Old Col's Gold Books · Gold Panning and Prospecting for Beginners

Old Col at the back of his ute with a map

Old Col is an AI character created by JS Media. The advice is real, and the sources are listed at the back of each book.

A note from Col

"The old-timers knew all this. They just never wrote it down."

You leave before sunup and drive out to gold country. You spend the whole weekend on your knees in cold water, digging where it looks right. Pan after pan comes up grey. Sunday arvo you pack the car, sore and empty-handed, and wonder if the creek's worked out.

Most people who give up on gold never gave themselves a fair go. Nobody told them to shake the pan level under the water before they tilt it, or to dig the inside of the bend and not the outside. Nobody said the hard layer they stopped at mightn't be bedrock at all.

So I wrote it down, step by step, with the why behind each step and what to do when the pan fights you anyway. The Starter Kit gets you panning properly. Reading the Ground shows you where to look. Stay Legal & Safe helps you find the rules where you live and get home in one piece.

I'll be straight with you. No book can promise you gold. The creek decides that, not me and not you. What I can do is stop you panning the wrong spot the wrong way and washing out what little you had.

Col

Col shows you what's inside, in 2 minutes. Old Col is an AI character created by JS Media.

Col's honest maths

A wasted weekend costs about $160. All three books cost $12.99.

Here's a first trip out, priced the way it really goes. Most pans come up empty, even for the old hands. The trouble is a whole trip lost to mistakes you could have fixed at home.

The beginner's weekend

Fuel, 300 miles there and back~$53

A campsite for the night~$28

Food, ice and drinks~$40

A pan kit, used the wrong way~$40

What you brought homea sore back

Col's way

Same fuel, same campsiteno extra

10-minute backyard drill before you gofree

Test pans at the head, middle and tail of a barfree

Shake it level, never pour it offfree

All three books, paid onceUS$12.99

Waste one weekend and you've spent more than twelve times what the books cost, mate.

Rough 2026 US prices, and yours will differ. Fuel: AAA's national average of $4.38 a gallon (3 Oct 2026), 300 miles at 25 mpg. Campsite: about $20 a night at a typical Forest Service campground plus Recreation.gov's $8 booking fee. Pan kit: Garrett's Gold Pan Kit, US$39.99 on Garrett's store (Sept 2026). Food is a rough guess for one person. The books can't promise you gold. They stop the beginner mistakes that waste the trip.

Look inside

A real page from the Starter Kit.

Re-shake more often than you think!

Chapter 3 · Panning, step by stepStarter Kit · pages 12 to 16

Panning, step by step

How to pan without pouring your gold back in the creek.

Pan about 14 in (35 cm)Load half to ¾ fullWater shallow, gently movingFinish a few tablespoons of black sand

You'll need

Plastic gold pan, about 14 in
Classifier (a sieve that sits on the pan)
Snuffer bottle, for sucking up specks
Vials with screw caps
A shovel and a bucket of dirt
One drop of dish detergent
Clean hands, no sunscreen

The method (4 of 6 steps)

Screen it before you pan it.Why: big stones stop the load settling, and fine gold can hide behind a rock where the shake never reaches it. Look over the rocks on the screen before you throw them. A nugget won't fit through the holes.
Drown it and break up every lump.Why: the old fellas called clay balls gold robbers. A lump with gold stuck in it rolls straight out of the pan when you tilt.
Shake it level, under the water.Why: the load goes loose like a slurry and the heavy gold drops to the bottom. Nearly everybody skips this, because it doesn't look like anything's happening.
Riffles away from you, and only a little tilt.Why: pour the dirt off and the whole lot slides together and locks up, and your gold goes with it. Let the water do the carrying.

Col's Rescue: Gold keeps washing out at the end? You stopped shaking too soon, or tilted too steep. Re-shake more often and tilt less. Pans always come up empty? Do the backyard lead drill in Chapter 9. If you get all your lead back, it's the dirt, not you.

The full method, all 6 steps and the six-problem "when the pan fights you" table, is in the book.

Inside the books

One creek. Three books.

Each chapter does one job, with numbered steps, the reason behind them, and a checklist at the end to print or photograph. New words are explained the first time they turn up, and every tip was checked against a source listed at the back.

Old Col's Gold Starter Kit

9 chapters · 38 pages · start here

01Where gold sits in a creek, and whypicture it in flood
02Test pans: let the creek tell youhow many colours is worth it
03Panning, step by stepthe shake everybody skips
04Is it gold?five free fool's gold tests
05Black sand, cleanup, keeping your goldthe drop that stops floaters
06Safety basics, and staying legalcheck before you dig
07Your first day outa whole day, in order
08The beginner kit checklistbuy, borrow or skip
09The 10-minute backyard panning drillis it the dirt, or you?

