The local prospector stumbled upon a precious nugget weighing just over five kilograms (177 ounces) on a Wednesday morning. Excited about his find, he hurriedly brought it to the Ballarat Mining Exchange Gold Shop.
The specific location and the person who found it are being kept confidential, but gold store owner Cordell Kent revealed that the nugget was discovered within 30 kilometers of Ballarat’s city center. It was unearthed about 60 centimeters underground using a high-tech detector valued at over $6000 – the Minelab GPX-5000. If sold at current market prices, it would fetch close to $300,000, but due to its rarity, its value would likely be much higher, Kent added. “If someone were to melt it down, it would be worth around $300,000. However, as an intact nugget of this size and shape, it’s worth far more than that,” he noted. Kent also expressed his amazement at the find, stating, “I can’t recall ever seeing a nugget this size discovered locally.”
According to Mr. Kent, the prospector had previously discovered tiny amounts of gold, but none of them were valued at over $1000.
“Just yesterday, the tiniest nugget he had discovered was a small one, roughly a quarter of an ounce,” he mentioned.
“Discoveries like this inspire hope in people. It has always been my aspiration to stumble upon something like that, and I’ve been searching for over twenty years now.
“We are now in the midst of a gold rush and there are countless years of hope ahead of us. It’s truly remarkable.”
The nugget is anticipated to be bought by a collector or could potentially end up in a museum.
Mr. Kent expressed his desire to sell it locally in Australia due to its size, mentioning that obtaining special permission would be necessary for exporting it abroad. He also anticipated a new gold rush hitting the Ballarat region soon. “I believe that many people will be excited about the goldfields once again, it provides hope,” Mr. Kent stated. “There’s a certain thrill in digging up money, it’s enjoyable.”