A friend and I have recently developed a passion for gold prospecting -- not simply the act of finding gold, but more the engineering behind the gold prospecting equipment -- building custom equipment that's lighter and more efficient than the expensive specialty gold prospecting equipment found online. And we've had some really good results.  The foldable sluice box we built from lightweight plastic works like a dream. 

For those of you who have gone gold panning or prospecting before, you know that there's nothing like hiking down to find a river with only the help of a hand drawn map; a pick-axe, shovel, and random lightweight plastic home-assembled gold prospecting tools in tow, and spending the day in the beauty of nature to see if that highly sought after nugget can be found. But more on that later. For now, lets get down to the basics of gold prospecting equipment.

The two most common supplies in gold prospecting are the gold pan, and the sluice box. Dredges and metal detectors are also used, but I think they take all the fun out of finding your treasure. Gold pans are cheap, prices anywhere from 5-15 dollars. I've gone ahead and included the model I prefer using to the right. It's the cheapest one on the market, and black plastic, which makes the gold show up perfectly. I've also included a video that has a tutorial explaining how to pan at the bottom. Sluice boxes, on the other hand, can get a bit pricey. Building a sluice is actually a lot simpler than it sounds. Using pieces of plastic cut into simple geometric shapes (squares and rectangles) we build a very lightweight sluice box from plastic simply by gluing the pieces together with plastic cement and waiting 24 hours. For plans on building your own sluice box, one simply has to type in "sluice box plans" into google and they'll find dozens of step by step instructions on how to build their very own gold catching contraption. A sluice box is simple, it's a box, for crying out loud. Who can't build a box? Some outfitters try and sell you on lightweight airplane aluminum and other nonsense, charging hundreds of dollars for a sluice box, but why pay the money when you can literally build most of the gold prospecting equipment you'll need for a matter of a few dollars in materials.

But back to the sluice box for a moment. Lightweight plastic is easy to work with. As long as one doesn't buy sheets more than a quarter inch thick, it can be reasonably cut with an exacto blade. Add to that the cost of a bottle of plastic cement and you'll have your very own sluice box in a matter of a few hours and whatever other pieces of gold prospecting equipment you'll need.

The only thing left to do is find a river that has a reasonable amount of gold still hiding away. In California, that's pretty easy to do. Rivers with gold are peppered throughout northern and southern California. Other places might have less abundance, but hopefully if you're reading this, it's because you already know of a place you want to check out. If not, there are tons of online guides to many locations nation and worldwide. Not only that, but gold prospecting clubs often give reviews of different spots where finds have been made, and you can read about where the best places to search are. Clubs sometimes even have a local directory or two lying around.

In my opinion, though gold prospecting is definitely not a good monetary investment, in general, for those who love to spend time outdoors, it's a very interesting, fun hobby, that will pay dividends in fun. If you enjoyed this article, check out my blog

Things I've Learned While Roaming the Earth