The pan allows the gold to be separated from the other minerals. Gold panning Centre. Museum of la Noguera.
The pan is an instrument that is generally shaped like a dish, around 20 to 40 cm in diameter, 6 to 10 cm deep and with angles of 25 to 60°. Using water, the pan is used to separate the heavy minerals (such as gold) from the light minerals amongst the sand and gravel thanks to their density.
Now they are made of plastic and are dark green or black to make them light and to help the gold particles stand out more clearly on the base.
The interior grooves prevent the gold particles from jumping out of the pan with the movement of the water.
