Panning for Gold Makes a Comeback

April 15, 2009 at 10:56 AM | by juliana | 0 Comments

Desperate times call for desperate measures and with more and more people finding themselves out of work, panning for gold is now once again in fashion. USA Today reports:

Gold, which is selling for more than $900 an ounce, has been found all over California, from near the Oregon border to the Mother Lode near Yosemite to the deserts of Arizona and Mexico. Seasonal rains and snowmelt erode minerals, including gold, at higher altitudes and wash them down streams and rivers.

At the Angeles National Forest, about an hour outside of Los Angeles, folks have been panning for gold in larger numbers. California now has 24,583 active gold-mining claims (cost to file a claim: $170) And it's not just old retired people who also skulk around the beaches with metal detectors. No, young and old are hiking up forest trails and sifting through dirt along the rivers.

And ready to welcome these new adventurers with open arms are local prospetor clubs and of course, gold mining equipment providers. These people are actually the ones making the most money from the gold fever.

But before you go book your flight to Los Angeles and tell your friends and family that you are going to "Strike It Rich!", please manage your expectations. Most of these folks find only little specks of gold after long tiring searches. And most understand that the possibility of finding enough gold to make them rich, is unlikely. (Especially, now that everyone's doing it.) If anything, it's just a good reason to get out of the house or kill time in the great outdoors.

Another sign that mining for gold is so hot right now? The Jonas Brothers went on a gold mining excursion in California recently. (We read it in the National Enquirer.) But really, guys. You have money. Leave the gold for the rest of us.

Related Stories:
· New gold rush hits California [USA Today]
· Treasure Hunting Travel: Gold Mining Edition [Jaunted]

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