There’s plenty of gold where I live if you want to break your back prospecting. Georgia was where America’s first gold rush began and people still work the streams. Most would do better working at a Burger King but there is always the chance of that big strike.
The typical gold prospector in Alaska makes $1,000/month. Robots are still clumsy but the technology is all there for them to autonomously pan for gold. If a prospector instead oversaw 20 stream-water powered panning robots, they might make $20,000/month.