Here's a different sort of economic stimulus: More people are panning for gold in western North Carolina, USA Today reports.

Apparently, the tough economic times and high gold prices are boosting interest in finding gold flakes and tiny nuggets, the newspaper reports.

The Cotton Patch Gold Mine in New London and Reed Gold Mine in Midland are still yielding some gold for persistent and patient panners.

"You get a piece of gold in every six or seven pans," says Michael Scott, an interpreter at the Reed Gold Mine, a state park that was the site of a gold rush in 1799. "Nobody's getting rich."

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