few, if any, recognizable surface indications of metal-bearing deposits were overlooked by the earlier miners and prospectors,” even in the most remote regions. Most successful gold mining enterprises in the Southwest lie in the hands of large companies, who have the capital and technology to profitably recover and process even low-grade ore.

Nevertheless, Kirkemo said, “Some degree of success in finding gold still remains for those choosing favorable areas after a carefully study of mining records and the geology of the mining districts...” Additionally, technology, for instance, metal detectors, gives modern prospectors an advantage over their predecessors.

The magic remains, that internal and ancient calling that summoned half a million people westward, to California and the desert, a century and a half ago. As Carolyn Dobbs said in her article “Out of the Diary of Mountain Millie” in the May/June 2006 issue of Gold Prospectors & Treasure Hunters in the Great Outdoors, “Regardless of time or season, gold can also be found in the tunnels of the human heart!”

Next we’ll explore in more detail some of the desert Southwest’s best gold-prospecting locations, applicable rules and regulations and recreational gold-prospector organizations. Next Page