best way to test an area

[jrib1]

Near the top of a mountain, found large rock pile with lots of dirt, I filled a large bucket with the dry dirt, got home a nd classified it with 20 mesh, now, do I. try to pan it. , with my novice panning skills,, put together a re-circulating sluice, or run it thru the gold miner wheel? Material has a ton of pyrite,

 

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[Terry Soloman]

Do a test pan, take a look at the fines, THEN decide what machine to use.

 

[kcm]

Your pyrite is one of the lighter materials. It should be easy to tell that from gold.

 

[Hoser John]

#1 rule of mining-YOU MUST LEARN TO PAN . Plain simple and easy. If you do not have the patience to even learn the most simplistic procedure in mining you should look elsewhere for a hobby as there's nothing to do with mining that's easier to learn. Educate and prosper and leave band aids alone-John

 

[goldenIrishman]

I agree with Hoser John 150% here. The pan is the miners first and last tool. If you don't learn how to use it PROPERLY then you're wasting your time and should look for something else to do with your time instead of mining.

Your pan is your best friend and one of the easiest tools in mining to learn how to use. Take the time to learn it as well as possible. You can do this by practicing using BBs or small pieces of lead. If you can clear out most everything else and still have them in your pan you're doing it right. Watch a couple of YouTube videos on the how to and you can learn a lot.

You can and will use your pan for testing a new area as well as doing your final cleanups. Make sure whichever pan you get fits your hand(s) well because the wrong size can cause your wrist(s) to tire out quickly. If it fits your grip well you can pan for hours at a time if need be. Learn how to work different materials effectively and also learn how to "Dry Pan". Dry panning is a good way to test a new area without having to haul in all sorts of other gear. It's very effective in desert areas where water is at a premium and must be hauled in.

Another thing to consider is the purchase of smaller mesh classifiers. Panning works best if all the materials are close to the same size. I never pan unclassified materials if I can help it. At 20 mesh, you could easily loose smaller gold because it gets knocked out of the pan while clearing out the larger materials.

 

[johnedoe]

Near the top of a mountain, found large rock pile with lots of dirt, I filled a large bucket with the dry dirt, got home a nd classified it with 20 mesh, now, do I. try to pan it. , with my novice panning skills,, put together a re-circulating sluice, or run it thru the gold miner wheel? Material has a ton of pyrite,

Here is a place to start.... all fairly short videos except those that Doc did... But this are full of good info too.
http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/panning-gold/459664-art-gold-panning.html
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And get a good pan, I like this one for my rough work and then go to a nice finishing pan for the super fine stuff.
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