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Gold Magic

Automatic spiral gold pans, hand-crank or 12-volt, from a line first created in 1989

Where
Wickenburg, Arizona (return address; no storefront listed)
Makes
Gold Magic 10-M, 12-C, 12-E, 12-U and 12-10 spiral panning machines; hand crank kits, power packs and spare parts
Sells
Starter kits with a separation tub, Magic Drop, a black sand magnet for the center cup
Orders
Online store, toll-free (800) 458-8889, info@goldmagic.com, or through dealers
Ships
Lower 48 by UPS Ground or USPS, Alaska and Hawaii by USPS; most orders within 48 hours
Warranty
One year on workmanship and materials
Since
1989, when the first Gold Magic was created in Seattle

Builder: builds the gear it sells

Patented 17-inch spiral pan rated at 140 lb of material an hour

Sells online or by order: no storefront to visit

Works from Wickenburg, Arizona.

Builds: Fine gold recovery

What they sell: Fine gold recovery

Makes: Gold Magic 10-M, 12-C, 12-E, 12-U and 12-10 spiral panning machines; hand crank kits, power packs and spare parts

Ships nationwide.

goldmagic.com ↗

Email:

What Gold Magic builds

Gold Magic Inc, a family-run business; the first Gold Magic was created in Seattle in 1989; return address in Wickenburg, Arizona.

Gold Magic 12-E ↗

Battery spiral panner that screens and concentrates in one pass · Fine gold recovery

  • 17-inch spiral pan with 69 agitator knobs
  • Built-in 12-volt battery and 110-volt charger
  • About 140 lb of material an hour
  • Takes material up to 2 inches without screening
  • Wet down to clean gold, or dry: 140 lb to about 2 cups of concentrate
  • 10 lb; sets up in under 5 minutes

Gold Magic 12-C ↗

The 12-E without battery or charger, for an outside 12-volt source · Fine gold recovery

  • 6.5 lb
  • Power cable with cigarette-lighter plug and alligator clips
  • About 140 lb of material an hour, wet or dry
  • Takes material up to 2 inches

Gold Magic 12-U ↗

Battery model with an external charger for power grids abroad · Fine gold recovery

  • External charger for 110- or 220-volt grids
  • Adapters for Australia, Canada, Europe, the UK and the US
  • Pre-wired for an optional solar charger
  • 10 lb

Gold Magic 10-M ↗

Hand-crank spiral panner · Fine gold recovery

  • About 4 lb; carried in one hand
  • Up to 140 lb of material an hour
  • Works wet or dry

Gold Magic 12-10 and 12-C-10 ↗

Battery or outside 12-volt power plus a hand crank · Fine gold recovery

  • 12-10: built-in battery and charger with hand crank, 11 lb
  • 12-C-10: the 12-C with the hand crank
  • About 140 lb of material an hour

Hand Crank Kit and Power Pack ↗

Conversion kits between hand and electric drive

  • Hand Crank Kit turns a 12-E into a 12-10
  • Bolts to the frame with a 5/16 wrench, no drilling
  • Machined aluminum housing with an oil-impregnated brass bushing
  • Power Pack converts a 10-M to 12-volt electric

Also builds: Kits with a wet separation and storage tub, a plastic scoop, Magic Drop and a small finishing pan · Magic Drop, a few drops of which keep fine gold from floating · Black sand magnet sized for the center cup · Spare parts: belts, axle bar, drive hubs, gear motor, chargers, battery, third leg.

How to order

  • Online store, toll-free phone line or email
  • Through authorized dealers, some with live demonstrations
  • Orders processed on weekdays; most ship within 48 hours
  • Lower 48 by UPS Ground or USPS; Alaska and Hawaii by USPS
  • One-year warranty against defects in workmanship or materials

Where to use your gear near Wickenburg

170 gold spots on open public land with no claim on record, within 50 miles.

There are more on the map, some of them with a possible mining claim.

Open the gold map around Wickenburg →

Prospecting and collecting rules in Arizona →

About Gold Magic

Gold Magic makes automatic gold panning machines built around a spiral gold pan that turns on its own. According to the company, an experienced prospector in Seattle who was fed up with inefficient equipment created the first Gold Magic in 1989, a hand-held pan, and the line has been modified many times since. Manufacturing and sales moved to northwest Montana in 1999 and to California in 2013, and the return address of the store today is in Wickenburg, Arizona. The company calls itself a family-run business.

The working part is a computer-designed 17-inch pan with a spiral riffle. Material is shoveled into the main area of the turning pan, wet or dry and without screening: pieces up to two inches are fine. There 69 agitator knobs tumble it, so gold, platinum and black sand sink to the low point where the riffle meets the pan and ride the spiral up into a removable center cup, while larger and lighter material rolls out of the pan. Nuggets too big to climb the spiral stay at the start of the riffle until you spot them and pick them out. The 2013 instruction manual lists patents on the pan in the United States, Canada and Australia.

Five machines share that pan. The 10-M is turned by hand and weighs about 4 pounds. The 12-C runs off an outside 12-volt source, for prospectors who work concentrates from the back of a pickup or at home in a shop, and weighs 6.5 pounds. The 12-E carries its own 12-volt battery and 110-volt charger and weighs 10 pounds; the 12-U is the same machine with an external charger and adapters for 110- and 220-volt grids abroad, pre-wired for a solar charger; and the 12-10 adds a hand crank to the 12-E. The company rates its machines at 140 pounds of material an hour. Run dry, a machine brings 140 pounds down to about two cups of concentrate; run wet, it works down to clean gold.

Older machines can be converted: a bolt-on hand crank kit with a machined aluminum housing turns a 12-E into a 12-10, and a power pack turns a 10-M into an electric machine. The store also sells starter kits with a wet separation tub, a plastic scoop, a finishing pan and Magic Drop, a liquid that keeps fine gold from floating; a black sand magnet small enough for the center cup; and spare belts, hubs, chargers and batteries. Orders are processed on weekdays and most ship within 48 hours, and the machines carry a one-year warranty. The dealer list on the site names three stores in Arizona, in Kingman, Lake Havasu and Congress, and the last show it lists is a live demonstration at Vulture City Gold Days in December 2024.

Clubs and places nearby

Other shops and gear makers nearby

Access

Online store and dealers; no storefront listed on its site. Based in Wickenburg.

Sources