If you wondered about the extraction of gold from pay dirt, you must have also asked what pay dirt is. Pay dirt is dirt that contains traces of real natural gold flakes and nuggets. There are rich pay dirt deposits around the world. People are still discovering high-quality pay dirt and ores. Such people always have a plan for extraction upon discovery. So, what is the process of extracting gold from pay dirt?
Panning to Extract Gold from Pay Dirt
The most well-known method of extracting gold from pay dirt is panning. There are specific steps you have to take when it comes to panning. It takes a considerable amount of precision to get the most of pay dirt, but it’s an easy process to master. Before anything, note that the process of panning works because gold is heavier than other materials in the dirt, including the soil itself. It is highly cost-effective, although you can only extract a small amount of gold at a time.
It also requires some level of skill that one can only develop over time. During panning, gold sinks to the bottom, and lighter fragments rise to the top of the pan. Besides gold, there are other heavy materials left at the bottom of the pan. The goal is to get the most out of the process. Panning has the potential to produce good quality gold concentrates. Let’s further expound on what goes on during panning.
Some Required Panning Equipment
Gold Pan
Gold pans come in various designs. However, the vital thing to know is that they all work the same way and always accomplish the task. The panning method gets its name because you have to use a pan in this extraction method.
How to use a gold pan
You pour water into the pan containing pay dirt. You then go ahead to agitate the contents in the pan. It will stratify with the heaviest materials settling at the bottom. You then rock the pan to ensure that the water washes off the lighter material from the top of the pan. You have to do it carefully so that you don’t spill out the gold-bearing material. Repeat the process until you have the least amount of material left at the bottom of the pan.
Sniffer Bottle
A sniffer bottle comes in handy when it is time to pick out the tiny bits of gold. You are only to use it in the second round of panning.
How to use a sniffer bottle
Some bits of gold are too tiny to pick with your hands. A sniffer comes in handy at such a time. All you have to do is suck up the small pieces of gold using the sniffer bottle. You might suck some black sand in the process. Use your fingers to push the small crowd the small pieces together if need be. Doing so could make sucking the tiny bits of gold easier
Classifier
This tool is some filter. You use it to get rid of more enormous rocks. You can pick out a classifier from a variety of sizes. Preferably, avoid skipping the application of a classifier on your pay dirt.
How to classify pay dirt
You can classify pay dirt before putting it in a pan. Alternatively, you can classify pay dirt underwater. The material that contains gold sips through the sieve while chunky rocks remain on the classifier for discarding. Examine the stones in the classifier for sizable gold pieces before discarding them.
What Happens After Panning?
The process of getting gold from pay dirt is not complete after panning. There are a few more things that need doing to ensure you get actual gold. You might have to apply a magnet on the gold you have collected to ensure that you completely separate them from dirt. After that, you can store the gold in a container and sell it to see how much you can get. Gold extracted through panning still has to undergo smelting. It allows the shaping and removal of impurities to bring out the actual quality of gold.
Conclusion
You might have to repeat the process of panning several times before you can get good results. Panning is a skill that requires development over time. Every instance of panning is different from the previous one. To be successful at extracting gold from pay dirt, you also have to choose a location where you know that the soil is rich in gold deposits. The type of ore in a particular area determines the amount of gold you will get from. Alternatively, you can buy gold pay dirt from places like Irwins Paydirt. Once you get all the tools you need to extract gold from pay dirt; the rest is straightforward. You can choose to sell the gold that you gather or keep it as souvenirs.
