There's Gold In Them Thar' Hills!

Who wants to be a gazillionaire!:

The Gold Rush of 1849 it isn’t. But the real possibility of finding new gold – even a few flakes – has people giddy. Prospectors say unusually low rivers are opening up areas that haven’t been touched by man in decades, if not over a century.

...The patch of Bear River near Campground Road resembled a creek, containing exposed rocks and small islands. Prospectors in waterproof boots walked through the gentle current with ease.

Nearby, truck driver Michael Albin, 33, was settling down into a spot with his friend and fiancée. Thursday was Albin’s second stab at prospecting, but he quickly found a gold chip in his pan about one-fourth the size of a pea.

“When you see the black sand, you’ll see the gold,” said Albin, reciting a tip he learned from experienced prospectors.

So far, Albin said he’s purchased $100 worth of equipment, including multiple buckets, pans and a sifter. By summer, when the water falls even more, he expects to shell out $1,000 more for a sluice box, which can process much more material than a pan.

No one expects to strike it rich. For most, panning is just a hobby and a way to enjoy the outdoors. Professional miners are all but nonexistent in the region because of a moratorium on dredging, the act of using a motorized machine to suck and sort sediment.