How about calling a 2kg nugget by the name “Absolutely Unbelievable”?
A Victorian senior citizen recently made an incredible discovery while out searching for gold near Ballarat. Using a metal detector, he stumbled upon a massive 2-kilogram nugget worth around $130,000. The man, who is an amateur prospector, initially found a small lead bullet, but his detector kept signaling that there was something more valuable buried deeper. After some digging, he unearthed the impressive gold nugget, which he has now dubbed “You Wouldn’t Believe It.” The lucky prospector, who has received offers of up to $160,000 for his find, was in shock and couldn’t believe his incredible luck. Despite his success, he has chosen to keep the location of his discovery a secret. This remarkable find is the largest nugget ever found by customers at Gold Ballarat, according to Mark Day, who has been in the gold business for 25 years. This isn’t the prospector’s first discovery either, as he had previously found a 42-gram nugget earlier in the year.
The prospector who made the incredible discovery is keeping his identity and the location of his find a secret, which is not surprising given the excitement of his find. When he contacted Mr. Day, the retiree was shocked to hear that the nugget weighed two kilos. Former president of the Prospectors and Miners Association of Victoria, Brian Robillard, emphasized the importance of patience in prospecting. While many people believe they will strike it rich like the lucky prospector, the reality is more like winning Tattslotto. Despite this, Mark Day remains optimistic, pointing out that historic big finds have occurred in the area before and gold is still waiting to be discovered.
There is still a vast amount of gold, estimated at 2.26 million tonnes, waiting to be unearthed in regional Victoria. The state is experiencing a resurgence in the gold rush, with gold production doubling in the last five years. This is evident in mines like Fosterville in Bendigo and Stawell Gold Mine in north-west Victoria, which have seen successful operations after facing challenges in recent years. Gold fever is alive and well in Victoria’s hills, with plenty of opportunities for those willing to search.
Fosterville Mine has been operational since 2005, and in 2015 it began producing higher-quality gold. The mine, located in Central Victoria, is anticipated to yield between 16.1 and 17.2 tonnes of gold annually for the next three years. Despite this, there are still a significant number of surface-based prospectors searching for gold in the area.
Peter McCarthy, a former mining engineer involved in the reopening of the Castlemaine Goldfields mine in Ballarat, mentioned that a retiree’s discovery of two kilograms of gold was not unexpected. He believes there is still plenty of gold waiting to be found, but notes that the number of people actively searching for it has increased recently.
According to McCarthy, the search for gold is akin to a “seek and you shall find” situation. He cited statistics from the Victorian Government suggesting that there is a substantial amount of gold still waiting to be discovered at deeper depths, as the old-timers were unable to find it due to layers of clay, sand, and gravel covering the deposits.
Retired mining expert Peter McCarthy believes that there is still a significant amount of gold waiting to be discovered in rural Victoria. In the 1850s, people from various countries rushed to regional Victoria to try their luck at finding gold, creating temporary settlements across the goldfields. The most noteworthy nuggets discovered in the area include The Welcome Stranger, which was unearthed in 1869 in Moliagul and weighed an impressive 65.3kg, and the Hand of Faith, discovered in Kingower in 1980, weighing 24.6kg. Recent discoveries continue to happen, such as a young girl finding a $30,000 gold nugget while walking her dog near Bendigo and another 1.4kg nugget near Kalgoorlie-Boulder. Following these discoveries, a prospector in Ballarat known for the find “You Wouldn’t Believe It” has purchased a new metal detector to continue searching in his undisclosed location. With such recent findings, his belief in more gold waiting to be found seems justified.
