Prospector’s Approach to Panning for Gold is written by David Lindley, a professional field exploration geologist who is a prospector at heart. The book uniquely combines the in-depth knowledge of the geologist with the savvy and experience of the prospector. His prospecting, using a dish and observing and collecting rock float, has led to the discovery of several mineral deposits in Papua New Guinea, including the Mt Sinivit (Wild Dog) gold-silver-copper veins, the giant Wafi gold-copper deposit and the Townsville deposit on the slopes of Mt Ian, near the Ok Tedi copper-gold mine. His first-hand experiences include panning for, and finding, gold, tin and platinum metals. He has panned gemstones (sapphire, ruby, zircon, tourmaline, emerald, topaz) in gravel deposits sourced from the Cenozoic basalts of eastern Australia and his diamond exploration experience includes the full 1977 field season sieving and sampling in the Kimberley of Western Australia with the Ashton Joint Venture team.   

The first section of the book presents, in an easily readable format, the technical aspects underlying the panning process, followed by the steps in selecting the best trap site and panning the wash obtained from the site. Latter sections include case histories from the author’s panning and prospecting experiences across a range of minerals, with a description of the geology and discussion of the results obtained. The book is written to the thinking of a smart prospector.