A Victorian gold prospector searching for gold between Bendigo, Ballarat, and St Arnaud has stumbled on a 2.6kg nugget of gold and quartz valued at $240,000.
As reported by the ABC, the unnamed prospector initially thought his find would be worth about $10,000, but Geelong-based gold valuator Lucky Strike quickly corrected this.
Darren Kamp, owner of Lucky Strike, told the ABC that his “jaw nearly hit the floor” when he was asked to evaluate the find.
“He said, ‘I’ve got something to show you.’ He pulled the rock out of his backpack and as he dropped it in my hand, he said, ‘Do you think there’s $10,000 worth in there?’,” Kamp said.
“And through the weight, my hand just dropped. And as my hand dropped, my wife said my jaw dropped, too.
“It’s just such an incredible find. He said, ‘Oh, that’s only half the rock, I’ve got the other half at home.’
“He brought the other half in about two weeks later and I did a test on it, and it came up at 83 ounces of gold in this rock.”
This remarkable find is the latest example of gold having it moment in the Victorian sun, with the Geological Survey of Victoria (GSV) recently reporting an extended fault system that could indicate the presence of minerals in areas that have not yet seen successful exploration.
The mineralisation pathways in these areas may run close to the surface to as far down as 35–40km.
“We think we’ve got a ‘new dawn’ for Victorian gold exploration. It’s really underpinned by data, technology, concepts and confidence,” GSV senior geologist Ross Cayley said.
“We think Victoria has crossed a threshold of data and understanding to what looks like sustained success.”