Reading the Ground

10 chapters · 46 pages

01Walking over gold: reading the landscapethe strip of dry grass

02Signs a rock has gold in itugly rusty rock wins

03Old diggingswhat the old-timers left

04Crevicing: gold in the cracksright to the bottom

05Dry creeksthe false floor

06Dryblowing: gold without waterdon't run it empty

07After a flood or big raindig through the new gravel

08Detecting basicslow, slow, flat, and hot rocks

09After the beepstop losing what you found

10Specimens, junk and fakesthe kitchen-scale test

Stay Legal & Safe, Wherever You Pan

10 chapters · 30 pages

01Who owns the ground?the claim you can't see
02Finding the rules where you live10 questions to ask
03The rules that turn up nearly everywherehand tools, filling holes
04Staying safe out thereheat, snakes, old shafts
05What to carryand the trip plan
06-10Quick reference: US, Canada, UK, Australia, NZofficial links

How it works

Pay once. Read tonight.

1

You pay once

There's no subscription, and you don't need to make an account.

2

The books open

All three download straight away to your phone, tablet or computer.

3

They stay in your email

Read them the night before a trip, or print the checklists to take with you.

Check it's legal. Take water and a mate.

Grab your pan. Let's go.

All three books, delivered the moment you check out. They cost less than a quarter of the fuel to get out there, and if they don't help, you get your money back.

Old Col's Gold Starter Kit: 38 pages, start here
Reading the Ground: 46 pages on rock, old diggings and detecting
Stay Legal & Safe: 30 pages, with official links for 5 countries
A checklist at the end of every chapter, and the backyard lead drill

US$12.99Get all 3 books now

Secure checkout · Instant PDF · 30-day money back, and you keep the books · About A$19

30DAY
MONEY BACK

Col's straight-up promise

Read it and get out there once. If it didn't help you, email us within 30 days for a full refund. We won't ask why, and you can keep the books.

Questions

Before you buy

Is this a real book or a subscription?

Three real books in PDF form. You pay once and there's nothing to cancel. Read them on your phone, tablet or computer, or print the pages you want.

Can I buy just one of the books?

No. The three books are sold together, for US$12.99 in all. They were written to be used side by side: the Starter Kit gets you panning, Reading the Ground shows you where to look, and Stay Legal & Safe covers the rules.

Will this help me find gold?

It'll teach you where to look and how to stop losing what's already in your pan. No book can promise you gold, and the books say so on the first pages. The creek decides that.

Who is it for?

Complete beginners, and people who've tried panning and come home with nothing. The Starter Kit starts from zero and explains every prospecting word the first time it turns up. Reading the Ground is for when you want to read the country like the old-timers. Stay Legal & Safe is for anyone who wants to be sure they're allowed where they're going, and to come home safe.

Do I need a metal detector?

No. The Starter Kit says start with a pan, not a detector. Panning, testing a creek and cleaning cracks only need a pan, a shovel and a few hand tools. Reading the Ground covers detecting for when you're ready, and the Starter Kit says to hire a detector before you buy one.

Does it work where I live?

Yes. Gold behaves the same in a creek anywhere, and so does panning, reading the ground and detecting. For the law, Stay Legal & Safe shows you how to find the rules where you live, with official links for the US, Canada, the UK, Australia and New Zealand. One heads-up for UK readers: the Crown owns the gold there and doesn't let hobby panners keep it. The book explains.

Is Stay Legal & Safe legal advice?

No. It shows you how to find the rules, and what the official pages said when they were checked. Rules change, so always check the official page for where you'll be before you go.

I'm not good with computers. Will I manage?

If you can open a link in an email, you can read these books. Straight after you pay, your download link comes up on screen, and it's in your email too. If you get stuck, email us and we'll help you open them.

Is Old Col a real person?

No. Old Col is an AI character created by JS Media, and every book says so on the title page. The advice is real. Every tip was checked against written sources: government geology surveys, land and mining departments, the makers' own manuals, and long-time prospectors and clubs. The sources are listed at the back of each book.

What if it doesn't help me?

Read it and get out there once. If it didn't help you, email us within 30 days of buying for a full refund. We won't ask why, and you can keep the books.

Can I win a copy?

Yes. Every week, the 3 best stories left in the comments under Old Col's videos win all three books free. You don't need to subscribe or buy anything. There's no draw either: a person reads the comments and picks. The full rules are here.

What if I lose the file?

The download link is in your email, so you can open the books again any time. Can't find it? Email us with the address you bought with and we'll send it again.