>>1978229if you really want to learn to find gold as a prospector, you need to get your ass down to your local archives and get researching. 90% of the prospectors art is figuring out where the ore is. Read up on basics of geology, read up on basics of placer and hard rock mining. There is mountains of info out there, and you can spend months at this.
If however you just want to try playing around with a pan and sluice first, get yourself a good steel gold pan, shovel and pick, sniffer bottle and spoon. Add some buckets on there as well.
Not every place has gold, but if your in gold country, look for a river with a history of gold, and look for bedrock, chase the deep cracks and boulder piles, if the area is known for gold, this is where it will be.
Watch this for learning to pan
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZCL6FKQZyoM Read this for your understanding
https://amazon.ca/Gold-Creeks-Ghostowns-British-Columbia/dp/088839988XGo find that gold!
