Recreational gold mining and prospecting has become a popular outdoor recreation in a number of countries, including

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

(especially in

Otago Otago (, ; mi, Ōtākou ) is a region of New Zealand located in the southern half of the South Island administered by the Otago Regional Council. It has an area of approximately , making it the country's second largest local government reg ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

(at

Dolaucothi The Dolaucothi Gold Mines (; cy, Mwynfeydd Aur Dolaucothi) (), also known as the Ogofau Gold Mine, are ancient Roman surface and underground mines located in the valley of the River Cothi, near Pumsaint, Carmarthenshire, Wales. The gold mi ...

and in Gwynedd), in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

and in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

especially. Recreational mining is often small-scale placer mining but has been challenged for environmental reasons. The disruption of old gold placer deposits risks the reintroduction of post

gold rush A gold rush or gold fever is a discovery of gold—sometimes accompanied by other precious metals and rare-earth minerals—that brings an onrush of miners seeking their fortune. Major gold rushes took place in the 19th century in Australia, New ...

pollution, including mercury in old mining deposits and mine tailings.

Australia

does not prevent the private ownership of any minerals found in the land. At one time if individuals were to discover gold (or any other minerals) in their property, it would belong to the Crown, being the

Australian Government The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government, is the national government of Australia, a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Like other Westminster-style systems of government, the Australian Government ...

and not to private entitlement. Today this is not so, and individuals can search and retrieve minerals with the acquisition of a miners permit that can be bought from the relevant Mining Department. Today, recreational gold mining can be carried out in several areas such as Warrego near the town of Tennant Creek in the Northern Territory, Clermont in Queensland and Echunga Goldfield in Southern Australia. Each state has its own set of rules and regulations. The largest nugget ever found was the

Welcome Stranger The Welcome Stranger is the biggest alluvial gold nugget that has ever been found, which had a calculated refined weight of .Potter, Terry F. (1999) ''The Welcome Stranger: a definitive account of the worlds largest alluvial gold nugget''. I ...

of 2316 troy oz (74 kg).

Japan

Within Japan recreational gold

fossicking In Australia, New Zealand and Cornwall, fossicking is prospecting, especially when carried out as a recreational activity. This can be for gold, precious stones, fossils, etc. by sifting through a prospective area. In Australian English and New ...

can be carried out in Hokkaido, Yamanashi and Michinoku. Within Hokkaido, placer gold can be found in the Usotan River, the Peichian River, the

Yūbari River is a river in Hokkaidō, Japan. It is the namesake of Imperial Japanese Navy The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN; Kyūjitai: Shinjitai: ' 'Navy of the Greater Japanese Empire', or ''Nippon Kaigun'', 'Japanese Navy') was the navy of the E ...

, and the Rekifune River. The traditional gold pan used in Japan is a rectangular concave shaped pan called the Yuri-ita (揺り板).

Indonesia

With permission granted from the Indonesian Department of Tourism and the local village chiefs, fossicking for gold can be carried out in several regions that are accessible to international tourists. However, fossicking equipment is restricted to gold pans, shovels, and metal detectors. The use of sluices, dredges, or other machinery is forbidden.

New Zealand

Seventeen areas in the South Island have been declared to be gold fossicking areas, allowing miners to fossick for gold without a permit. These areas are located in Nelson-Marlborough and the West Coast, Central Otago and South Otago. Alluvial gold can be found in low concentrations in all the fossicking areas.

United Kingdom

Gold has been mined commercially in

(see ''

Welsh gold Welsh gold is gold that occurs naturally in two distinct areas of Wales and highly prized because of its origin and scarcity. One area it is found in is north Wales in a band stretching from Barmouth, past Dolgellau and up towards Snowdonia. T ...

'') and

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

. In the UK, gold prospecting can only take place with the explicit permission of the

riparian A riparian zone or riparian area is the interface between land and a river or stream. Riparian is also the proper nomenclature for one of the terrestrial biomes of the Earth. Plant habitats and communities along the river margins and banks a ...

owner, and any activities that cause or permit pollution of a watercourse, even re-suspended silt, could result in a criminal prosecution by the Environment Agency. There are locations where

gold panning Gold panning, or simply ''panning'', is a form of placer mining and traditional mining that extracts gold from a placer deposit using a pan. The process is one of the simplest ways to extract gold, and is popular with geology enthusiasts especi ...

is a popular activity.

