I have been very fortunate over the years to be able to work with companies and people in the metal detector industry. It is fun to rub elbows with those tasked with developing new products for prospectors, and nice to have some input on those products.
It should be no surprise then that I perked up when asked if I would be interested in working with Minelab on the introduction of a new gold panning kit. I have to admit after seeing many different kits over the years I was skeptical, but when I saw the prototypes of what Minelab was working on I was all in. The kit was already something I would use myself and that is always a key consideration for me. Minelab did a great job putting together a practical and well thought out gold panning kit.
The new PRO-GOLD Premium Panning Kit involved a lot of work, and not just in the design of the pans and kit contents. Promotional materials were required, for ads and the box containing the kit, and some introductory videos were deemed desirable. The first step was getting good photos and so a photo shoot was arranged for early spring in California. These photos were used on the box and in the first ads announcing the new panning kit.
The video shoot was even more ambitious. It involved Chris Ralph and me travelling from Reno to Auburn and meeting up with Minelab and the video production crew. The resulting two short videos were distilled from two full days of filming in the heart of California Mother Lode country. Anyone who has never been involved in these things would be amazed by how much effort goes into a few photos or a few minutes of video. The vast majority of the efforts get left on the cutting room floor. This severe distilling is what results in regular people like me looking halfway good as the experts pick and choose only the best for actual use. Chris and I also had the chance to take in some of the area’s gold history. You can read Chris’ blog and watch the first video here. I took center stage for the second video that shows the eight steps for panning gold as illustrated in the PRO-GOLD Getting Started Guide.
Part 2 of this blog will provide some further tips and tricks beyond the steps listed in the guide and explained in the video. Finally, I want to thank Minelab and all the people involved in this project for allowing me to participate. I had a good time and worked with some great people. Now, it’s time to get out and go gold panning!
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