- Hobby gold digger shows off two large gold nuggets found in outback online
- The Reddit user discovered his prize – worth up to $1300 – with a metal detector
- The find comes about two weeks after another prospector found a 50g nugget
A prospector has unearthed a number of small gold nuggets in the Outback.
The nuggets, measuring smaller than a 50c coin, were discovered between Kalgoorlie and Leonora in Western Australia.
A picture of the gold, weighing from 12.5grams and measuring between two and nine inches in length, was posted to Reddit on Friday.
The Reddit user shared his most recent prize gold prospecting prize online on Friday
The Reddit user, who wanted to be identified as James O, said a few smaller pieces were also found – totaling about $250 – ‘but these two pieces are obviously the best ones’.
‘Usually nuggets like this are in the 85 per cent to 95 per cent purity range, alloyed with other metals such as silver and copper as common alloys, to a range of others,’ the 32-year-old responded to another’s comment asking about the percentage of gold in each nugget.
‘There’s a few different ways to test – a graduated acid test, and the strength of the acid to dissolve a scratching of the nugget tells you. There’s electronic tests that use known signatures, all the way up to x-ray spectrometry and fire assay used by industry.’
James O, of Perth, said the Victorian gold fields were on their bucket list to-do ‘when things settle down’ with COVID-19. He has been prospecting for about six years.
‘Absolutely love prospecting, come back to camp at the end of the day, sit by the fire with a cold beer and just enjoy. It’s probably more the getting out and just being in the middle of nowhere with no pressure for a while and the fresh air!’ he said.
‘I’m not a professional prospector so there’s no pressure, so enjoy every part of it regardless of the find or not.’
For those looking getting into gold prospecting, James O told Daily Mail Australia to ‘hit up local Facebook groups or prospecting clubs and they’ll point you in the right direction in terms of government requirements and regulations, equipment, safety and general locations for your state.’
‘Going on a prospecting tour for a few days might even be good to try things out before you commit as it can be expensive,’ he said.
James O’s find comes about two weeks after another prospector located a 50g nugget on private property in the Ballarat area, south-west Victoria.
It was valued up to $4000 and found buried two feet underground.
The prospector, known as Bill M, shared a photo of the nugget to Australian Facebook group Detecting Downunder.
The prospector, known as Bill M, found the 50g nugget (pictured) on a private property in the Ballarat area, south-west Victoria, during June
‘Gold prospector ‘Bill M’ found this gorgeous 50 gram nugget on private property in the Ballarat area,’ the post read.
‘This is straight from a main gold reef and Bill looks like he’s onto something special. It was found about two feet (60cm) down.’
A gold reef is where a large amount of gold is found encased underground in the rock it was formed in.
The community of treasure hunters weighed in on the find.
‘Just wondering what a nugget of that size is worth? one user asked.
The group administrator answered: ‘At the current gold price of $82 per gram, it’s worth around $4k. Not a bad pay day.’
Australia’s Biggest Gold Finds
5 February 1869 – The Welcome Stranger
The Welcome Stranger nugget is Australia’s biggest ever found. Discovered by prospectors John Deason and Richard Oates in the small town of Moliagul in Victoria, the nugget weighed a staggering 72kgs and 60cms in length. The find earned them £9,381 at the time.
9 June 1858 – The Welcome
The Welcome was discovered by a group of 22 miners at the Red Hill Mining Company site in Bakery Hill, Ballarat. The nugget spanned 53cms in length and weighed 68.2kgs. It was sold for £10,500 and ended up in the Crystal Palace in London before being sold to the Royal Mint in 1859.
26 September 1980 – The Hand of Faith
This nugget is the largest in the world to be found by a metal detector. It was found by Kevin Hillier resting vertically just 30cm below the surface in Kingower, a small town in the Shire of Loddon, Victoria. It was eventually sold to the Golden Nugget casino in Las Vegas- where it is still on display to this day. It weighs 27.2kg and is 45cm in length.
1995- Normandy Nugget
The nugget is the second largest gold nugget still in existence and was discovered in a creek bed near Kalgoorlie in Western Australia. It weighs 25.5kg and is 27cm in length. It’s now owned by the Newmont Mining Corporation is still currently on display at the Perth Mint museum.
18 December 1906 – The Poseidon
Named after the winning Melbourne Cup racehorse that year, the nugget was discovered in the gold mining town of Tarnagulla in Victoria and weighed 29.6kg. The area which The Poseidon went onto become known as Poseidon Lead after many more gold nuggets were discovered there.
The Welcome Home nugget on display in Ballarat’s Gold Museum
Souce: dailymail.co.uk
