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Concentrates come in two different forms; yours or somebody else’s. For the sake of this section we will discuss concentrates suppliers. 
Whether you are looking for a gift for your favorite prospector or can’t get out to your favorite gold bearing spot, concentrates are a great way to bring the mine to you.
Concentrates are material that has been gathered and classified down to make your panning experience easier. Concentrates are typically mined or dredged then classified down to various sizes. The remaining material is then bagged and sent out to consumers for the final gold to be recovered. The material is generally separated by its richness. It’s weighed to determine the approximate gold to material ratio and depending on the best guestimate of gold in the bag is sold as different types or names.
Just as much gold prospecting supplies, not all concentrates are created equal. Besides overall weight differences averaged out of gold there are other factors to consider. How many pickers can you expect out of each bag? Where do the concentrates come from? How many nuggets can you hope to find? What is the best method to cleanup the material? How many bags does it take on average to get an ounce of gold? These are just a few of the questions we have heard from people who are trying to get the most out of their investment.
Where the concentrates come from is always a good place to start when looking for concentrates. Alaska, Australia, and California produce some of the purest and largest specimens of gold in our experience. However many other locations make up for this by seeding (adding extra gold per bag) or increasing the material to gold ratio through weight.
So before you click the purchase button on your next bag of concentrates there is a big question you want to ask yourself. Is size or weight more important to you? Generally what you will find when purchasing your concentrates is a trade. If you are looking for pure weight you will do better to look for someone who is heavy on the flour gold. If you are looking for the biggest pickers and nuggets don’t expect to have the same amount of gold as someone looking for pure weight in the result.
As far as the best way to recover your gold from your concentrates that will depend on whether you are going for the fine or the large gold. With your larger gold, a simple pan and a medium skill level may be all that is required. For smaller and flour gold however, you will need a solid amount of skill to pan the material or some fine recovery machinery in your arsenal.
Any way you look at it, concentrates are a great way to pan during the off season, or when you can’t get out of the house.
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