LOTTERY! 4.6 kg gold nugget, worth $250,000, discovered by amateur digger

Christmas came early for a man in Australia who recently discovered a gold nugget worth almost $250,000 in the southeastern state of Victoria. The gold digger found the enormous nugget weighing 4.6 kilogrammes, with gold making up almost 2.6 kg of the weight, in an area known as the 'Golden Triangle' between Bendigo, Ballarat and St Arnaud.

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The man only used an amateur metal detector called 'Minelab Equinox 800 detector' worth $800 to make the discovery. The piece has been named 'Lucky Strike Nugget' after it was taken to a prospecting shop by the name 'Lucky Strike Gold'.

Shop owner Darren Kamp was in disbelief when he first saw the rock with the unaware owner asking if the find could fetch him even $10,000. “Do you think there’s $10,000 worth in it?”

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Kamp, who often has to deal with customers coming in with false hopes regarding their find, quickly evaluated the piece and said the ballpark figure of the piece of rock in his hand was anywhere north of $100,000.

“I looked at him and I said try $100,000," Kamp told The Guardian. “He [owner] said ‘but that’s only half the rock, the other half is at home’.”

After getting hold of the entire rock, Kamp arrived at the current figure which is primarily due to the soaring gold prices which are nearing global record highs.

“I’ve been prospecting for 43 years. And I haven’t seen a specimen in this amount of gold in my 43 years of prospecting. Maybe in the 1850s there was probably a few found, but in today’s terms it’s very rare," Kamp added.

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The 'Golden Triangle' has been famous for centuries and has witnessed multiple gold rushes.To this day, people flock to the region to accidentally strike gold using nothing but a metal detector. A $25.50 licence that lasts for 10 years is required to go on such expeditions. Without the license, any gold found goes straight to the crown.

According to the geological survey of Victoria, there could be 75 million ounces of gold in the region. Stawell and Bendigo zones hold the greatest potential for gold and at a depth where most modern drilling techniques can be used to reach easily.

(With inputs from agencies)

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