Hypothetical....why would anyone report gold from mining if it’s going to be taxed away from them? It’s not like gold can be “tagged” as to its source and date of mining.
— the above post of the Bingham Canyon slide should illustrate why it is difficult to hide a large mine——from the tax man or anyone else-—
I believe the old days when you picked up a few nuggets off the ground are mostly in peoples memories.
Today it take moving a lot of dirt to follow a vein. A lot of workers and a vast outfit to mine what gold is there.
Permits to open a mine and people (worker)to be paid.
Probably impossible to get any real amount of gold without letting the Government know.