A lucky gold hunter struck it rich when he discovered a $4,000 gold nugget buried just two feet below the surface. The prospector, who goes by the name Bill M, stumbled upon the 50g nugget in the Ballarat area of south-west Victoria. Despite keeping the exact location under wraps, Bill M proudly shared a photo of his precious find with the members of the Australian Facebook group Detecting Downunder. The post enthused about Bill M’s discovery of the stunning nugget on private property in Ballarat.
Bill M, a prospector, struck gold when he discovered a 50g nugget on private land in the Ballarat region of south-west Victoria. The gold nugget was unearthed about two feet (60cm) below the surface, indicating that Bill may have stumbled upon a promising gold reef. A gold reef is a deposit of gold contained within the rock it was formed in underground. The treasure hunting community has shown interest in Bill’s find, with one user questioning the value of the nugget. The group administrator chimed in, stating that at the current price of gold at $82 per gram, the nugget is estimated to be worth around $4k, making it a decent payday for Bill. Some users jokingly expressed astonishment at the discovery while others simply marveled at the incredible find.
One year later, a prospector came across a two-kilogram nugget in the Ballarat region, following a similar discovery in the same area. Mark Day, a supplier of prospecting equipment at Gold Ballarat, expressed amazement at the find, stating it was the largest nugget he had heard of in many years. Day, who has been in the business for 25 years, was astounded by the size of the nugget and urged the man to bring it in for him to examine. The man, a regular customer of Day’s, was visibly shaken when he showed him the nugget, having not slept in three days due to the excitement. It was reported that potential buyers offered the man $160,000 for the nugget. This discovery joins a list of Australia’s Biggest Gold Finds, including the Welcome Stranger found on 5 February 1869.
The impressive Welcome Stranger nugget, the largest ever found in Australia, is currently on display at Ballarat’s Gold Museum. Unearthed by John Deason and Richard Oates in the town of Moliagul, Victoria, this colossal nugget weighed a jaw-dropping 72kgs and measured 60cms in length, fetching the prospectors £9,381 at the time.
Another remarkable discovery, The Welcome nugget, was found by a group of 22 miners at the Red Hill Mining Company site in Bakery Hill, Ballarat on 9 June 1858. This nugget measured 53cms in length and weighed 68.2kgs, ultimately selling for £10,500. It was later showcased at the Crystal Palace in London before being purchased by the Royal Mint in 1859.
On September 26, 1980, Kevin Hillier struck gold with the discovery of the Hand of Faith nugget in the small town of Kingower, Victoria. This massive nugget, the largest ever found using a metal detector, was hiding just 30cm beneath the surface. Weighing a whopping 27.2kg and measuring 45cm in length, it was later sold to the Golden Nugget casino in Las Vegas, where it remains a remarkable display to this day.
In 1995, the Normandy Nugget, the second largest gold nugget known to man, was found in a creek near Kalgoorlie, Western Australia. Weighing 25.5kg and measuring 27cm in length, this impressive treasure is currently held by the Newmont Mining Corporation and can be viewed by the public at the Perth Mint museum.
On December 18, 1906, a massive gold nugget was unearthed in Tarnagulla, Victoria, and was named The Poseidon after the famous Melbourne Cup racehorse of that year. Weighing a whopping 29.6kg, this nugget sparked a gold rush in the area, leading to the discovery of many more nuggets in what would later be called Poseidon Lead.
