All prospectors that don’t have continuous access to a gold-bearing site or location have at least once wondered whether they could find gold in their backyards. However, not all gardens are gold-bearing or offer the possibility to recover fine gold with limited equipment.
If you want to find gold in your backyard, you should evaluate the location and grounds, equip yourself with gold panning tools, move the collected materials into the pan, submerge the pan, and continue until black sand concentrates are visible. Once that’s all done, you can recover the gold.
Of course, not all backyards will boast gold residue within the soil. Read this guide to learn how to maximize your chances of finding gold.
Table of Contents
Can I Genuinely Find Gold in the Backyard?
Finding gold in your backyard is entirely possible, but it can depend on several factors. Moreover, it is essential to notice that not all gardens will be containing gold, and if they are, your equipment or prospecting knowledge might be inadequate to retrieve it. Here are the factors to consider before searching your backyard for gold.
Gold-Bearing Areas
First of all, you should ask whether your backyard is in a gold-bearing location. If it is, there are excellent chances for you to find gold with standard prospecting methods such as pans and sluice boxes.
The locations that offer you better chances to find gold in your backyards are:
- If you live atop a mountain and there are gold-bearing golds in the surroundings, you might have luck finding gold, but without water, you might need to employ other prospecting methods. Erosions might have carried particles over to your garden[1].
- If there is a nearby mountain stream, especially if there are proven gold-bearing grounds in the surroundings[2].
- If where you live was once underwater or defined as an ancient beach. Indeed these areas will boast gold-bearing grounds from deposits created over thousands of years[3].
However, before you start digging material from your backyard, it might be useful to speak with the local prospecting association. Indeed, such expert individuals will be able to give you an estimation of the chances of retrieving gold in a specific location.
Additionally, they might have access to specific topographic maps[4] of your areas that can explain better whether there is a possibility for gold-bearing soil in your site. Even if gold has never been found in your area, this does not necessarily mean that prospectors will not be able to find any at all, so it is always worth trying[5].
Indeed, if you have noticed the presence of other minerals and metals associated with gold – such as quartz and iron – you might be searching in a gold-bearing location.
However, prospectors should keep in mind that, even within gold-bearing locations, a lack of knowledge and equipment on the part of the prospector can drastically reduce the chance of identifying valuable deposits.
Stream or Waterbody
Another essential characteristic that your garden should boast to be a perfect gold prospecting location is the presence of a stream, waterbody, or creek. Such formations can exponentially increase the chances of finding gold in the streambed of these watercourses.
Indeed, since a “lode” – the deposit from which gold flakes and nuggets derive – started to erode, the gold particles might have reached a watercourse and then get transported for hundreds of miles downstream.
If you are lucky enough to benefit from a stream in your backyard, you should look for the three different types of locations:
- A pool or location of calm water formed along the course of the river after rapids or sections of fast-flowing water is the first instance. The heavy gold particles will tend to fall toward the streambed since the pressure diminished in the pool, where you will be able to recover them[6].
- If the stream suddenly enlarges after being narrow and boasting fast-flowing waters, this is another excellent location to start your search for gold. Indeed, as the bed of the river widens, the water’s velocity and pressure will diminish, causing the gold particles to drop to the streambed[7].
- Lastly, if neither of these two options is available to you, you could consider examining the course of a nearby river. The body of water is likely to turn and twist several times, creating creeks and coves. In this case, you will want to start panning on the inside of the curvature. That is because gold tends to follow the shortest route when traveling along a watercourse[8].
Ultimately, if your backyard does not boast a creek, you can still attempt panning for gold, but you will need to use a tub to recreate the functions of a body of water or try dry panning for gold or use a metal detector.
Tools
Investing in the right tools for this prospecting activity is essential to see positive results. Indeed, our backyard conditions might not be ideal for finding gold, so you will have to balance this obstacle with other factors, such as better equipment and prospecting skills.
However, you will probably opt for panning the soil unless you are investing large sums in digging up gold from your backyard. In the next sections, you can find out what are the best techniques for this activity.
Alternatively, other tools such as gold detectors and sluice boxes allow you to process more significant amounts of material, but they require a substantial investment.
Knowledge
Alongside the tools you have, it is essential to have basic prospecting knowledge and skills. As we have seen, you might not be prospecting in the most favorable conditions, so you should try to compensate with other means. Improving your panning technique is among the best ways to extract gold from the streambed and other locations.
Indeed, the type of gold to recover often comes in the form of sand-like particles and fine gold. This characteristic requires you to improve your skills to avoid losing any of these tiny yet precious particles in the process.
Gather Equipment (Pan, Shovel, Bucket, Etc.)
Gold Prospecting Pan
There are several types of gold pan you could use to recover gold in your backyard. However, especially for beginners[9], you should opt for a plastic pan. These come with several advantages, such as:
- Plastic pans float accidentally and let them go while searching for gold. This characteristic allows you to recover the pan and the material within it effortlessly.
- Plastic pans often boast a set of “cheaters rifles,” which are the gold-trapping baffles you will notice on one side of your pan. These structures are highly efficient in attempting finer gold.
- One of the most effective ways to separate your black sand concentrates from eventual gold particles at the end of the planning process is through a magnet. If you have decided to use a metal pan, using a magnet will not be useful as the pan itself is magnetic.
Other Materials
Besides the pan, you will need to invest in several other tools that will allow you to streamline the process. If you have already been prospecting, you are likely to have all of the following in your storage area. Alternatively, if you are starting from scratch, consider investing in a prospecting kit such as the 11-piece Prospecting-Mining-Panning Kit.
