Get rich panning for raw gold? Probably not—but prospectors say it’s still worth it

California’s historic Gold Country is experiencing a resurgence, spurred by recent hotel renovations and an influx of new residents during the COVID-19 pandemic,¹ likely because of an increase in people participating in outdoor activities.²

While it’s been nearly 200 years since the Gold Rush drove 300,000 people to that region, panning for gold remains a well-loved pastime shared by hobbyists and professionals alike.

But is gold panning a lucrative venture? Or just a fun hobby from a bygone era?

John Anderson, President of the Gold Searchers of Southern Nevada, a prospecting club based in Las Vegas, says most of the members of his club don't prospect to make money, though some sell their gold to local stores at spot value.

“All the gold I have found is still in my safe,” says Anderson, who has been prospecting for 16 years. “Unless you prospect full time, it is just basically a hobby.”

I recently posed the same questions and more to members of the r/Prospecting subreddit, and the general consensus was this:

If you’re looking to make money prospecting for gold, you have to be willing to drop some serious cash upfront and make prospecting a full-time venture. Even then, you’re not likely to make a fortune.

“Typically, you spend more on the adventure than you’ll recover in gold,” Reddit user Grayme4 wrote. “There are rare exceptions, but in North America, hobbyist gold mining is just that — a hobby.”

In this post, we’ll cover: 

History of gold panning in the U.S. (and why it has nothing to do with panning today)

Panning for gold: The basics

• How do you pan for gold?
• What tools do you need to pan for gold?
• Types of raw gold you can find panning for gold
• Where should you look for raw gold?
• How hard is it to find gold?
• Where are the best places in the U.S. to pan for gold?
• How much can you make panning for gold?
• How can you make a career out of panning for gold?

How to sell raw gold or panned gold

1. Determine the value of any gold you find
2. Check raw gold prices

FAQs about raw gold

History of gold panning in the U.S. (and why it has nothing to do with panning today)

While gold mining started as far back as 4000 B.C. in Eastern Europe, the first gold discovered in the United States was at Little Meadow Creek, N.C., in 1803, which set off the first U.S. gold rush.³ By 1825, North Carolina was supplying all of the domestic gold coined by the U.S. Mint in Philadelphia.

In 1848, a man named John Marshall found flakes of gold while he was building a sawmill for Swiss immigrant John Sutter in Colona, Calif., about 40 miles east of Sacramento. His discovery at Sutter’s Mill ushered in the California Gold Rush, which lasted until 1855. 

However, even though more than 300,000 people uprooted their lives to strike it rich in California, very few actually did. According to the California State Parks department,⁴ most miners brought home between $10 and $15 worth of gold dust per day, the equivalent of about $400 to $600 today, though the cost of living in the mine fields was quite high. These were typical prices for common items in the gold fields in 1851: 

Item	Price in 1851
Beef	$10 per pound
Butter	$20 per lb
Cheese	$25 per lb
Coffee beans	$0.15 per lb
Cracker	$0.15 per tin
Eggs	$3 each
Flour	$13 per bag
Oranges	$0.15 each
Rice	$8 per lb
Boots	$6 per pair
Flannel shirts	$1.50 each
Blanket	$5 each
Shovel	$36 each

As competition increased and the amount of surface gold dwindled, many men started working for larger mining companies that sought to extract gold beneath the surface. Anglo-American miners forced other nationalities from the region using violent tactics, and an estimated 120,000 Native Americans died of disease, starvation and homicide during the California Gold Rush.

The final gold rush of the 19th century was in 1898 in Klondike, Alaska, where two prospectors discovered gold while they were fishing.

Today, panning for gold is just a fun side gig or hobby for the majority of people. There are hundreds of gold-panning clubs across the U.S., the largest of which — the Gold Prospectors Association of America⁵ — has 89 chapters in 31 states.

Panning for gold: The basics

If you’re new to gold prospecting, here’s a quick overview of the process and what tools you need to buy to get started:

How do you pan for gold?

Panning for gold, a form of placer mining, is based on the principle that gold is heavier than most other particles. According to the Environmental Protection Agency,⁶ these are the basic steps involved in panning for gold: 

1. Place sediment or ore in a pan and submerge in water. You can also use a sifting pan to separate larger rocks from smaller particles. 
2. Move the pan in a circular motion so the gold particles sink to the bottom of the pan, removing lighter materials and water as you go. 
3. Repeat this process until you can see and collect gold particles at the bottom of the pan. 

