An amateur prospector has discovered a once-in-a-lifetime find in the most unlikely of places – finding a huge lump of gold worth £200,000 in the Australian bush.
Using only a handheld detector, the unnamed novice was amazed when he found the y-shaped nugget 60cm underground near the town of Ballarat in Victoria.
Weighing 5.5kg, the discovery has delighted local experts who say that they have never encountered such a significant find.
Struck gold: An amateur prospector found a 5.5kg gold nugget, expected to fetch £200,000 at auction, near the town of Ballarat, Australia
Goldmine: The nugget was discovered 60cm underground near the town of Ballarat, where gold has been sought by prospectors for decades, in Australia’s Victoria state
The prospector was using a state-of-the-art detector, allowing him to locate the ‘extremely rare’ nugget in previously searched ground.
But despite the enormity of the find, the man initially thought he had detected ‘the bonnet of a car’ before seeing a ‘glint of gold’.
Perhaps not quite believing his luck, friends revealed how the man kept cleaning the piece and ‘the gold kept expanding and expanding’.
Excitement: Ballarat Mining Exchange Gold Shop owner Cordell Kent said the man rushed home to tell his wife after the discovery and is planning to pay off bills with the funds
Ballarat Mining Exchange Gold Shop owner and dealer Cordell Kent said: ‘I have been a prospector and dealer for two decades, and cannot remember the last time a nugget over 100 ounces (2.8kg) has been found locally.’
He said the anonymous prospector is a ‘person that really deserves it’ revealing that he rushed to tell his wife after finding it.
Mr Kent revealed: ‘He is going to pay off a lot of bills and pay off his house – it’s a real life changer.
‘It’s extremely significant as a mineral specimen. We are 162 years into a gold rush and Ballarat is still producing nuggets – it’s unheard of.’
Gold currently trades in Australia at about $1,600 (£1,050) per ounce but because finding a piece weighing more than a kilogram is so rare this adds a premium.
He added: ‘There has been many prospectors that have walked past the exact place where the nugget was found and have missed it with an ordinary detector and did not have the technology to find it…that’s why this guy found it.
‘This detector he used is the best there is, it goes deeper and further into the ground, better than others.
The nugget measures 220mm in length, is 140mm wide and 45mm at its deepest point.
The trader also expected the find to attract a lot more prospectors to the area, saying: ‘A finding like this gives people hope.
‘There’s nothing like digging up money, it’s good fun.’
