Re: as much, if not more, energy to mine
If you want to mine gold yourself, then panning for gold is certainly viable in NZ and Oz. There are areas you can do it for free, and quite a lot of areas where you just need the permission of the landowner/renter.
It's not much cost to set up, and you can make roughly minimum wage for what is essentially outdoor work. If you can do a rough sort at your mining site, and can hump out the paydirt, then you can do maybe a third of the work under shelter.
You're also usually digging in riverbeds, and you can't usually do that during the melt or rainy seasons. Plus you need the usual safety provisions for being in the bush.
I found you could get more money by selling direct to a jeweler, as they can charge extra for it being "pure NZ" gold. You should be able to get a rings worth in 4-6 days worth of prospecting.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
