Blow Mining - A New Twist on Gold Nugget Hunting

I found an interesting article at the New 49er's website about blow mining. The author shows how you can use a motor, a hose, and a blaster nozzle to build a device to blow mine. The idea is to blow material out of the way to get to the surface of the bedrock. Then you can work the cracks without moving all of the debris with your hands. The fanning and raking is minimized.
As I see it, you could also move the debris out of the way searching for nuggets. The power setting will not blow the heavy gold away. Anyway, this is worth reading.

http://www.goldgold.com/underwater-blow-mining-for-gold.html

Miners work inside the Gold King Mine, near Silverton, Colorado, in 1899. (USGS)