Full disclosure...I own iPan4Gold and I sell paydirt.
I have gold fever. I admit it. I love finding gold. I love working a pan of material and having that Eureka! moment when the gold suddenly reveals itself...I love it. I marvel at how I can take seemingly just raw dirt and sand and work it down to find gold. It simply amazes me every time.
The way I got started in gold panning was buying paydirt and learning the characteristics of gold.
I have purchased paydirt from probably 15 or so different providers and now have a pretty good idea of what to expect.
I have also become proficient is panning, and mostly from panning purchased paydirt.
I have no illusions of heading off to the gold fields of California or Colorado and spending my days prospecting, or dredging, or running a highbanker for weeks at a a time. I am pretty much resigned to Saturday excursions and weekend panning on my patio...and I am very content with that.
I am grateful to live close enough to Dahlonega GA and the Crisson Gold Mine. That is where I learned to pan, run a trommel, a highbanker, and a Gold Cube. I likewise appreciate being able to purchase 800 pounds of paydirt at a time to feed my patio panning hobby. And I still purchase paydirt from a few key suppliers.
In my opinion, there is no substitute for learning to pan with real gold, the real thing. Panning lead shot is...well, panning lead shot. It can only take you so far in developing your panning skills. Why? because gold comes in every shape and size and every piece has its own characteristics and presents its own challenge from a panning perspective.
Anyone can find nuggets in just about any sluice or pan configuration, but the fine gold, 50 mesh and smaller is a bigger challenge. They say that 97% of the gold in the world is not nuggets and pickers, but fine gold. Everyone wants to find nuggets or at least pickers. So do I, but I love finding grams of fine gold, and the panning process for capturing fine gold is different and more complicated than finding nuggets and pickers.
So why buy paydirt? It's simple, really. How many of us have ready access to gold bearing ground? How many of us have all the right equipment. Answer, not that many of us. But that's the neat thing about it, you don't have to have all those things to get started. You can start with just a gold pan for maybe $10...But you still need some paydirt.
In most cases, purchasing paydirt is a very economical way to gain experience and feed the need to see some color in your pan. Compared to all the time and effort it takes to assemble all the equipment, travel, food, gas, lodging, etc. and having access to a place that actually has gold, purchased paydirt in an attractive alternative. It should be part of every small scale gold miner's experience. The guys who have all the equipment and access to the best gold fields in the country may sneer at buying paydirt. As for me, I find it thoroughly enjoyable, especially every Sunday afternoon on the patio of my own home.
As far as how to do it, salting your own dirt may be the cheapest method, but it is, to me, anti-climactic. It's just not the same as having your own Eureka moment. A key part of gold fever is the thrill of discovery. Knowing what to expect ahead of time diminishes the thrill...the exhilaration of discovering gold yourself, without any expectations, is priceless.
Think about it...if you saw your friend put a bunch of gold in a pan of dirt including a 1/4 oz nugget and a 1/2 oz nugget and handed it to you to pan, you would not be satisfied to just find the 1/4 oz nugget...you'd be especially upset if you didn't find the 1/2 oz nugget too.
Whereas if your friend just handed you a pan of material without knowing what was in it, and asked you to pan it for him, you'd have a Eureka moment when the 1/4 oz nugget showed up, not to mention the 1/2 oz nugget!
There are hundreds of paydirt sellers out there but you have to be careful. Otherwise you will pay for dirt and that will be all you get....dirt!
I recommend the following paydirt providers: Dirt Hogg, Goldstrike Adventures, Carolina Prospectors, Crisson Gold Mine, and of course my own, iPan4Gold.com. All of these will provide you with a good value for your money and an enjoyable panning experience.
Read the posts on this website and you'll find plenty of reviews and/or comments about various paydirt providers.
Support the sponsors on this site as they in turn support the site through paid advertising.
Just my opinions. Good luck and I hope you experience the rush of gold fever for yourself. :-)
mdv
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