As you improve your panning technique, you will find that simple hand panning will save more fine gold than even much more expensive and fancy automated equipment. No matter what other prospecting equipment you purchase you will still end up panning the concentrates at the end of each day.

There are many different kinds of pans - metal and plastic; some with smooth sides and some with riffles or traps; some with smooth bottoms and others with recessed gold traps. We recommend avoiding the metal ones as their days have passed. Go with new panning technology with abs plastic pans and built in gold catching riffles and traps.

Numerous books and videos are available on the art of gold panning and if you are just starting out, it is a good idea to get one or two. See our gold prospecting books section and try some of our gold panning concentrates to practice at home. It's surpisingly easy to become a good gold panner and with the right panning tools in hand you will become a veteran prospector soon enough.

Browse our tips and tricks sections below to learn a great deal more about the finer points of using a gold pan and other equipment. Learn how to read a river for gold nuggets and avoid common mistakes of new prospectors.

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