Amateur prospector finds 1.2-kg gold nugget worth A$150,000 in Australia

An amateur prospector spent several days swinging a metal detector across the red dirt of Mount Stuart Station near Tibooburra, New South Wales, before a faint signal stopped him in his tracks. What he uncovered was a quartz-flecked gold nugget weighing 1,218 grams, with testing showing about 940 grams of pure gold, worth roughly A$150,000 to A$160,000 at spot prices and potentially up to A$200,000 to a collector.

The lucky finder, who wishes to remain anonymous, has nicknamed the discovery the Tibooburra Spud, as per reports by ABC News, 1 News, and Perth Now.The find is remarkable not just for its size, but for how close it came to being missed. The prospector told ABC News that the signal was not loud for the size of the piece, and that he had nearly walked past it before deciding to dig.

Read more about this fascinating discovery here:A faint signal in the red dirtThe prospector had been fossicking for years and was used to coming up empty. He told ABC News that most of what he digs up is rubbish, including lead bullets, old-timer’s nails and horseshoes.