Other, more productive methods were then developed by the Gold Rush Miners. Pans are still used today by recreational miners, prospectors, and geologists. The lighter material such as sand, mud and gravel are then washed over the side of the pan, leaving the gold behind. In panning, potential mineral bearing material from a river bed is placed in a large metal or plastic pan, combined with a generous amount of water, and agitated so that the gold particles with higher density than the other materials settle to the bottom of the pan. This was the method first used by the miners in the California Gold Rush (1849 to 1855). The simplest technique to extract gold from placer ore is panning. Gems and heavy metals like gold are considerably denser than the sand and gravel material they are found in, so they tend to accumulate at the base of placer deposits or in the curves of rivers. These deposits result from upstream erosion of mineral deposits with the eroded material transported downstream by the flow of the river and eventually settling out due to gravity. Placer mining is typically used to mine precious metal deposits, particularly gold, and gemstones. Placer or alluvial mining (not including dredging) is the mining of stream beds, also known as alluvial deposits, for minerals.
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