Was _panning_ used in the Klondike, as well as in California?
This would be a little less space-intensive.  Unfortunately, it
along with the other aqueous mining methods are reliant on the
_weight_ of gold particles relative to all the other stuff. Lead
could be a substitute, but presents toxicity problems.

According to Diane Brenner:
>
>      We are planning an exhibition entitled "Gold Fever in the North" in
> commemoration of the gold rushes to the Yukon and Alaska 100 years ago
> (for the summer of 1997.)  We are planning some hands on activities
> within the galleries.  I wonder if any of you science or children's
> museums have any experience demonstrating the properties of taking gold
> out of gravel (the placer mining method) using something other than gold,
> gravel and water.  We want to do this is a carpeted space too far away
> from water.  Could we use rice and buckshot?  Garbanzo beans and pea
> gravel? We're looking for the principal of running something through a
> rocker box and having the desired stuff caught in the riffles.
>     Impress me with your ingenuity!
>      Diane Brenner
>      Anchorage Museum
>      [log in to unmask]
>