>>1323283So OP I will humor you.
Firstly you'd need to define what sort of mining operation you are looking for. I'm assuming since gold is in the subject then gold prospecting is what you'd ideally want to be doing. That being said there is a huge difference between prospecting and then actual mining operations.
Prospecting can be done anywhere you suspect there to be alluvial deposit of gold, in most cases there is gold anywhere you can find quartz crystal as the two tended to go hand in hand when the planet was terraforming, so indication of quartz is usually a good signifyer of placer gold.
The issue your gonna run into in these cases is the lode within the placer tailings (gravel for idiots.) A lot of rivers in California, parts of Nevada, Arizona, Oregon, and Washington state have some forms of free gold, the difference is that the distance from the original source, hence most main spout rivers will give you gold dust, versus nuggets, and therefore require labor intensive mining for little returns. (hence hobbyist.) An actual mining operation requires significant signs of ore lode in order for it to be profitable. This is where the split happens, you have placer mining, IE digging freegold out of river gravel, or extraction mining. Going to a vein source and mining it out.
Extraction mining is expensive due to labor intensity, you gotta break out the ore from the surrounding rock, process it, then deal with the fallout from the process. IE Tailings, environmental hazards, etc.
Most of the placer gold, or easy freegold is gone friend, it was mined out in the 1930's with hydrolic set ups, and while there is still gold out there, all the easy pickings are mostly gone, or out in the boonies of Alaska and the Yukon. Even then most of the companies up there scratch a living at it unless its a big company of miners, most now have started focusing on undeveloped areas or are going for diamonds instead.
