Gold Panning Without Water? Larry Hedrick Reveals an Old Timer's Secret Method

Discover the incredible secret of panning for gold without water, as Larry Hedrick shares a unique technique passed down from an old timer. This isn't your typical gold panning story—learn how pioneers struck it rich using this ingenious method in the harshest conditions. Whether you're a seasoned prospector or just love a good gold rush tale, this is a must-watch! Get ready to uncover a lost art of gold panning that could change the way you see treasure hunting.

#GoldPanning #LarryHedrick #OldTimerSecrets #GoldRush #TreasureHunting #ProspectingTips #LostTechniques

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[davidlancaster]

Nice yarn. Your titles are switched. Thanks for sharing this great episode. Appreciate. Lvya

[AZDesertExplorer]

You definitely meet some interesting people in the desert, that’s for sure.

[LuckyBaldwin]

What a great story. Years ago I used mercury to separate fine gold from black sand. I was working a small gulch in Calaveras county and when I put the mercury in the pan, the black sand stuck to it. Totally by accident, I discovered an easy way to determine if black sand has gold in it.

[harleyv]

Thank you Larry and Hank! You know this is a good thing to know for some of us looking 👍

[dougjohnson]

Once again guys, Thanks for a great story. Glad to see you're doing well.

[Oldnoitall]

Wow what man ! Reminds me of The old miner from Ballarat California called him seldom scene Slim he’s buried there in Ballarat and there is a very cool song about him on YouTube What would we do without these great stories these men tell Of their life’s sure beats what’s on TV these days for sure where all the men are married to men and all the women are married to women Dam !!!

[martymathews]

WE love you guys and miss Lee. Have a Wonderfully Happy Holidays!

[timkohlrus]

Hi Larry, hello from Ks. Thanks and keep them coming

[carlsowell]

Your stories are always so incredibly interesting. Thank You All for your videos and stories. Someday I will get to meet You guys and shake your hand. Thanks.

[darrinwright]

Hello again from Tennessee. Happy Thanksgiving to all of you guys. May God bless you all.

[davidlangham]

we used to go gold panning also. In Miami az after a rain in the wash there was huge piles of iron powder 2in deep. We also found copper slag chucks on the train tracks. I remember watching the mining company pour molten lava over the bleach white tailings a night

[brucemartin]

Another cool story if not a mystery..Thanks again 👍😁

[tompowell]

In Alaska they would grind the mercury into the pan wearing heavy rubber gloves. Then place the mercury in a potato sliced in half lengthwise wrap it in foil then toss it in the fire and leave. Come back in about an hour pull it out of the fire, hold their breath and unwrap it then leave again. When they came back the 2nd time and opened the sliced potatoe the gold would be on one side an the mercury reusable on the other.

[berniceperry]

Ive always said if theres a will theres a way...good vid...me and the wife love yalls videos...

[AdaMstate]

That is a interesting story. I know of people who use air puffers to get gold out of old mine tailings.
Love the channel guy keep up the awesome stories!!!

[MsNevadakid]

if anybody knows of any ole timers like him, dedicate a honorable mention.. (ole carl ) northern

[jackiesanders]

I spent a lot of time working in Australia mines, and ran into an old aussie that would take 55 gallon steel drums with holes drilled at the bottom ridge and place them under dry wash water fall areas then collect and pann the gold, In Mecico i watched a mexican take gold with mercury and place a spoon or more full and put in a SILK hanky and twist the gold and the mercury into a ball at the bottom of the hanky it squezzed the mercury out and left small balls of gold that looked like small base balls.

[johnjyoungjr]

That old man was probably loaded ($$$)!

[KidBiff]

Cheese cloth. He was using cheese cloth. I ride my Dirtbike northeast of Wickenberg all the time. There are always people out in those washes panning gold as a hobby all the time. They are using this exact same method…5 gallon Home Depot bucket full of water using a pan. I’ve stopped and chatted with these folks on several occasions and they all seem to find a little color.

[nowhereman]

I don't know about a fabric cloth. But the old timers used to use chamois "cloth" to filter out the gold. Chamois being from the hide of a goat like animal. It is porous and ideal for filtering purposes. Chamois was also used as the filter element in gas filters in the automotive industry and any other purpose that would require liquids to pass with little resistance while retaining particulates. Further demonstrating it's usefulness as a filtering material.
But, mercury is highly frowned upon now, for obvious reasons. Too, once mercury has mated to the gold, filtering will not remove it all. There are several ways to release the mercury from the gold. Every and all being very hazardous to the environment and one's health. One must also be aware that mercury begins to "evaporate" at 70 degrees F. and can be absorbed through the skin. A most undesirable double whammy.
The old timers used to use their cast iron frying pans that they cooked their meals with to 'burn' off the mercury from the gold. Cast Iron being a preferable material since gold will not adhere to it.Then they would clean the gold out of it and make their flapjacks or whatever else they had to cook up. The traces of mercury left on the pan would poison them over time in addition to inhaling the fumes. Symptoms of mercury poisoning included weight loss, loss of hair, the loss of their teeth and dementia. The latter being where the phrase "Mad As A Hatter" came from. Being that mercury was used in the process of making hats. It wasn't until the mid 20th century that mercury was found to be the villain that made all of those in the industry wacko.
So when you see an old placer miner portrayed in the movies as a bald, skinny, toothless, half crazy guy with the most idiotic lines to portray; it is an authentic representation of the mercury poisoning the old timers suffered from back in the day.

Mercury is no joke. It is dangerous and can result in your early demise.
Once, I was dredging the middle for of the Consumnes river in California. "Consumnes" being an Indian word and pronounced con-soom-ee. I don't know what it translates to in english. But I do know that 98% of people mispronounce it.
Anyways, I was dredging when I uncovered a long and narrow crevice that contained over two ounces of mercury. It probably escaped from an old timer's long tom over 100 years ago. The old timers got their mercury in cast iron flasks about a foot tall and about eight inches in diameter. Corked with a wooden plug. It was widely distributed and highly valued by hard rockers and placer miners alike.
The contamination of the western slope of the Sierras, and anywhere, for that matter, that mercury was used and retorted, is and has been a den of snakes that nobody in their right mind wants to open.
Do you have a "silver amalgam" filling in your tooth? More than one? The dentist and "science" will tell you that the mercury that creates the amalgam is harmless. Wait, what?