prospector

(Newser) - A man exploring with a metal detector hit the jackpot, uncovering what a veteran gold prospector calls a "once-in-a-lifetime find." The amateur gold digger, who is remaining anonymous, was searching the goldfields of Australia's Victoria state, site of an 1850s gold rush, when he stumbled upon a...

(Newser) - Prospectors seeking to join California's new gold rush are facing an upstream battle amid moves to protect the state's salmon stocks. Suction dredge mining, which uses gas-powered machines to scrape gold from river beds, has been banned while its environmental impact is reviewed, a process expected to take until 2011....

(Newser) - The miserable state economy and the soaring price of gold have sent Californians back into them thar hills, USA Today reports. Prospecting clubs all over the state report a huge jump in the number of people panning for gold just as a 10.5% unemployment rate has left cash-strapped residents...

(Newser) - A new generation of prospectors is partying like it’s 1849: Record prices and a simple desire for outdoor fun are drawing thousands westward in a new gold rush, the New York Times reports. “Anywhere gold has been found in the past, that’s where they’re going again,...