gold-washing
Noun (mass noun):
- The process of separating gold from sand or gravel by washing: "gold-washing" refers to the act of using water to pan or sluice materials in order to extract particles of gold.
- (The method of extracting gold by washing sediment.)
- (Engaging in the process of separating gold from sand.)
"Gold-washing pan": a shallow, round pan used to wash gravel and separate gold.
- He used a gold-washing pan to sift through the riverbed. (A tool for the gold-washing process.)
"Gold-washing site": a location where gold-washing is performed, such as a riverbank or mining claim.
- The old gold-washing site is now a tourist attraction. (A historical location where gold was extracted.)
Gold-washer (n): a person who performs gold-washing.
- The gold-washer carefully swirled the pan to separate the gold. (An individual engaged in gold-washing.)
Gold-washing equipment (n): tools used for gold-washing, such as pans, sluices, or rockers.
- He bought new gold-washing equipment for his prospecting trip. (Gear designed for extracting gold by washing.)
Panning: the specific act of using a pan to wash gravel for gold.
- Panning is a form of gold-washing. (A synonym for the manual method.)
Sluicing: a method of gold-washing using a sluice box with running water.
- Sluicing is more efficient than simple gold-washing. (A related technique.)
"Strike gold": to discover a source of gold, often after gold-washing.
- After months of gold-washing, he finally struck gold. (Achieved success in finding gold.)
"Pan out": to result in success or yield a profit, derived from gold-washing.
- His gold-washing efforts didn't pan out. (Did not produce the expected results.)