Grizzly Pans
Ha! Ha! Right on Fred! Spoken like a true prospector! GRIN That's exactly the way I am too. Always living on impulse with an added touch of safety consciousness after hurting myself too many times.
As to the Grizzly pan, I use a Grizzly pan occasionally and they do work very well. I can't say that I ever used mine in a clay situation but can imagine it works just like every other gravity method when clay is encountered.
I wouldn't know what you'd have to do to lose the gold out of a Grizzlypan! I guess you'd have to dump it upside down and agitate it underwater. They are super effective at catching gold even when operated OVERvigorously. I simply run the stuff to be panned through a 3/8" classifier and then it processes like a dream.
I had wondered about the brittleness of the plastic when I first got mine, but have backpacked it, piled stuff on it etc. and have not so much as even cracked it in over a year's use. I do recommend punching a hole in the end of the plug and then drilling a small hole in one of the corners of the pan to tie the plug to as chasing it down a river when you drop it or knock it out wouldn't be fun. :twisted:
I can honestly say they are every bit as efficient( and most users say better) as a Rota Pan is in EXPERIENCED hands and much better than a Rotapan that is in the hands of a novice. They cost a LOT less at $24.95 CDN versus a Rotapan at around
$245.00 CDN. Of course you have to classify seperately but what the heck, for the money difference, I would. Besides that, anyone can be a GRIZZLY pan expert immediately versus using a Rotapan which has a steeper learning curve.
That's about all I can think of to say about it.
Allan