I'll post a couple of them every few days and see what everyone thinks about 'em. Comment and argue 'bout them - Lord knows we have the spare time to do that this summer!
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Posted by a newer miner from another country
Subject: Re: Best gold pans. Mon 15 May 2017
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I love my Garret 14" super, you would have to be doing something pretty silly to loose gold over the edge.
After using one for the last couple of years, and due to its two deep traps and the introduction of a (new to me) snuffer bottle, my panning style has changed considerably in the finishing process. I make the most of the deep traps this pan has to offer.
If you are finding this pan too slow I think it just comes down to trust. And you maybe not trusting it, and being to cautious.
I start with traps facing forward, and to start, I use the standard 50/50 side and rotate method.
I'm also a big fan of the duck dive wobble technique (tight side movement shakes, moving the pan forward and backwards, submerged) As I loose material, my circular and side shakes tighten in size. I find this helps get the gold to the very center of the lowest point in the pan.
Then I start to begin the back wash process, I continue waddling it forward, then I gently do a return wash of the material back towards the center of the pan. Some material will be lying in the first of the lower traps. then a gentle back back wash off of the material on the lower trap,
if no gold is there to snuff up I gently duck waddle with tight movements again until I have removed some further material.
Repeat again. Snuff up any gold you see.
If you do see gold caught in the last trap, snuff it, but back off a bit.
repeat so on.
Once you have about a 1/4 of a cup of dirt, tail out, and snuff the obvious gold up, resettle tailings again and and snuff again.
Then I do reverse search in the pan with back wash method, and usually only find micro gold remaining.
ALASKA JOE
Moderator
Posts : 733
Join date : 2010-03-09
Location : Alaska Apr - Nov & Idaho Nov - Apr
Subject: Re: Best gold pans. Mon 15 May 2017
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DUCK DIVE WADDLE? Whoa !!!! That must be something wondrous to see!
One thing that I try to do after I get all (
) the Gold from my concentrates is to save those concentrates for the next day or even the next expedition. At that point I slowly put it right back into the equipment to properly start off the day. If I was so inept ( ) as to leave some errant Gold in the tailings it will be right there in the concentrates the next time, waiting for me to find it again. No 200 Liter drums of old concentrates sitting around, eh!I learned to do that while working a remote and high mountain claim years ago. I had just carefully (
) panned out concentrates and was sure that there wasn't any more Gold left in the pan. Just as I flung (!) those 'clean concentrates' way out in the stream I saw, too late to do anything but gasp, a lovely large, yet extremely flat, flake go sailing out into the stream, never to be seen again. In the aftermath of that event I do what has become a 'thing' I do in those stressful type of times. In a low, passion filled voice I quietly whisper to myself "That will never happen again!"
And it never has.
Joe
