Australian finds 4.6kg gold nugget worth $240,000 with cheap metal detector: ‘Woman will be happy’

An amateur prospector unearthed a massive gold nugget worth $240,000.

The man, who asked not to be named, was looking for gold in Victoria’s “Golden Triangle” – an area from Ballarat to Bendigo to St Arnuad where prospectors have struck gold since the 19th century.

He was combing the area with a $1,200 Minelab Equinox 800 metal detector when his home scanner beeped.

After unearthing the 4.6 kilogram nugget, the man took his find to Lucky Strike Gold in Geelong for appraisal.

Gold dealer Darren Kamp discovered that the rock was more than half gold – a whopping 2.6 kilograms.

“He said, ‘Oh, you think there’s $10,000 in there? As soon as it hit my hand I said [to him] “Try $100,000,” he told 9News.

“And he said, ‘Oh wow, the wife will be happy with that’.”

The man then told Mr. Kamp that he only brought half of the stone and left the other half “at home”.

Mr Kamp said the man was lucky and described his discovery as a “unique” find.

Gold prices in Australia hit a high of $2,943.80 per ounce on March 23, making it the perfect time to find and sell the precious metal.

Even small gold nuggets can reach as high as $1,000 in today’s market as inflation continues to push gold’s value higher.

Mr Kamp explained that the man’s find was proof that gold could still be found in Victoria and said inexperienced prospectors needed to be persistent.

“If your name is on it, you will get it,” said Mr. Camp.

“You just need a little luck and perseverance. It’s like Tattslotto: you’ll never win if you don’t have a ticket.’

The ‘Golden Triangle’ lies in Northern Victoria between Ballarat, Bendigo and St Arnaud and includes small towns such as Daylesford, Maryborough and Castlemaine.

The area was popular during the prosperous gold rush of the 1850s, as gold nuggets were known for their purity, quantity and size.

The stone, which weighs 4.6 kg, contained 2.6 kg of gold (photo)

The man was looking for gold in Victoria’s ‘Golden Triangle’ (pictured) – an area from Ballarat to Bendigo and up to St Arnuad where prospectors have been finding gold since the 19th century

During this time, most gold nuggets were alluvial – and prospectors found them in streams or riverbeds.

Industrious miners and prospectors flocked to the region in search of riches and built quaint villages, with many buildings now used as museums, galleries and cafes.

Two Cornish miners unearthed the largest gold nugget discovered in the area on 5 February 1869 near Moliagul.

Nicknamed the ‘Welcome Stranger’, the gold nugget weighed 72 kilograms, was 61 cm long and sold for £10,000 (about AUD 18,475).

Today, a nugget of that size would fetch about $6.8 million.