Do Magnets Pick Up Gold?

It is one of the first questions people ask when they see a magnet in a panner's kit. The short answer is no, a magnet does not pick up gold. What it does pick up is the black sand that hides gold, and that is exactly why it is useful.

Is gold magnetic?

No. Pure gold is not magnetic. Strictly speaking, gold reacts to a magnet in a tiny way: when it sits in a magnetic field it pushes back very slightly. That effect is far too weak to notice with any magnet you would take to a creek. In a gold pan, gold behaves as if magnets did not exist.

The official panning methods are built on this. The U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management tell panners to use a magnet to take out the magnetic grains and then pick up the gold with tweezers. A USGS report on separating fine gold treats gold the same way, as one of the nonmagnetic minerals left behind when the magnetic grains are removed.

Then why did gold come up with my magnet?

Almost always because it was stuck to something that is magnetic. A tiny flake can be caught on the surface of a magnetite grain, and when the magnet lifts the grain, the flake comes along for the ride. The Alberta Geological Survey photographed a bit of gold sitting in the surface of an iron oxide grain that was most likely magnetite.

That is why we say to keep whatever the magnet lifts until you have checked it. Release it into a pan of water and pan it once more before you dump it. Careful labs do much the same thing: the USGS method passes the magnetic grains through several containers so that no gold leaves with them.

There are rarer cases too. Natural gold can contain a little iron, and gold alloys that are heavy in iron can become magnetic. For a panner, though, a flake on a magnet nearly always means a flake on a grain of magnetite.

What does a magnet pick up in a gold pan?

Magnetite, mostly. Magnetite is the most common mineral in black sand, according to the U.S. Geological Survey, and it jumps to a magnet. Ilmenite and chromite are only weakly magnetic. Garnet and zircon are not magnetic at all, and hematite barely reacts unless it has some magnetite in it. Our guide What Is Magnetite? shows how to tell these apart.

So a magnet clears out the magnetite, usually the biggest part of the dark sand covering your gold, and a quick final pan takes care of the rest. In a normal pan, our magnet pulls up all the black sand we see. With the magnetite gone, small gold is much easier to spot.

How do you use a magnet when gold panning?

Pan your material down until mostly black sand is left, with a little water still in the pan. Pass the magnet slowly over the wet black sand and the magnetite lifts out, while the gold stays in the pan. Release the magnetite into its own container, check it, and finish with a quick final pan. You can also dry the concentrate first and use the magnet on it dry, which is how the Forest Service and BLM describe it. Our step by step guide, How to Separate Gold from Black Sand, covers every stage.

Our black sand magnets, the Pocket Mag and the Magic Mag, are made for this job. They hold the same neodymium magnet in two body sizes, and you slide the sand off with your thumb to release it. Neodymium magnets snap hard to steel, so keep fingers clear, keep the magnet away from phones, cards and medical implants, and read our magnet safety warnings before you use one.

Can you test gold with a magnet?

Only partly. If a piece of "gold" jumps to a magnet, there is iron or another magnetic metal in it, so it is not pure gold. But passing the magnet test proves nothing, because plenty of fakes are not magnetic either. Lead, copper and aluminum do not stick to a magnet, and they can be coated to look like gold.

Jewelry is a mix too. A ring marked 14 karat is part gold and part other metals, so how it reacts to a magnet depends on what else is in it. Pure gold will not stick. For gold you found in a creek, weight and softness tell you more than a magnet does.

What are gold magnets?

The phrase means two different things. Online, "gold magnets" are often decorative magnets with a gold color or gold plating, for fridges, crafts and jewelry. They do not attract gold either. For panners, a "gold magnet" usually means a black sand magnet: a magnet used to lift magnetite out of a gold pan so the gold is easier to find.

Is there anything that attracts gold like a magnet?

No. Nothing pulls gold the way a magnet pulls iron. Panners rely on weight instead. Gold is so heavy that shaking and washing a pan sends it to the bottom while everything lighter washes away. Our guide to gold in black sand explains why that weight is also why gold and black sand end up together.

Is a magnet the same as a metal detector?

No. A metal detector finds metal, gold included, buried in the ground. A black sand magnet only lifts magnetic minerals out of your pan. They are separate tools for separate jobs. The Forest Service allows metal detecting for gold on most national forests that are open to mineral prospecting, but it asks you to check for mining claims first, because a claim holder has the sole right to prospect there.