Emilie Meyer
Panning for diamonds is a technique used to search for diamonds and gemstones in streams. It involves using a gold pan to search for diamond indicator minerals. The process is similar to gold panning, but the technique differs slightly as diamonds are not as heavy as gold. Panning for diamonds can be done with a gold pan purchased at sporting goods stores, and the darker-coloured plastics are good for highlighting diamonds.
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What You'll Learn
Use a gold pan
To pan for diamonds, a gold pan is a useful tool. Gold pans are typically made of plastic nowadays, and the darker-coloured plastics are good for highlighting gold.
First, take the screen out and place it on the bank. Keep one-third to half of the pan under water with a 30-degree tilt away from you. Wash the lighter material into the creek using a circular to elliptical motion. Don't worry about panning too hard or fast—gold is much heavier than other minerals, so it's difficult to lose. Diamonds, on the other hand, are not as heavy, so pan a little more gently if you're searching for these. Diamonds will usually end up with the 'black sands' (magnetite, zircon, ilmenite, etc.). Continue panning until all the light minerals have washed away, then search the remaining black sands for diamonds.
If you're also interested in finding rubies and sapphires, these should be easily recognizable in your gold pan. They form hexagonal prisms or hexagonal plates with three directions of parting. Parting refers to atomic imperfections that sometimes show up as distinct, parallel lines in crystals.
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Tilt the pan at a 30-degree angle
To pan for diamonds, tilt the pan at a 30-degree angle away from you. This is done after removing the screen and placing it on the bank, and processing the finer-grained material that slipped through it. Keeping the pan tilted ensures that only about one-third to half of it is underwater. Now, wash the lighter material into the creek using a circular to elliptical motion with your hand. Don't worry about panning too hard or too fast, as diamonds are not as heavy as gold and are less likely to be washed away. Diamond has a specific gravity of 3.52, so it should end up with the black sands (magnetite, zircon, ilmenite, etc). Continue panning until all of the light minerals have been washed away. Now, search the remaining black sands for diamonds and other gemstones.
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Wash away lighter material
Panning for diamonds is a simple process that involves using a gold pan to separate out heavier minerals and gemstones from lighter ones. Diamonds, with a specific gravity of 3.52, are not as heavy as gold, so you should pan more gently when searching for diamonds and other gemstones.
To wash away the lighter material, first, keep about 1/3 to 1/2 of the pan under water, tilting it at a 30-degree angle away from you. Then, use a circular to elliptical motion to wash the lighter material into the creek or stream. Don't worry about panning too hard or too fast, as gold and other heavy gemstones will remain in the pan due to their higher specific gravity.
The lighter-coloured material with lower specific gravity that you are washing away consists mostly of quartz, feldspar, and mica. These minerals have a specific gravity ranging from 2.55 to 2.9, so they will wash out of the pan fairly easily. Another mineral you may encounter is scheelite, which has a higher specific gravity of 5.9 to 6.1 and can be more challenging to pan out.
Continue panning until all of the light minerals have washed away into the stream or creek. At this point, you should be left with "black sands" in your pan, which are heavier minerals such as magnetite, zircon, and ilmenite. Search these black sands for diamonds and other gemstones.
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Search 'black sands' for diamonds
When panning for diamonds, you are likely to come across black sands, which are composed of a mix of iron-group metals, including hematite and magnetite. Black sands are used by miners and prospectors to indicate the presence of a placer formation. Several gemstones, such as garnet, topaz, ruby, sapphire, and diamond are found in placers and in the course of placer mining, and sands of these gems are found in black sands.
If you are looking for diamonds and other gemstones, pan gently because they are not as heavy as gold. For example, diamond has a specific gravity of 3.52, and should end up with the black sands. Continue panning until all of the light minerals have washed away. You should now have ‘black sands’. Search these for diamonds and gemstones.
If the black sands have no apparent diamonds, start a rhythmic slapping of one edge of the pan with one hand while holding the pan with the other. Gold ore and black sand are commonly found together, so prospectors often start their searches in areas with lots of black sand. Whether or not the gold you collect from black sand is profitable depends on the amount of gold present and the extraction method. If gold is physically attached to minerals, one way to separate it is through smelting techniques. Another popular way to separate gold is “wet chemical extraction”, where the black sand collected is immersed in a chemical bath.
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Look for hexagonal shapes (rubies and sapphires)
When panning for diamonds, it is important to keep an eye out for other gemstones, as they are not as heavy as gold and can be panned more easily. Diamonds, rubies, sapphires, platinum and other gems have been found in many placers around the world.
Ruby and sapphire have a distinct crystal habit and should be easily recognised in your gold pan. They form hexagonal prisms (6-sided prisms) or hexagonal plates (cross-sections) with three directions of parting. Parting is simply an atomic imperfection that sometimes shows up as distinct, parallel lines in crystals. It is the same imperfection that diamond cleavers used for many years to facet large diamonds.
When looking for hexagonal shapes, it is important to note that rubies and sapphires are the same mineral (corundum). Corundum is an aluminium oxide that commonly forms hexagonal barrel-shaped prisms that taper at both ends or as thin tabular hexagonal plates. Red corundum is called ruby, blue corundum is called sapphire, and all other colours are called fancy sapphires. The presence of other elements such as iron, titanium, chromium, copper, or magnesium can cause the colour of sapphires to vary, resulting in yellow sapphires, pink sapphires, and more.
In addition to their hexagonal shape, rubies and sapphires can be identified by their colour. Rubies are known for their fiery red colour, while sapphires are recognised for their serene blue shade.
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