I’ve seen lots of YouTubes with guys using metal detectors to find gold out west. But it’s the naturally occurring gold. This was a couple of years ago when gold was half current prices. So likely there are even more guys roaming the the forests mountains and deserts either metal detectors
I’m reading a great book “Gunfighters, Highway Men and Vigilantes” all about two of the most famous and most notorious western gold and silver mining boom towns - Aurora, NV and Bodie, CA - in the mid- to late-1800s. Really enjoyable and highly recommended.