United States

Although gold deposits are popularly associated with the western US, gold has widespread occurrence across the country. In the eastern US, a zone of

lode In geology, a lode is a deposit of metalliferous ore that fills or is embedded in a fissure (or crack) in a rock formation or a vein of ore that is deposited or embedded between layers of rock. The current meaning (ore vein) dates from the 1 ...

and placer gold deposits extends in the

Piedmont it, Piemontese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

region from

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

, Tennessee,

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

and

have many former gold mines and current prospecting sites. These states were the main source of US gold before the

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

gold discovery (see ''

Gold mining in the United States Gold mining in the United States has taken place continually since the discovery of gold at the Reed farm in North Carolina in 1799. The first documented occurrence of gold was in Virginia in 1782. Some minor gold production took place in North C ...

''). Recreational gold miners have also had success in the northeastern US. Small amounts of gold have been found in streams draining glacial deposits in the Midwest. Gold prospecting and mining activities allowed on public lands vary with the agency and the location. Gold pans and shovels are commonly allowed, but sluice boxes and suction dredges may be prohibited in some areas. There are public mining areas in many states, and prospecting may allow one to stake a

gold placer claim In the United States, a placer claim grants to the discoverer of valuable minerals contained in loose material such as sand or gravel the right to mine on public land. Other countries such as Canada, Mexico, and Australia grant similar rights. ...

or other type of mining claim in certain areas. Some public lands have been set aside for recreational gold panning. Some private land owners also give permission for small-scale gold mining.Boston Mineral Club: ''Swift River gold panning area'' (Maine)
PDF file, retrieved 20 January 2009. The largest true California

gold nugget :''"Gold nugget" may also refer to the catfish Baryancistrus xanthellus or the mango cultivar Gold Nugget.'' A gold nugget is a naturally occurring piece of native gold. Watercourses often concentrate nuggets and finer gold in placers. Nuggets a ...

, known as the "Dogtown nugget," weighed 54

troy pound Troy weight is a system of units of mass that originated in 15th-century England, and is primarily used in the precious metals industry. The troy weight units are the grain, the pennyweight (24 grains), the troy ounce (20 pennyweights), and th ...

s (20 kg), and was found in

Magalia, California Magalia (formerly Butte Mills and Dogtown) is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Butte County, California, United States. The population was 11,310 at the 2010 census. History Originally established after the 1849 Ca ...

. A 195-pound troy (73 kg) mass of gold mixed with

quartz Quartz is a hard, crystalline mineral composed of silica (silicon dioxide). The atoms are linked in a continuous framework of SiO4 silicon-oxygen tetrahedra, with each oxygen being shared between two tetrahedra, giving an overall chemical form ...

was also found.

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...

has many sites for the prospector, both public and private.

References

{{reflist

External links

TeacherTube: ''Panning for gold''
Instructional video, retrieved 20 January 2009.
World Goldpanning Association
retrieved 9 January 2009 ;Australia

retrieved 7 January 2009. ;New Zealand

retrieved 7 January 2009
Ministry of Economic Development, Crown Minerals: ''Gold fossicking (recreational gold panning)''
retrieved 9 January 2009
PayDirt.co.nz: ''Map of public gold fossicking areas in New Zealand''
retrieved 23 April 2009 ;Switzerland

retrieved 7 January 2009 ;United States

* ttp://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/prospect2/prospectgip.html US Geological Survey: ''Prospecting for gold in the United States'' retrieved 20 January 2009
Encyclopedia of Alabama: ''Gold production in Alabama''
retrieved 3 January 2009.
Digital Alabama: ''Gold in Alabama''

Illinois Geological Survey: ''Gold: its occurrence in Illinois, panning and prospecting''
retrieved 3 January 2009.
Indiana Geological Survey: ''Where can gold be found in Indiana?''
retrieved 3 January 2009.
Iowa Geological Survey: ''Gold in Iowa'', by Raymond R. Anderson
PDF file, retrieved 9 January 2009

retrieved 9 January 2009.

retrieved 3 January 2009.

retrieved 3 January 2009. Gold mining