Gold Pan

Capital Iron has a large selection of them. I was in there this afternoon to get some hardware for the job and some how ended up in the fishing section with a basket of stuff !
 
Try Capital Iron downtown. They had panning kits there for $40.00 last summer. They include 2 pans,(one regular,one small),a
classifier,snuffer bottle to suck the gold up,and a vial to put it in. Whipple Tree Junction's antuiqe store has just single pans for about
$15.00 each. Welcome to gold prospecting,my second favourite addiction,(next to fishing,of course!!)
 
Been wondering about that.....was going to try it ...

Can you pan just any old river?.....it was my understanding that there's claims filed all over the place out there on V.I. and you have to be careful where you go....and then there's the environmental concerns too.. (disrupting habitat etc.)..

What's the deal on panning.......do you need a permit or anything like that?

And if you happen to luck out....where do you sell the gold?
 
I bought a couple of pans a few years ago from Capital Iron. I panned three times in some places I won't mention in case I get in trouble but... I found no gold. Probably not because there was no gold there, it was because I sucked at panning. lol It's harder to do than it looks, I think. ;-)

Was fun though and would be a fun thing to do with little kids.
 
The Rockhound Shop here in Victoria carries a good selection of gold panning equipment and related items. Check out the Ministry of Energy and Mines web site for information on already staked claims. There are areas that are open to panning to general public, I believe. You can also apply for a Free Miner's Certificate to stake claims. Also there is a few good books on the topic: The Guide to Gold Panning (N.L. Barlee); Gold Panner's Manual (Garnet Basque); Gold Trails--How-To Manual & Catalog (Glenn Leaver). I've only done a little panning--if you love fishing, you'll love panning. The first time I went panning was on the Tranquille River near Kamloops--I went with an experienced panner. I asked the classic newby question: "How will I recognize gold in my pan, John?" He looked at me, and said with a straight face...."Well, it looks just like gold....."
 
I was told that you can pan anywhere, even on a claim, but you cannot run a sluice box without a claim.

Dave
 
You CAN NOT run a sluice on any fish bearing creek , river or stream on Van island , even on a claim
 
That is correct,Peetz. In stream sluice boxes are illegal in B.C. You can use out of stream sluices,or highbankers,as they are called,but
you must first have a claim, and opperate no closer than 10m. from the rivers edge. Recreational panning is open anywhere on Van. Isl.
exept parkland,native reserves,or previously claimed areas. There is gold in almost every river,or stream on this rock,although usually
fine.
 
Thats so funny I was just looking at a gold claim site that is for lease on VI last night. Im a rock hound and just bought myself that book^ Let us know how you do!
 
Panning is something I have always wanted to try. My hunting partner has done it in the past, he panned on the island last summer back in the sticks and came out with $1100 worth of gold and some back issues:) He said he would have made more money working at Mcdonalds but had a great time in the forest on the river...... I'm looking forward to trying a few days this summer.
It would be cool to go learn from the pro's for a few days http://www.vancouverislandgold.com/about/

Has anyone tried these guides before?
 
THeres gold 'round here, I have a few claims in the hills. Not a lot, but it's there. I have the claim below the Sooke Potholes if anyone wants to give it a go, in fact, I may be letting it go this spring as I have too much ground to work (PM me for details), the Sooke River is a good bet. I have claims up near Leechtown, but the real gold is further up near Vallentine Mtn.. DOn't pan within 3 miles of LEechtown, all claimed up (Some of it mine) .KMS Tools has the black Estwig pans for $15, they are the best. The metal ones are crap. I know a guy in his 80's that gets the odd granola sized nugget from just upstream of the Potholes. In the Sooke, you want to be up sampling way up from the river (5-20 feet!), I found some 40 feet above the water about 3 weeks ago!.

Avoid the flat shale rocks, avoid sand, they settle long after the gold. While you work your pan, if your pan water is not dark brown muddy, move on. Becrock cracks are where you want to be, and at the end of the day, a handfull of moss or roots will usually leave some gold, but please, don't rip up the foliage. Stick to inside corners, and the canyons are damn dangerous, stay out.

IF anyone wants to pan, a lot of guys do up the Potholes park, just dont' make a mess. You can't sluice in a river, but you can sluice 3M from the waterline with use of a pump, but you need a claim for that.

I've hit it hard this last couple of years, it's a lot of fun. Forget panning guides, here are some good days panning the island, and you can join VIPMA www.vipma.ca (I'm a member) to get access to claims on the Leech River, as well as clearance to use TImber West Forest roads to get to the good gold...

IMG_20120212_163056.jpg


IMG_20111204_172009.jpg


IMG_20111023_194850.jpg


IMG_20110710_191513.jpg
 
Last edited by a moderator:
oh the mighty big one has spoken!!!!!!!
 
Well there you go, I was probably not crappy at panning, I was panning the wrong stuff. I may just give this a whirl again. Good post, LastChance.
 
Back
Top