You can see this process in action in this video from Vo-Gus Prospecting: 

What tools do you need to pan for gold? How much do they cost?

“For a hobbyist you just need a shovel, pan, and something to suck up the gold in the pan,” wrote Reddit user ConfidenceKitchen216, who told me privately he lives in Southern California and goes panning for gold about twice a month. He said he spent about $50 on tools to get started. 

These are some gold-panning kits available on Amazon, ranging in price from $24 to $116: 

Sluice Fox Gold Rush panning kit with carry bag, $24.99

Stansport Mining Kit, $53.89

VEVOR Complete Sluice Box Gold Panning Kit, $116.98

If you use a sluice to pan for gold like the last kit above, you’ll place the sluice in running water and scoop gravel and dirt into the top. As the water travels through the sluice, lighter materials will flow back into the water and heavier particles, like gold, will get trapped in the sluice’s pockets. 

Types of raw gold you can find panning for gold

Gold nuggets 

Most gold nuggets are between 75% (18k) and 91.7% (22k) pure gold, combined with other minerals like silver and quartz. Gold nuggets are typically smooth, thanks to many years of water erosion.

A gold nugget that weighs 1 troy ounce at 91.7% pure gold would be worth about $2,135 as of July 3, 2024.

As of , the spot gold value in the United States was trading at $ per ounce, or $ per gram. 

Gold flakes

Gold flakes are also a form of high-purity raw gold, but it takes a lot of gold flakes to reach a substantial amount of gold.

Gold flakes are often sold in vials or jars on sites like ebay because they have a higher value as a souvenir or keepsake than they do based solely on gold content. 

These 5ml vials of gold flakes sold on June 9 for $6.48 on ebay: 

Where should you look for raw gold?

Gold deposits are typically found along riverbeds and streams or in the dirt in the crevices of bedrock, particularly where water is obstructed or changes course. 

ConfidenceKitchen216 says you should research where people have previously found gold to set yourself up for the greatest chance of success. 

“While new deposit discoveries are possible, it isn't likely a hobbyist will find a brand new productive area,” he wrote.

The Gold Prospectors Association of America (GPAA) has a search tool on their website to find prospecting locations. If you become a GPAA member, you can see comments other members have made about each location and what they’ve found there. 

Reddit user ChewyRib says there are some businesses that will take you on a tour and show you how to pan for gold and what to look for. He recommends Gold Prospecting Adventures or Roaring Camp Gold if you are in California (or willing to travel there). 

How hard is it to find gold?

Finding gold is difficult and time-consuming, which is why it’s not a lucrative venture for most people. The measure of gold in the earth’s crust is between 0.001 to 0.006 parts per million, according to USGS.⁷ 

That being said, your best chance at finding gold is to look where other people have found gold before. That could be on public land or private claims with the owner’s permission. 

Where are the best places in the U.S. to pan for gold?

Reddit user Grayme4 said the best places in the U.S. to find gold are places that have historical records of gold.

These are some popular locations for gold panning, according to Reddit users: 

• Sierra Nevadas (California/Nevada)
• American River in California (origin site of the California Gold Rush)
• Offshore Alaska
• Talladega National Forest in Alabama
• Goldvein, Va.
• Thermal City, N.C. (east of Asheville)
• Prescott, Ariz.
• Georgia Gold Belt (eastern Alabama to Rabun County, Ga.)
• Western and Southern Oregon

Note that most states have regulatory laws that restrict where you can prospect for gold and which tools you can use. For example, California State Parks⁸ dictate that “tools and equipment may not be used in rockhounding, except gold pans.” Rockhounding is the recreational gathering of stones and minerals that occur naturally on the undisturbed surface of the land.

Likewise, rocks or minerals found in California State Parks may not be sold or used commercially for profit, and each person is limited to 15 pounds of mineral material per day.

On some federal public lands, you need to stake a mining claim with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) or National Forest System (NFS) before you can pan for gold, which means you claim the right to extract minerals from that area. You can also get permission from a current claim owner to pan for gold on their land.

Anderson says most places that have good amounts of gold deposits are already under a mining claim. When you join a prospecting club, you can often gain access to mining claims the club owns.

Claims are typically marked at their corners by small monuments made of wood, metal, or stone. Some people use piles of rocks, known as cairns, to mark their claims.

