D defs.my
Entry 1 sense Webster, 1913

panning

/păn'-ĭng/ · pan·ning · IPA /ˈpænɪŋ/
01 n. The act or process in which heavier ores are concentrated by agitating a sample of crushed ore under water in a shallow pan, thus washing a…
  1. 1.
    The act or process in which heavier ores are concentrated by agitating a sample of crushed ore under water in a shallow pan, thus washing away the lighter particles from the sample; as, panning for gold. See pan{1}, v. t. and pan{1}, v. i.