Lucky Strike Gold held by appraiser Darren Kamp
2023.03.29 Wed posted at 11:14 JST
An amateur gold digger in Australia has found a huge gold nugget worth A$240,000 ($210,000).
The gold nuggets were found in what is known as the ‘Golden Triangle’ in Victoria. It weighed 4.6 kg and contained 2.6 kg of gold.
Nicknamed the Lucky Strike Nugget, the gold was brought into the mining shop Lucky Strike Gold late last year and handed over to owner Darren Kemp, who appraised it. rice field.
“I was astonished when I picked it up.” Kemp told CNN on the 28th. “I mightn’t believe it. A once-in-a-lifetime discovery.”
Kemp, who has been in the gold appraisal business for 43 years, said, “I’ve never seen a stone this big and with that much gold.” He added that in many cases, the stones brought into the store look like gold bullion but are not.
Darren Kamp, who has a current value of A$240,000, said the rock was so dirty that the finder split it in two./Lucky Strike Gold
The man who found the nugget initially received only half its actual value and asked Kemp if it contained gold worth A$10,000.
Kemp said the gold nugget was so dirty that the man who discovered it, who wished to remain anonymous, might not see any gold on the surface, so he broke it in two, thinking there was gold inside.
After cleaning it, “I might see gold oozing out of the stone all over,” Kemp recalls.
“Well worth looking for”
The prospector was using a metal detector, the Minelab Equinox 800, which costs A$1,200.
“It’s been proven that a $1,200 machine can find gold,” said Kemp, noting that the store has been selling more metal detectors in recent days. This is likely due to rising interest rates and the need for means to supplement income.
4.6 kilograms of rock precious metal weighed 2.6 kilograms/Lucky Strike Gold
The largest gold nugget Kemp has ever found weighed in at 24 ounces, worth around A$70,000 at today’s market prices. About a decade ago, a friend of his found a 600-ounce gold nugget, Kemp said.
The current gold price is regarding A$94 per gram (0.035 ounce). “It’s well worth looking for,” says Kemp. “All you need is change. That’s regarding $200 (Australian).”
In 2020, prospectors searching for gold in a traditional gold mine in southern Australia found two giant gold nuggets worth A$350,000.
In 2013, amateur miners found gold bullion worth at least $300,000.
In Australia, the gold rush of the 1850s was sparked by the discovery of rich gold deposits in the Ballarat and Bendigo regions of Victoria.
It’s not uncommon for get-rich-quick hunters to find huge gold nuggets. The largest, the Holterman Nugget, weighed over 200 pounds.