Anderson's club, the Gold Searchers of Southern Nevada, has a 120-acre claim in Nevada and 800 acres claimed in Arizona, where they also own 60 acres of land. Members have 24-7 access to all of these claims, and prospective members can join the club on one of their monthly outings to get a feel for whether it's right for them.

“The biggest advice I can give you is not to buy a lot of equipment before you check out a mining claim,” Anderson says.

Research laws on gold panning in whatever state you plan to pan for gold to make sure you aren’t breaking the law or infringing on land that has already been claimed.

According to the Bureau of Land Management,⁹ there are federally administered lands in 19 states where you can locate or stake a mining claim: 

• Alaska
• Arizona
• Arkansas
• California
• Colorado
• Florida 
• Idaho
• Louisiana
• Mississippi
• Montana
• Nebraska
• Nevada
• New Mexico
• North Dakota
• Oregon
• South Dakota
• Utah
• Washington
• Wyoming

However, you do not need to stake a claim to pan for gold on public land as long as it hasn’t been previously claimed. You can find a database of existing claims on the USGS website. These are the types of mine claims available in these states: 

• Placer claims give the claim owner the right to search for valuable minerals in loose material. This is the type of claim that covers gold panning. 
• Lode claims give the claim owner the right to extract valuable minerals from rock veins in the earth. 

If you find eligible unclaimed land you’d like to claim, these are the costs associated with registering for both types of mining claims via the Mineral & Land Records System (MLRS):

Claim type	Claim fee
Placer Claims	$165 for each 20 acres, then a $165 annual maintenance fee
Lode Claims	$230, then a $165 annual maintenance fee

It is illegal to stake a mining claim on the following lands: 

• National parks
• National monuments
• Indian reservations
• Reclamation projects under the Bureau of Reclamation
• Military reservations
• Scientific testing areas
• Wildlife protection areas managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

How much can you make panning for gold?

If you are panning for gold as a recreational activity, you shouldn’t expect to make much, if any money. 

“To make money, you would need a large investment for heavy machines to show a profit,” Anderson says.

While gold prices remain near record highs, the amount you’d have to pan to make a livable income would require you to commit to panning as a full-time job. Even then, you would still likely make less than minimum wage unless you found a highly lucrative claim. 

As of , the spot gold value in the United States was trading at $ per ounce, or $ per gram. 

ConfidenceKitchen216 said he’s made “less than nothing” panning for gold.  

“I have definitely spent more money on gas and equipment than I made in profit,” ConfidenceKitchen216 wrote. “You have to be 100% dedicated to research and hard work to find consistently productive grounds that will yield enough gold to cover the costs of your equipment and fuel. In the end, you still will make less money than if you worked at McDonalds.”

For reference, the average hourly wage at McDonalds is $16 ($33,280 annually for 40 hours a week) as of July 2024, according to Ziprecruiter.¹⁰

Most of the Reddit users who responded to my post said they prefer to keep the gold they find, and some plan to turn what they’ve found into jewelry one day. One joked that you can make a lot of money panning for gold — if you spend twice as much to get started: 

Comment
byu/LB-pitt from discussion
inProspecting

Grayme4 says you may be able to make more than the spot gold value on particularly beautiful or unusual gold nuggets, like those of an exceptional size or character of nugget, gold in quartz, or crystalline gold.

For example, this 169.5 gram Australian golden nugget sold on ebay for $19,118.25 on May 4, 2024:

Its spot value on that day was about $13,729.50 (~$81 per gram).

How can you make a career out of panning for gold?

“I know people who make a living from prospecting, but it’s a hard life and you do it for the joy of being in nature, not for early retirement,” Grayme4 wrote.

ChewyRib says if you don't have a good claim, no amount of time or money would be worth your investment:

“To make some real money, you need money upfront to pay for drilling to get reports on what is under the ground. Heavy equipment, a crew of people to run it, etc. You could also get a job with an established gold mine.”

How to sell raw gold or panned gold

If you do decide to sell gold you’ve panned, the first step is determining the value of what you have: 

1. Determine the value of any gold you find

Any gold you find panning is worth the spot value of its pure gold content. Most raw gold is between 18k and 22k (75% and 91.7% pure gold, respectively). 

As of , the spot gold value in the United States was trading at $ per ounce, or $ per gram. 

