Well, this still is actually mining. That's what hydraulics are. Now, putting things in simpler words, it's aiming high-powered jets of water from hoses at the sides of a cliff or some other structure that contains the mineral that's being sought after. What happens afterwards depends on how the mining goes, but in this case the water washes the minerals, dirt, and other junk down the mountains and cliffs into wooden sluices. When in the sluices, THAT'S when the panning begins.
While the mining operation is the main setting for the story, it doesn't have to be the entirely central point, as I mention there are other things to be done on the mountains.
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