In 1878, Frederick C. Maisey documented the following about Pidmo village in Zanskar: "A village on the left bank of the Zanskar River, just below Zangla. Gold can be found in the riverbed between here and Chiling." A century later, in 1978, Michel Peissel revisited the region and reaffirmed the presence of gold in Pidmo, stating, “…there was certainly more gold here in Zanskar than in the Suru River. Until recently, the gold washings from Pidmo were well-known." Reflecting on his conversation with the King of Zangla, Peissel added, "As the King of Zangla reminded me, his estates had gold-bearing sands. The most significant gold-bearing river in the region flows near Pidmo, within his domain. To prove this, the King showed me several silver and gold bowls, crafted by Zangla’s blacksmith. The elaborate ceremonial vessels I admired were, he claimed, made in Zangla using silver, gold, and copper all sourced from Zanskar!”
Lobzang Tsering, a 74-year-old resident of Pidmo, is one of the few living people who have witnessed gold extraction from the Zanskar River. Lobzang shared that, until recently, the late Meymey (grandfather) Chamba from the Tundup Khangsar family in Pidmo used to pan for gold in the river, doing so as a hobby. Lobzang showed the author a site marked by a large boulder, named Ser-Pholong (ser meaning gold, pholong meaning boulder), where Meymey Chamba used to pan for gold, a site likely referenced by the King of Zangla and where gold washing was noted by Maisey in 1878. This site lies on the left bank of the Zanskar River, near the northwestern edge of Pidmo village. According to Lobzang Tsering, Meymey Chamba would camp there and use a wooden tray, called a Zhongba, to carefully pan a mixture of water and sand. However, the results were often meager. Even after a full day of labor, Meymey Chamba would only manage to find a few small gold flakes, roughly the size of the tip of one’s nail.