California's gold rush - 9th June 2023

California's known as the Golden State. After nearly 200 years since the first gold rush in 1849, people are heading there in search of fortune. Recent heavy rains and flooding have carried rocks which contain gold into the rivers. This is attracting gold miners to the state.

Geologist Barron Brandon explains.

Barron Brandon: "And now we're talking about flood gold. So when you have a huge rain event, big rains come and they wash all the sides of the rivers down into the river basin again, and bring gold with it as it happens. And that's how the deposits occur down in the river."

While some of the same techniques for finding gold haven't changed since 1849, modern miners now use advanced tools like metal detectors and wetsuits.

Albert Fausel: "There you go, that's easy, that's good guys."

In his wetsuit, Albert Fausel expects more gold the deeper he digs.

Albert Fausel: "I got a hole down there that I haven't even gotten to the bottom of and I got this much gold. It's like, there's got to be more gold in the bottom of that hole. Will I ever get to it? I might not."

After the gold rush of 1849, numerous regulations were established to ensure order and environmental protection. In state parks, the 'hands and pans' rule allows only manual tools like hands and pans for digging. As in 1849, individuals are still allowed to claim the right to gold that they find on public land. However, they have to obey the laws, protect the environment and report all gold to landowners.

Albert Fausel: "Dude, that's killing it right there. That's good, that's good."

Lower water levels in June will make for a more successful gold search. Geologist Brandon believes there's much gold to be discovered.

Barron Brandon: "There's claims that only about 80% of the gold in California has been found. But recent claims are that it's much less than that. I think if you really took it all into consideration, probably 15% has been found."