A 12-pound gold nugget found by a local prospector Wednesday has garnered attention across the globe. The piece of gold is worth quite a bit, as the unusual size of the nugget likely makes it a huge payday for the lucky prospector. The Courier shared the details on this massive find on Jan. 17.
The prospector who found the 12-pound gold nugget is remaining anonymous for now, but it is said he used a high-end metal detector to find it. The aMinelab GPX-5000 will run a prospector about $6000, but in this case it was worth the investment. Cordell Kent, owner of the Ballarat Mining Exchange Gold Shop where the prospector took the gold nugget, said the gold could easily be worth about $300,000, and may well fetch far more.
Until now, the prospector in Ballarat, Australia had never found anything more than some small pieces of gold, though he apparently had earned some decent cash on some of them. The 12-pound gold nugget will likely be sold to a collector or end up in a museum, it is so unusual in its size. Cordell Kent says that he hopes to sell it in Australia, and to sell it overseas would require special permission.
MSN notes that the 12-pound gold nugget is the largest ever to be found in Ballarat, Australia. The nugget was about 2 feet under the ground surface, and the metal detector went crazy when it came upon the piece. Now that is one discovery that will shake up a prospector's day.
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