I came upon this article by Cindy Belt about exploring historic mines and ore production facilities. I included some of the articled and the link below.

By Cindy Belt @ exclusive.multibriefs.com
04/08/2019

I will admit that my previous career in the metals industry makes seeking out metallurgical locations natural. But these locations can be interesting to anyone.

Metalworking is how we define some human time periods, such as the Stone Age, Bronze Age, and Iron Age. Metals are used everywhere and built our culture. Interesting metal spots vary from mining to mills. These metals can include iron, copper, gold, and silver along with other, rarer metals.

Panning

Sure, you can pay to pan for gold in a tourist spot where sand is seeded with interesting stones and occasional bits of gold or silver, but panning in a river can be fun even if you don’t become rich.

The best states for this are South Dakota, Nevada, Colorado, Oregon, Georgia, and California, where the most famous gold rush occurred. Plan a trip to Alaska for even more potential panning spots.

Read more here: http://exclusive.multibriefs.com/content/exploring-the-world-of-metals-on-your-travels/natural-resources