Gold Pan
Obtaining
The gold pan is crafted by placing a ceramic bowl in the crafting grid.
Usage
The gold pan is used to gather native ore nuggets.
To use the gold pan, right click on a sand or gravel block anywhere in the world, except underwater. Note: Gravel and Sand blocks that are underwater must be dug up and placed on dry land before they can be used to fill the pan. The pan will fill, and there is a 10% chance that the gravel/sand block will be consumed. The gold pan works the chunk can be filled by default 50 times in a chunk, after which attempting to use it will result in a chat message stating, This area seems to be overworked. You probably wouldn't find much. Once the pan is filled, hold right-click at a water source block until the pan snaps forward. With each use, the pan has a chance to give the player a native ore nugget: 25% copper, 7.5% gold, 4% silver, and finally 2% platinum.
Gold pans can also be filled from dirt blocks or from TFC clay blocks. At this time, panning from these materials is disabled, and there is no way to empty the pan.