River Panning vs. Digging: Which Method Yields More Gold?

Introduction

River panning and digging both target placer gold, but they attack the problem from different angles. Panning is a fast, low-impact way to sample gravel and understand where gold is concentrating. Digging shifts more material and lets you chase deeper pay layers, but it adds time, effort, and potential permitting concerns.

This guide helps you decide when to pan, when to dig, and how to blend both methods into a single workflow that improves recovery without wasting energy.

Key Points

Start with panning to read the river

Panning reveals how gold is moving in the current. By sampling multiple bars, inside bends, and tail-outs, you can map gold distribution and locate a concentration trend before moving material. Think of it as reconnaissance: low-cost, low-effort, high-information.

Keep notes on color size, black sand volume, and how many pans it takes to see gold. If you consistently recover fine gold in a single stretch of gravel, you have a strong signal that digging could pay off.

Digging makes sense when you have a target layer

Digging only becomes efficient once you know where the pay streak is. In many Oregon rivers, that is a compact layer near bedrock or a clay lens that traps heavies. If you dig randomly, you are just moving light material.

Use a shovel and classifier to remove overburden, then pan the concentrated material. When a bucket of classified material yields more gold than multiple surface pans, it is time to commit to a dig site.

Time and energy trade-offs matter

Panning costs little time per test, so it is perfect for new locations or limited daylight. Digging scales poorly if you are solo or without a sluice, so only do it when it unlocks a better pay layer. A smart prospector spends most time where the gold already says it wants to be.

Track your productivity: how many pans per hour, and how much gold per bucket. The method with the best gold-per-hour is the one to prioritize on that day.

Combine both methods for consistent results

A strong workflow is pan, dig, pan again. Pan to find the zone, dig to access the best layer, then pan to verify you are still in the pay. This loop prevents you from chasing false signals and helps keep your effort aligned with real concentrations.

Tips

• Use panning to test multiple micro-locations before you dig a single hole.
• Dig in layers and pan each layer to isolate where the gold lives.
• Bring a classifier and a bucket to keep your sample size consistent.
• Work from the downstream edge of a bar and move upstream as results improve.
• Stop digging when the layer turns to sterile sand or broken cobble with no heavies.

Conclusion

Panning and digging are not competing methods; they are sequential tools. Use panning to locate the gold and digging to access the best layer efficiently. If you treat panning as exploration and digging as production, you will spend less time guessing and more time recovering.