Help with panning,

[Niko]

My funds are very limited, I'm on a meagre fixed income , but if I do something I prefer to wait, save up and buy the equipment that will do the job properly and is essential to my task.
I will spend the money on essential worthwhile equipment , I hope to avoid purchasing stuff I don't need .
I have done a little research but thanks to the internet being hijacked by Google most of my searches seem to be paid for advertising rather than what I am seeking .
Excuse the metaphors but ,
Id like to learn from those who walk the walk , who have the runs on the board, the prospectors , not the dribble the marketing reps came up with.
So ,.....
1. How important is a pin pointer?
2 Which method of sifting is your go to method and why?
IE. Panning , sluicing what do you consider essential fossicking prospecting equipment other than the detector.
It must change based on your target ground , if so , could you please explain to me
From your experience which method you prefer for each varied location you fossick and why
If these questions are too general and need their own thread,....
I am sorry, I will repost .
I want to absorb as much information as I can whilst I save my pennies to keep my enthusiasm alive and to establish a list of what I need to get started properly,. Then I will know exactly how much it is going to cost , I can budget accordingly , then i can go buy them without being led astray by fast talking sales people.
Hope I'm not frustrating you all with stupid questions

Thanks
Niko

 

[XLOOX]

1. No, totally unnecessary

2. Pan.
All the other stuff comes later. No-one drags a heavy sluice up & down unknown creeks whilst looking for gold. They find the gold bearing areas with a pan & if it looks worthwhile then maybe they come back with a sluice.

Find the gold first then worry about more efficient ways to recover it faster

All you need is :
a simple 200mm plastic gold pan
a sturdy Bunnings trowel - narrow steel blade
a heavy duty flat blade screw driver ( 2nd hand store)
a sturdy plastic brush like a dishpan brush
If it has cost you more than $50 to get all that then you have paid too much.

If your creek has no water then add a 20 litre plastic bucket and some 2litre soft drink containers of water.

Wander up the creeks in known gold country , scrape out the rock bar crevices down to their base and pan that.

You will figure the rest out without any help

 

[Niko]

1. No, totally unnecessary

2. Pan.
All the other stuff comes later. No-one drags a heavy sluice up & down unknown creeks whilst looking for gold. They find the gold bearing areas with a pan & if it looks worthwhile then maybe they come back with a sluice.

Find the gold first then worry about more efficient ways to recover it faster

All you need is :
a simple 200mm plastic gold pan
a sturdy Bunnings trowel - narrow steel blade
a heavy duty flat blade screw driver ( 2nd hand store)
a sturdy plastic brush like a dishpan brush
If it has cost you more than $50 to get all that then you have paid too much.

If your creek has no water then add a 20 litre plastic bucket and some 2litre soft drink containers of water.

Wander up the creeks in known gold country , scrape out the rock bar crevices down to their base and pan that.

You will figure the rest out without any help

Cheers XLOOKX

I was hoping that was the case
Thanks for the prompt reply any advice on detectors ? Are the pricey ones worth the money ?

 

[XLOOX]

Cheers XLOOKX

The I was hoping that was the case
Thanks for the prompt reply any advice on detectors ? Are the pricey ones worth the money ?

If you are talking about the top end gold nugget detectors from Minelab ( doesnt get pricier that that !) then they find a lot more gold than much cheaper detectors and not 30% more but 3x or 30x, depending on what cheaper detector you are referencing against.

Worth it ? Honestly it comes down to how "into" your hobby you are going to get .

90 days x 8 hrs fullon hard detecting in most WA goldfields will pay off the most expensive ML detector quite easily for even a novice but how long will it take you to clock up 90 full days?

For the serious amateurs like myself thats 1-2 years,

For most keen detectorists doing 6 weekends a year, 4 hrs a day that is 15 years

If you limit yourself to a few days a year in nearby locations you may never pay it off but its a hobby isnt it?

You dont need to turn a profit, just find some cool looking shiny nuggets

 

[Bidgee]

I agree with what XLOOX said but I'd add a long handle shovel. I prefer the square post hole style.

With pans I prefer inset riffles, like the Garratt and Minelab pans. You can pan without classifying but a sieve to take out all the course gravel and stones will make your life easier. Start with 6-8mm mesh.

And dont forget a snuffer bottle to suck up all the good stuff.

 

[XLOOX]

I agree with what XLOOX said but I'd add a long handle shovel. I prefer the square post hole style.

With pans I prefer inset riffles, like the Garratt and Minelab pans. You can pan without classifying but a sieve to take out all the course gravel and stones will make your life easier. Start with 6-8mm mesh.

And dont forget a snuffer bottle to suck up all the good stuff.

Totally agree, only reason i left out the screen was that if only doing cracks to start with then you dont have a huge quantity of stuff to process so taking out the chunky stuff using fingers as a coarse sieve is good enough to start with.

Once he finds some gold he can decide what additional kit he needs.

 

[bicter]

My funds are very limited, I'm on a meagre fixed income , but if I do something I prefer to wait, save up and buy the equipment that will do the job properly and is essential to my task.
I will spend the money on essential worthwhile equipment , I hope to avoid purchasing stuff I don't need .
I have done a little research but thanks to the internet being hijacked by Google most of my searches seem to be paid for advertising rather than what I am seeking .
Excuse the metaphors but ,
Id like to learn from those who walk the walk , who have the runs on the board, the prospectors , not the dribble the marketing reps came up with.
So ,.....
1. How important is a pin pointer?
2 Which method of sifting is your go to method and why?
IE. Panning , sluicing what do you consider essential fossicking prospecting equipment other than the detector.
It must change based on your target ground , if so , could you please explain to me
From your experience which method you prefer for each varied location you fossick and why
If these questions are too general and need their own thread,....
I am sorry, I will repost .
I want to absorb as much information as I can whilst I save my pennies to keep my enthusiasm alive and to establish a list of what I need to get started properly,. Then I will know exactly how much it is going to cost , I can budget accordingly , then i can go buy them without being led astray by fast talking sales people.
Hope I'm not frustrating you all with stupid questions

Thanks
Niko

I see you're in Port Adelaide.
An important factor to keep in mind, considering funds appear short, is the distance you may need to travel to get to alluvial ground. Also the cost of camping.
If you can find a likeminded person to share costs it can be a big help.

 

[Hawkear]

Apart from basic gear, the most important thing you will need is skill. A competent prospector can get results with the most basic of gear and was once shown a gold location by a family friend by panning off in a 1970s something Morris Marina hubcap. It wasn't the gear but his panning skills that enabled that.
Panning practice is important because not all ground is the same. Some gravels are very loose and easily panned while others are very clayey and much more difficult. In the case of clayey gravels which are very common in the goldfields, you need to learn how to hand puddle and break up the clay before the final panning off.
Gold has a propensity to stick to clay and can be lost if the clay is not broken up by hand puddling. Much of the gold in the Victorian goldfields was bound up in clay that way and still is. That is the reason why there were so many horse powered large clay "puddling machines" built.
So, don't wait until you get to the goldfields before trying to learn to pan, look to access to nearby creeks that have water and where the bottom sediments or gravels are accessible and try to practice on a variety of different gravels or clayey deposits. If necessary, just bring home some buckets of different materials, some mostly gravel, some clay or mixtures of both and you can just practice in a big tub of water.
The bonus is that you never know what might turn up in a pan, anywhere.

 

[Mackka]

Not sure if this will help but when I was taught to use a pan, the old fella put 5 small lead pieces of shot in with the dirt and told me that if I was doing it right then the shot will be in the pan with the gold. . Best Wishes.