The Telegraph reports that rising gold prices and a lousy economy are driving a new wave of prospectors to California in search of gold.
Land claims in the western states have soared and the Gold Prospectors Association of America says its membership has grown by nearly 40 per cent in a few years to 45,000.
"There's a lot of excitement right now," said Walt Eason of the association. "It used to be that you might find $2,000 or $3,000 of gold after a week's work. Now it's possible that that figure could be $15,000 to $20,000."
