Sawt Falasteen - High price of gold inspires new rush in California

Though the value has fluctuated, it has effectively doubled in the last two years, reaching an all-time high of more than $4,380 an ounce in October.

"My social media channels are definitely seeing an uptick in traffic right now," James told AFP during one of his expeditions in northern California, where the Gold Rush first erupted in the mid-1800s.

The rise in clicks on his posts -- and the related increase in commissions he makes on sales of products he uses in his prospecting -- has generated a new income source for James.

"I'm not getting rich by it, from it, by any means. But I'm certainly paying for myself to maintain my hobby and my passion and pay for the equipment," he said.

The 34-year-old project manager is the host of the Mountaineer Matt channel on YouTube. His videos typically earn tens of thousands of views.

"The question everybody always asks is 'Where (does one) find gold?' Unfortunately, that's the question that nobody wants to answer," James explained.

"Gold is very, very hard to find, and everyone wants to kind of keep it to themselves."

"Mountaineer Matt" has never lost hope of discovering "The Big Nugget" -- the one that will make him rich.

But he is well aware that today's finds bear little resemblance to those in the early days of the Gold Rush in 1849, when men came to mine the Mother Lode in the Sierra Nevada mountains.

James nevertheless says there is gold to be had -- you just need very specialized equipment to find it.

- 'Tremendous growth' -

Cody Blanchard is hoping his Heritage Gold Rush can serve the niche market -- and help him turn a hobby into a thriving business.

The store offers everything from basic tools to pan for gold in the river, such as pickaxes and scoops, to pinpointers and high-tech metal detectors that can cost thousands of dollars.

The 35-year-old sanitation worker -- who organizes paid gold-digging tours -- says he had tripled his yearly average find from one ounce a year to three using the gadgets.

"As a business, I've seen tremendous growth in a very short amount of time," he said, referring to sales of top-priced items.

For Blanchard, if people find more gold using his products, it is the best kind of advertising.

- 'Great hobby' -

The Gold Rush transformed California, known as the Golden State, and many towns in the Sierra Nevada are working to keep that moment in history alive.

Columbia State Historic Park is a preserved Gold Rush settlement that allows local and foreign tourists to try and strike it rich at the Matelot Gulch Mining Company.

Nikaila DeLorenzi, whose family has operated the attraction within the park for more than 60 years, says there has been an uptick in both visitors and equipment sales in recent weeks.

"There's a lot of burn scar areas from our local fires and surrounding areas which are good for erosion. There's a lot of sediment that is falling down," DeLorenzi explained.

"So, all good opportunities to pan for gold -- and now that gold's at $4,000 an ounce, people are thinking this is a great hobby" that might pay off, she added.

Charlene Hernandez, who was panning for gold with her family, says she hopes California is on the cusp of a modern-day Gold Rush.

"With all the money changing and the currency changing, it seems like the gold is really something you can count on that's been kind of solid," Hernandez said.

"When people are more educated and understand the importance and the security in gold, it could be a different kind of Gold Rush than what we actually read about in history, right?"

V.AbuAwwad--SF-PST