What could be a more fitting name for a 2kg nugget than “You Wouldn’t Believe It”?
A retiree in Victoria has made an incredible discovery, finding a 2-kilogram nugget of gold worth around $130,000 near the gold rush town of Ballarat. The amateur prospector was searching old pastureland at a secret location when his metal detector signaled something. Initially finding a lead bullet, he almost moved on before the detector insisted there was more. After digging deeper, he uncovered the massive gold nugget, now named You Wouldn’t Believe It. The man, who is remaining anonymous, has received offers of $160,000 for his find and is still in shock. This is the largest nugget Mark Day from Gold Ballarat has seen in his 25 years in the trade. The prospector, who found a smaller nugget earlier this year, is keeping the location of his discovery secret.
The prospector couldn’t contain his excitement when he made a massive discovery. For privacy reasons, he chose to keep his identity and the location of his find a secret.
When the retiree contacted Mr. Day about his find, Mr. Day was surprised by the size of the nugget. He was told it weighed two kilograms and couldn’t believe it.
Brian Robillard, a former president of the Prospectors and Miners Association of Victoria, stressed the importance of patience in prospecting. He mentioned that many people have taken up metal detecting in hopes of striking it rich, but the reality is more like winning the lottery.
Despite the recent surge in gold production in regional Victoria, Mark Day remains cautious. He pointed out that historical records show that significant finds have occurred in the area before, and there is still a wealth of gold waiting to be unearthed.
The gold rush in Victoria seems to be gaining momentum, with reports indicating that over 2.26 million tonnes of gold are still waiting to be discovered underground. Production has doubled in the past five years, with mines like Fosterville in Bendigo and Stawell Gold Mine in north-west Victoria making significant contributions.
Fosterville Mine has been up and running since 2005, and in 2015 it started producing even higher-grade gold, making it a lucrative venture. According to ABC Central Victoria’s report by Sian Gard, the mine in Central Victoria is anticipated to yield between 16.1 to 17.2 tonnes of gold annually for the next three years. Despite this success, surface-based prospectors are still on the hunt for treasure.
Peter McCarthy, a former mining engineer involved in the reopening of the Castlemaine Goldfields mine in Ballarat, wasn’t surprised by a retiree’s recent discovery of a two-kilo gold nugget. He believes there is still a wealth of gold waiting to be unearthed, but he notes that the number of people seeking it out is on the rise.
McCarthy commented, “There’s definitely been a surge in people searching for gold compared to several months ago. It’s a bit like ‘seek and ye shall find.’ The Victorian Government’s research on deep gold deposits suggests that there could be just as much gold still waiting to be discovered at depth, as has already been found. The old-timers couldn’t access this gold because it was buried beneath layers of clay, sand, and gravel.”
Former mining engineer Peter McCarthy, now retired, believes that there are still significant amounts of gold waiting to be discovered in rural Victoria. Back in the 1850s, people from various countries, including Australia, the UK, the US, and China, rushed to regional Victoria to seek their fortunes by setting up temporary camps across the goldfields. The largest nugget ever found, The Welcome Stranger, weighing an impressive 65.3kg, was discovered in 1869 in Moliagul, located northwest of Melbourne. In the 20th century, the Hand of Faith nugget, weighing 24.6kg, was found with the help of a metal detector in Kingower in 1980. Recent discoveries, such as a young girl finding a $30,000 gold nugget while walking her dog near Bendigo, and a 1.4kg nugget in Kalgoorlie-Boulder in May, suggest that there is still gold waiting to be unearthed. A prospector from Ballarat, known for his find “You Wouldn’t Believe It,” has purchased a new metal detector and is continuing his search in a secret location, confident that there is more gold to be found. The excitement of recent discoveries only fuels his belief that there is still undiscovered gold waiting to be found.
