Gold panners returned to Pilgrim’s Rest last week to fight for national honours, bragging rights and the opportunity to represent South Africa at the world championships next year.

The National Gold Panning Championships, which ran from December 16 to 19, saw Bennie Kruger, Linda Trail, Hester Liebenberg, Ntando Fakude and Surprise Mdluli strike gold in their respective premium categories (women, veterans, juniors and traditional pan), qualifying for the 2021 World Gold Panning Championships to be hosted in Dawson City, Yukon, Canada on August 2 to 7.

Here gold panners from all over the world will descend on the Klondike for a week of competition. “Congratulations to all the panners who took part at the championships. Your participation made the event a huge success and coronavirus-free,” commented the department’s Sibongile Nkosi.

According to Nkosi, the tournament attracted a large pool of panners, all fighting for supremacy to represent the country at the international stage in North America.

“It was not the usual National Gold Panning Championships because of the pandemic. This year we did not have fully-fledged championships. We had to scale it down in line with lockdown regulations,” added Nkosi.

Here are the winners:
Proficient women
1. Linda Trail
2. Sherry Goodwin
3. Andy Jane Segodi
Proficient men
1. Bennie Kruger
2. Vidhaan Singh
3. Riaan van Heerden
Veterans
1. Hester Liebenberg
2. Hanlie Kùhn
3. Elna Gundry-Barrow
Beginners female
1. Eunice Malatji
2. Anusha Damba
3. Sadhana Maharaj
Beginners male
1. Eugene Joseph
2. Bongani Skhosana
3. Lucky Mabuza
Juniors
1. Ntando Fakude
2. Jecolia van Rooyen
3. Nicole Mthuke
Children
1. Mischa Liebenberg
2. Frederik Liebenberg
3. Benjamin van Biljon
Pikkies
1. Akeela Nkateko Mdluli
2. Keabetswe Mokoena
3. Bontle Chauke
Provincial
1. Mpumalanga
2. Western Cape
3. Gauteng
Batea
1. Joseph Mashaka
2. Felicity van Rooyen
3. Hester Liebenberg
Traditional pan
1. Surprise Mdluli
2. Sanjay Singh
3. Michelle Mhlanga
Three-person team
1. Drie uit vier
2. SSS 3. We want gold
Two-person team
1. Vinnige Vermaaks
2. Trapfiets & Driewiel
3. Midnight Snackers
Jokers
Sendra Mthuke

South Africa has won the bid to host 2023 World Gold Panning Championships. The competition will be held in Pilgrim’s Rest.

Earlier this year, the 2020 World Gold Panning Championship was in the Czech Republic, but due to travel restrictions, South Africa could not participate in the championships.