Purity

You can determine the purity of your gold using at-home tests, like this gold and silver jewelry testing solutions kit from Amazon:

Gold prospector Dan Hurd explains how to test gold at home in this video: 

Weight

We recommend investing in a high-quality digital scale that will give you an accurate reading, like this one on Amazon that sells for about $10.

Likewise, you can bring your raw gold into a local jewelry store or send it to a reputable online gold buyer, who will determine its purity and weight, whether you choose to accept or reject their offer. 

2. Check raw gold prices

You can see the value of your raw gold using CashforGoldUSA's gold calculator, based on the current price of gold. 

Check out our guide on how to sell gold for an overview of online and local gold buyers and learn more ways to determine if your gold is real.

FAQs about raw gold

What is raw gold? Is it the same as natural gold?

The term raw gold, also known as natural gold or gold ore, refers to any gold alloy (mixture of gold and other metals) that is found in nature and that has not yet gone through a refining process. It can come in many forms, including gold nuggets, gold dust, and gold flakes.

What does gold look like in raw form?

Raw gold is typically bright, shiny, and dark yellow in color. The yellower the metal, the more gold it likely contains; the paler or whiter the metal, the more silver or other metals it likely contains. Raw gold with other impurities can appear in other colors, as well.

How pure is raw gold?

Most raw gold found in nature is between 75% and 91.7% pure, and always contains some kind of impurities.

What carat is raw gold?

Raw gold is commonly between 18k and 22k gold, though it can be as low as 14k in purity.

The most common metal to be found with gold is silver, but gold can also be found with copper, iron, and lead impurities.

How can you tell real raw gold?

Real raw gold is very heavy, has a deep yellow luster, and is not magnetic.

This video does a good job explaining how to identify real raw gold vs fool's gold:

Can you sell pure gold?

Pure gold is most often found in the form of gold bullion bars or gold coins, which are worth nearly the market value of gold.

As of , the spot gold value in the United States was trading at $ per ounce, or $ per gram. 

Can you sell gold that you find?

You can typically sell your raw gold the same way that you would sell refined gold products like jewelry, coins, or bullion — though keep in mind that gold found through prospecting, or other raw gold, does not fetch the same high price as government-backed gold products. 

Depending on where you found the gold, there may also be restrictions in place on whether you can sell it.

Pawn shops, gold exchanges, and online gold buyers all purchase raw gold, though certain establishments may have their own policies.

Bottom line: Is panning for gold worth it? 

As a money-making venture, panning for gold likely isn’t worth the investment of your time or money. If you want to make money selling gold, you’re better off searching through your jewelry box or finding unwanted gold jewelry at a local thrift store. 

However, if you’re just looking for a fun hobby and to join a community of like-minded people, panning for gold is absolutely worth it, Grayme4 wrote. 

“I love camping in the wild, spending a weekend at a river, digging and finding shiny metal. Some of the best days of my life.”

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SOURCES

1. “California gold rush towns are booming again. Here’s what to see and do,” by Barbara Noe Kennedy for National Geographic. Nov. 30, 2023. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/article/sierra-mountains-gold-rush-historic-hotel-trails
2. “Increase in outdoor activities due to COVID-19,” Outdoor Industry Association. https://outdoorindustry.org/article/increase-outdoor-activities-due-covid-19/
3. “The History of Gold,” National Mining Association. https://www.nma.org/pdf/gold/gold_history.pdf
4. “Gold Rush Prices Worksheet,” California State Parks. https://www.parks.ca.gov/pages/22922/files/worksheet-goldrushprices.pdf
5. Gold Prospectors Association of America. https://www.goldprospectors.org/Community/AboutGPAAChapters
6. “Artisanal and Small-Scale Gold Mining Without Mercury,” United States Environmental Protection Agency. https://www.epa.gov/international-cooperation/artisanal-and-small-scale-gold-mining-without-mercury
7. “Gold in meteorites and in the earth's crust,” by Robert Sprague Jones. USGS Numbered Series. https://www.usgs.gov/publications/gold-meteorites-and-earths-crust
8. “Gold Panning Regulations,” California State Parks. https://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=30708#:~:text=Gold%20Panning%20Regulations
9. “Mining Claim Fees,” U.S. Bureau of Land Management. https://www.blm.gov/programs/energy-and-minerals/mining-and-minerals/locatable-minerals/mining-claims/fees
10. “McDonalds Employee Salary,” Ziprecruiter. https://www.ziprecruiter.com/Salaries/Mcdonalds-Employee-Salary