Monday, 17th March 2008 (2634 views)

State authorities in Oregon are trying to keep up with demand for gold panning equipment following a "sudden rush" of prospectors looking to cash in on the yellow metal's high market price, according to reports.

Affiliate news station NBC 5 says that the activity is normally considered a fun pastime, but with gold breaking the $1,000 (£498.52) an ounce barrier, many people are looking to strike it rich with their own gold bonanza.

Such is the scale of the gold rush that the state's forest agencies and suppliers of gold panning equipment are rushing to keep up with the influx of prospective prospectors, the station says.

But with approximately 3,600 mining claims already staked in Oregon, officials are advising amateur explorers to check with the Bureau of Land Management for a map to ensure they do not encroach on existing sites.

Existing gold mining in Oregon is mainly centred on the Klamath Mountains, where gold was discovered in 1850, in the south-west of the state and the Blue Mountains in the north-east.

 

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