- Shovel
- Bucket
- Water (in the absence of a stream)
- Magnet and tweezers for gold recovery
- Suction bottles and vials for gold storage
Collect the Streambed Material
Ideally, for your gold panning operation, you should collect streambed material. If there is a river, creek, or stream nearby, use your shovel to pick up streambed from there. With care, start by taking the bigger rocks and stones out of the mix. While doing so, it is essential to make sure that no valuable elements are attached to the rocks.
Then, you will need to find the best place for you to carry on the panning operation. You should position yourself in a location along the watercourse in which the water is at least 6in (15cm) deep[10]. This depth allows you to submerge the pan in the water entirely, but without the risk of it sinking to the bottom and losing precious material.
Additionally, you should pay attention to the velocity of water and its pressure. For your panning operation, you should opt for a location that boasts a medium current, but no rapids. This natural movement of the water will allow you to wash off the light substances in paydirt effortlessly.
Place the Material Into a Pan and Submerge It
Once you have located the perfect area for your panning operation, you can fill up your pan with the streambed material selected – from which you would have removed the bigger rocks.
Then, proceed to submerge the pan and keep it just below the surface of the water. While expert prospectors will just drop the pan entirely under the surface, you might prefer just filling it up to three quarters. Through this technique, you will reduce the risk of losing precious particles by mistake in the process[11].
Break Down the Material With Your Fingers
Once the pan fills with water, proceed to break the material apart with your fingers. This step is essential because, if there is any gold in the soil of your garden, it might be attached to a more significant mass or agglomeration of lighter material[12].
If this is the case, you will run the risk of disposing of the lighter material that indeed contains gold without breaking these materials down.
Instead, with your fingers, start breaking apart the substance you have collected from the streambed. While doing so, you will notice the content in the pan to become liquid and stay in a suspended status in water.
Now, by allowing the streambed water to flow atop your pan, the lighter materials will be swept off it naturally.
While it is entirely reasonable to be worried about losing gold particles, it is essential to remember that gold is indeed six times heavier than other streambed materials. This characteristic will cause it to fall to the bottom of the pan.
Allow the Water to Wash Off Lighter Substances
Once the material in your pan seems to be broken down, you can start swirling the pan. This step is composed of two movements.
- On the first stage, while keeping the pan submerged, start shaking the material and water side-to-side. However, prospectors must be careful not to add too much strength and cause the majority of the streambed to fall off the pan’s sides. Lighter materials are likely to escape the pan during this step.
- The second stage requires you to slightly tilt the pan[13] forward and allow some extra material to flow out while the heavy concentrate falls in the pan’s bottom corner. While doing so, ensure that the side with the riffles is the one away from you to capture any gold that might be slipping out.
You should repeat these two movements multiple times to get rid of most of the light materials in your paydirt.
Moreover, in the beginning, you might need to shake the pan extremely often to ensure all the gold is freed from the other materials and fall to the bottom.
However, as you refine your techniques, your panning process will become much faster, and you will know when it is right to skate the material in it.
Repeat the Process
Continue the operation by repeating the three steps – breaking down the material, shaking the pan, and tilting it forward. As you do so, you should start to realize that most of the lighter material has begun to fall off the pan, and you can start seeing the concentrate at the bottom of the tool.
Keep repeating the process and sweep away all the biggest rocks in the pan with the back of your hand. While doing so, you should be extremely patient and find a comfortable location to sit on.
Indeed, if you are a beginner, you will want to ensure that all the particles in the streambed remain within the pan. Also, your backyard might not necessarily boast high quantities of gold – if you are not sure what to expect to find, complete the panning process slowly and with steady motions.
Analyze the Black Material
Panning the material down to the gold is something that expert prospectors can attempt once they have perfected their panning technique. Indeed, gold is usually the heaviest of all elements in the pan.
Therefore, with care, you will be able to get rid of most of the heavy black sand[14] with the panning and keep the gold. However, this choice comes with several risk factors, such as losing the gold.
Oppositely, you can pan the material down in all safety until everything remaining in the pan is the black sand. From here, add some water into the pan and analyze the black sand for gold or other valuable sediments.
Recover Gold Particles
Once you have panned the material down to the black sand, you will need to recover the gold. For this step, there are various techniques you could implement. One of the beginners’ methods is to pick up the visible gold flakes and particles with magnifying tweezers[15].
Alternatively, you could use a suction bottle to store any particles that are too small to pick up with tweezers. Move your findings into a vial.
Alternative Gold Finding Methods
While you will not have the same chances of finding gold in every backyard, this should not stop you from trying. Indeed, even if you are sure that there is no gold in the soil, panning can allow you to practice this technique when you undertake your next trip.
Especially if you have just started in the field of prospecting, learning how to pan for gold properly can take you quite a lot of practice. Therefore, if you have the chance to practice in your garden, you will be much better prepared to recognize the signs of gold-bearing grounds and materials once you are out in the open.
Ultimately, if you wish to test your panning and prospecting skills, you could opt to invest in a bag of paydirt or concentrates[16]. These materials are part of streambed material collected from gold-bearing grounds that are “seeded” with extra nuggets and flakes. This feature allows you to practice but also enjoy the rewards.
Conclusion
Finding gold in your backyard might not always be possible, as your chances will depend on the location of the garden and the geology of the surrounding area. However, if you notice a nearby stream or your house is located atop a mountain, it is worth trying to recover gold.
While searching in gold-bearing locations might increase your chances of finding it, you can retrieve valuable particles in areas in which gold has not been seen before. Ultimately the best technique to recover gold from your backyard is to attempt panning the streambed collected.