Gold prospectors use a technology known as suction dredging to find and exploit the precious metal. This involves the use of a device known as a gold dredge. The nozzle of the dredge works by sucking gravel from the bottom of streams and depositing it into a sluice box. Water is then used to remove the lighter gravel from the unit and leaves the gold in the sluice box.
A gasoline engine operates a gold dredge. Sizes of the nozzles vary from a diameter of two inches to ten inches. It is common for recreational panning spots to limit the size of the nozzle used. The slow water spreads the content evenly to prevent the gold from being pushed out with the gravel.
How to locate Gold Panning Areas
The value of gold never diminishes; therefore hunting for real gold is a profitable hobby. Commercial gold miners often use rockers and sluice boxes while those who prospect for gold as a hobby stick to the pan. Regardless of the method used, it is important for a gold seeker to know the area in a given location that may have gold.
Carry out a search along riverbanks, pools of water under rapids, and on eddies behind rocks. Usually, gold tumbles on a fast current and sinks when it reaches still waters. Check out the submerged cracks in bedrocks. Looking at topographical maps of an area will enable you to know streams that might have gold.
Where to Pan for Gold in the U.S
Before the 1849 Gold Rush in Sacramento, there was a strip of a gold mine between Montgomery, AL, and Washington, DC. At the time the strip was the primary source of gold. States like California, in which the vein runs through still, attract many dredgers and panners. Some locations are known as established bases for gold. Other places are just wide spots along creeks or rivers known to have traces of gold. Some of the areas that are believed to have gold include:
� Roaring Camp
� Alabama Gold Camp
� Reed Gold Mine
� Crisson Goldmine
In most of these places, visitors are allowed to look for gold, learn how to mine, and even camp at the sites. If you would like to start gold hunting as a hobby, these may be ideal places for you to start prospecting. Consider looking for a dredge rental before you start your search.