How To Pan In Stardew Valley

There are plenty of different ways that Stardew Valley players can interact with their world. From planting crops and harvesting them to entering the mines and collecting ores, players are never short of things to do. Perhaps underutilized by Stardew Valley players, panning can be a surprisingly impactful addition to one's repertoire.

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By Artur Novichenko

The process for unlocking panning in Stardew Valley can be a bit unclear, however, as there are a few steps that players must follow before they can reach this goal. For those looking to earn themselves a Copper Pan and begin panning for ore in the game, here's how to do so.

Updated May 14, 2025, by Artur Novichenko: Many different activities in the valley will bring you useful or valuable items, and although panning takes time to unlock, you should still devote more time to it. Possible loot found in ponds in Stardew Valley will help you develop the farm faster. In addition, by upgrading the pan and enchanting it, you can get really valuable items, such as Mystery Boxes and Lucky Rings.

How to Unlock Panning in Stardew Valley

The cutscene unlocking panning stardew valley (1)

Unfortunately, panning isn't immediately available to players when they start a playthrough of Stardew Valley. There are two ways through which players can unlock panning: the Community Center and JojaMart. Both of these paths are tied to the Shimmering Boulder in the Mountain region of Stardew Valley.

Community Center

Within Stardew Valley's Community Center, players have a handful of bundles to complete in order to earn game-altering rewards. In order to unlock panning, players need to successfully complete all six Fish Tank bundles. Once these have all been completed, the Shimmering Boulder will be destroyed, and panning will become available once players enter the Mountain region the next day and watch a cutscene with Willy.

JojaMart

Those pursuing the JojaMart storyline have a much more straightforward path. Once they have acquired a JojaMart membership, they will find the option to purchase the Panning Community Development Project. This removes the Shimmering Boulder for 20,000 gold and will also activate the cutscene the next time a player enters the Mountain region.

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By Holly Alice

How to Pan in Stardew Valley

shimmering lights stardew valley — the shimmering lights panning stardew valley

Panning is a straightforward process because Stardew Valley's fisherman, Willy, walks players through it in a cutscene. He mentions that the player will know where to pan by the shimmering lights in the water and gives them his spare Copper Pan (though extras can be purchased from Willy for 2,500 gold). When players see those very shimmering lights while they are walking around the different regions, they need only walk over to said area and, with the Copper Pan in their active inventory, left-click on the lights.

These shimmering lights appear randomly in any river, lake, pond, on Ginger Island South, and on the Beach during the Night Market in Stardew Valley. The loot and exact location are determined at the beginning of each day. Every time a player pans, a random number of a single type of metal ore is found. On top of this, players can also find coal, a gem/mineral, or even Omni Geodes or a Lucky Ring. Daily luck as well as Food luck can increase a player's chance of finding better items, but below is a list of potential finds with their basic chances.

Ore	Percentage Chance
Bone Fragment	10% (20% with Archaeologist)
Copper Ore	36%
Iron Ore	32.3%
Gold Ore	20.8%
Iridium Ore	1%

Gems	Percentage Chance
Diamond	1.5%
Aquamarine	1%
Amethyst	1%
Emerald	1%
Ruby	1%
Topaz	1%

Other	Percentage Chance
Coal	50%
Omni Geode	28%
Earth Crystal	4.9%
Frozen Tear	4.7%
Fire Quartz	4.2%
Mystery Box	3.3% (4.4% with the Book of Mysteries)
Golden Mystery Box	3.3% (4.4% with the Book of Mysteries)
Random piece of Clothing or Furniture	0.5% - 5%
Lucky Ring	0% (3.3% with perfect daily luck)
Random Artifact	2% (7% with Archaeologist)
Random location-appropriate Fish	0% (10% with Fisher)

Panning is therefore an excellent way for players on their journey throughout the day to pick up extra ore and items. On Stardew Valley's Ginger Island, players can also find the Fossilized Tail, as well as the Taro Tuber, through panning.

Pan Upgrades

Pan	Cost and Ingredients	Bonuses
Copper Pan	2,500g	When panning, can find 3 to 9 ores and up to 1 special item.
Steel Pan	5,000g and 5 Iron bars	When panning, can find 4 to 10 ores and up to 2 special item. Has a small chance to spawn another panning spot.
Gold Pan	10,000g and 5 Gold bars	When panning, can find 5 to 11 ores and up to 3 special items. Has a higher chance of spawning another panning spot.
Iridium Pan	25,000g and 5 Iridium bars	When panning, can find 6 to 12 ores and up to 4 special items. Has a high chance of spawning another panning spot.

Pan Enchantment	Description
Archaeologist	Odds of finding Artifact Troves increased by 4x, Artifacts by 3.5x, and Bone Fragments by 2.
Generous	Increases the maximum cap of finding non-ore items.
Fisher	There is a 10% chance you can get a location-appropriate fish.
Reaching	The maximum area of effect increases.

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Stardew Valley

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Released: February 26, 2016

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ESRB: E for Everyone (Fantasy Violence, Mild Blood, Mild Language, Simulated Gambling, Use of Alcohol and Tobacco)
Developer(s): ConcernedApe
Genre(s): RPG, Simulation