Still Waters Posted January 17, 2013 #1 Share Posted January 17, 2013 An amateur prospector in the Australian state of Victoria has astonished experts by unearthing a gold nugget weighing 5.5kg (177 ounces). The unidentified man, using a handheld metal detector, found the nugget on Wednesday, lying 60cm underground near the town of Ballarat. Its value has been estimated at more than A$300,000 ($315,000: £197,000). http://www.bbc.co.uk...d-asia-21055206 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wolfknight Posted January 17, 2013 #2 Share Posted January 17, 2013 Well I guess he is out of debt. WTG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tipotep Posted January 17, 2013 #3 Share Posted January 17, 2013 What a find , hope it wasn't on crown land !!! TiP. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seeder Posted January 18, 2013 #4 Share Posted January 18, 2013 I always meant to get myself a metal detector... some great finds have been made.. and this guy just got semi rich "A gold nugget with an estimated value of more than $300,000 has been unearthed near Ballarat in Victoria's west. An amateur prospector found the nugget weighing 177 ounces, or 5.5 kilograms, with a metal detector just outside Ballarat in a popular area for prospecting. The owner of The Mining Exchange Gold Shop in Ballarat, Cordell Kent, said the find was one of the most significant in his 20 years in the business" http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-01-17/lucky-prospector-strikes-huge-gold-nugget/4470016 . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+OverSword Posted January 18, 2013 #5 Share Posted January 18, 2013 Jealous! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
libstaK Posted January 18, 2013 #6 Share Posted January 18, 2013 I'm chagrined!!! I've been told on at least a half dozen occassions by my sister and her partner what fun metal detecting is and "you should get one". I've been dishing back the whole "bah humbug what a waste of time" just as regularly. I live an hour from where this was found. They'll be giving me the big "I told you so" any day now ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ozman Posted January 19, 2013 #7 Share Posted January 19, 2013 This is exactly why I'm getting a metal detector capable of finding gold ASAP!!!!!!!!! and hitting the Minnesota Twin Cities Area. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ancient astronaut Posted January 19, 2013 #8 Share Posted January 19, 2013 WOW. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DKO Posted January 19, 2013 #9 Share Posted January 19, 2013 (edited) I'm chagrined!!! I've been told on at least a half dozen occassions by my sister and her partner what fun metal detecting is and "you should get one". I've been dishing back the whole "bah humbug what a waste of time" just as regularly. I live an hour from where this was found. They'll be giving me the big "I told you so" any day now ... I think it might be worth having a search, Victoria seems to be pretty lucky with large gold nuggets. Most known in the developed world as the biggest gold nugget ever found, the Welcome Stranger was found at Moliagul, Victoria, Australia in 1869 by John Deason and Richard Oates. It weighed gross, over 2,520 troy ounces (78 kg) and returned over 2,284 troy ounces (71.0 kg) net [5].The largest gold nugget found using a metal detector is the Hand of Faith, weighing 875 troy ounces (27 kg), found in Kingower, Victoria, Australia in 1980. http://en.wikipedia....rgest_specimens Edited January 19, 2013 by DKO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Majikwayz Posted January 19, 2013 #10 Share Posted January 19, 2013 So amazing how it formed like that...kinda ugly tho for gold....lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pallidin Posted January 19, 2013 #11 Share Posted January 19, 2013 (edited) Yeah, where there's one large nugget, there might be more. Wish I was there, to be honest. EDIT: Hey, I've never really prospected, except playing around, but does anyone know if such a large nugget is indicative of a thick vein of gold somewhere, say, within a mile or more. Or does that NOT infer that at all? Edited January 19, 2013 by pallidin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seeder Posted January 19, 2013 #12 Share Posted January 19, 2013 A fantastic find for a natural nugget, but think of the buried treasure you could be walking over all the time, in local fields and such places! "The Staffordshire Hoard" was found by a metal detector in a farmers field, and was worth 3.5 Million to the finders http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Staffordshire_Hoard and http://www.staffordshirehoard.org.uk/ And theres been quite a few other big ones in the UK too. So if you ever wanted a detector, just buy one now and get some exercise! Im searching ebay for one next! Some kid went detecting for the first time and probably wont need to work when he leaves school "Boy, 3, unearths £2.5m treasure trove on FIRST metal detecting expedition" http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1330198/James-Hyatt-unearths-2-5m-treasure-trove-FIRST-metal-detecting-expedition.html . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lobotomy Posted January 19, 2013 #13 Share Posted January 19, 2013 I remember seeing an episode of the awesome Globe Trekker (formerly Lonely Planet) where some guy in Australia found one like three times the size of that one. They showed the cast of it in the show and I think it was called The Hand of Faith. I'm booking my plane ticket right now, so don't worry folks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DKO Posted January 20, 2013 #14 Share Posted January 20, 2013 I remember seeing an episode of the awesome Globe Trekker (formerly Lonely Planet) where some guy in Australia found one like three times the size of that one. They showed the cast of it in the show and I think it was called The Hand of Faith. I'm booking my plane ticket right now, so don't worry folks! Three of the four largest nuggets have been found in Victoria, Australia. Plus the major gold rushes went on there. I might book a ticket too haha. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Fluffs Posted January 20, 2013 #15 Share Posted January 20, 2013 I'd like to find something like that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheOtherSide1945 Posted January 22, 2013 #16 Share Posted January 22, 2013 surprised the critics arent on here saying its swamp gas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erudite Celt Posted January 24, 2013 #17 Share Posted January 24, 2013 (edited) @ pallidin' such a large nugget wont have come far from it's origonal source. I googled the area on google maps and a few things stand out.#1 its a very flat area. #2 it has few river sources but lots of small lakes and swamps. This is both good and bad, good because any gold carried to the area will remain in the area because it sits in a natural basin and cannot get washed away, bad because most of the gold will have settled in the bottom of the lakes and swamps "the very bottom". If I lived in the area I would be looking for traces of ancient water and river courses,the present drought in Australia would be an ideal time to look for such courses as they will probably be greener than the surrounding area. the outer race of a river course is were you would find the greatest accumulations, but the sumps of those swamps must be full of the stuff. PS If you ever find naturally occurring gold in the UK don't tell any one and sell it because it is crown property and unlike treasure trove you will not get a penny from the government!!! Edited January 24, 2013 by Erudite Celt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erudite Celt Posted January 24, 2013 #18 Share Posted January 24, 2013 Jealous! Try Sultan in Snohomish County you might get lucky!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seeder Posted January 24, 2013 #19 Share Posted January 24, 2013 PS If you ever find naturally occurring gold in the UK don't tell any one and sell it because it is crown property and unlike treasure trove you will not get a penny from the government!!! Already had this idea firmly planned out if I ever do find a hoard! Even if its classed as Treasure you still need to wait till someone buys it before they pay you out, that may not be so quick in the current financial state of the UK either.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hawken Posted January 26, 2013 #20 Share Posted January 26, 2013 Great timing finding that nugget with the way gold prices are these days. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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