Gold Records Bringing Out New Prospectors

Thanks to the gold bull market, and the newfound publicity for the metal, there's a lot of people catching the gold fever. As a result, prospecting supply companies are doing a land-office business in a place more known for oil and gas: the province of Alberta in Canada.

“Every day since Christmas, we've sold a gold pan. I've never sen anything like it,” says Kathryn Walters of Bedrock Supply in Edmonton. “I definitely see gold fever this year.”

And it isn't just pans that people are buying. Books on how to find gold are becoming almost as tricky to find as gold itself. New print runs have been ordered, and photocopied versions are filling the void until they're ready.

Neil Dougherty of Touchwood Enterprises in Edson, Alta. says sales of the top-of-the-line metal detectors he stocks have doubled in the last two years. They cost $5,595 and he sold 23 of them last year....

There was a bit of a gold rush in Alberta more than a century ago, centered on the North Saskatchewan river, and that's where Albertan interest is centered now. As is always the case, only a lucky few will stike it rich - and only those who treat it as a serious career will make a living off it. For most, prospecting and panning will be little more than a hobby - at times, a frustrating one.