There are a few points that you need to understand about North Carolina and past Gold Mining in the State that you may not be familiar with! One, North Carolina saw little if any Glacial drift due to the way it was formed and since most of the Gold in the Carolina Slate Belt and upstream were/are deeper deposits, there was probably little if any Gold brought down into the O.P.'s area by Glaciers. Two, some Placer Gold was likely deposited in the O.P's area by the collapse and erosion of the mountains to the West (which were once 5 to 6 mile high Volcanoes) and some eroded out in the O.P.'s area over the many millions of years since it was deposited in Slate/Quartz layers and other rocks. However, most of the Gold finds and mines in the O.P.'s area of North Carolina were/are via underground and deeper surface mines due to the Gold being deeper down. Three, with the exception of the Uwharrie Mountains, much of Central North Carolina to the coast is mostly flat with rolling hills and a few higher ridges and thus was not as well as could not be mined in the same manner as areas in the West which you are familiar with.
Frank