Mining on the surface. A process of extracting surface gold from ore-bearing gravels by panning, dredging, and sluicing. This was the method used by California's first prospectors. Because water was essential to the process, most placer claims were located along creeks, streams, and rivers. At dry diggings (there were at least 50 of them in the Mother Lode), the water was brought in via flumes and ravines. Contrasted with placer mining is hardrock (quartz) mining and hydraulic mining.
mining valuable minerals from a placer by washing or dredging
The removal of ore from placers, which are glacial or alluvial deposits of sand or gravel containing valuable minerals.
The extraction and concentration of heavy metals or minerals from placer deposits by various methods, generally using running water
The extraction of heavy minerals from a placer deposit by concentration in running water. It includes ground sluicing, panning, shoveling gravel into a sluice, scraping by power scraper and excavation by dragline, dredge or other mechanized equipment.
Placer mining is an open-pit or open-cast form of mining. Extraction of minerals from the surface of the earth, without tunneling, is done using excavating equipment or water pressure (hydraulic mining)
The act of recovering gold from placer deposits by means of a gold pan, rocker, sluice, dredge, etc. Placer mining depends largely on water for washing and separating the gold and gravel.
Placer mining (pronounced "plass-er") refers to the mining of alluvial deposits for minerals. This may be done by open-pit or open-cast mining or by various forms of tunneling. Excavation may be accomplished using water pressure (hydraulic mining), surface excavating equipment or tunneling equipment.