Grey nomad gold prospectors everywhere have been given a surge of hope following news that a monster nugget has been unearthed in north Queensland.
A man, who wishes to remain anonymous, found a 1.1763kg gold nugget in a field in the Charters Towers region.
The nugget, which is valued at around $63,000 was hidden 15cm below the ground and discovered using a Minelab GPX 5000 detector.
“At first, I didn’t know just how big the nugget was because the scales I had with me only went up to 500 grams and it wasn’t until later I found out I’d broken the kilo mark,” he said. “It was beneath some vegetation so it was a bit of a challenge to get to, but now I’m thinking maybe those roots are keeping some other big nuggets safe ready to be found another time.”
The lucky prospector has so far declined to identify the exact location where the nugget was found.
Minelab dealer, Peter Cragg, told the Townsville Bulletin he was amazed to see the nugget.
“It’s a fantastic story and goes to show that there are still big nuggets out there ready to be found if you have the right equipment and can spot the terrain,” he said. “He found more than a kilo of gold in an area which has certainly had detectors go over it before … it makes you think what might still be out there!”
