The Ausrox Gold Nugget was found this decade and was found with a metal detector!
Australia is famous for producing the largest gold nuggets in the world. By far, the biggest gold nuggets ever recovered in history have come from Australia, and huge gold nuggets are still being found by lucky prospectors even today. Below are three of the biggest gold nuggets ever found in Australia.
Beyer Holtermann Nugget
The largest single piece of gold ever known to exist in the world was known as the Beyers Holtermann Nugget. It was discovered in 1872, and although it was a matrix of gold in quartz rather than a solid gold nugget, it is still credited as likely being the single largest piece of gold ever found on earth. It was believed to contain approximately 3000 troy ounces of gold, but it was sadly crushed and smelted so the true size was never really determined.
Another huge specimen was recovered from the same mine shortly after, and reports claimed that it was even larger. The workers broke it into several pieces so it could more easily be brought to the surface, and no official weight was ever determined.
Unfortunately, it was the gold content, rather than its rarity that determined value back then. Neither of these specimens exist today.
The Welcome Stranger
The largest solid gold nugget ever found was called the Welcome Stranger Nugget. It was another amazing Australian nugget recovered in 1869. It was documented to have weighed 2,280 troy ounces. Reports claimed that the miner that found it broke his pick while digging, and believed that he had struck a rock.
What he actually uncovered was the now famous gold nugget, the single largest solid nugget ever known to exist in the world. Unfortunately, like nearly all other gold nuggets recovered during those times, it was broken apart and melted down for its gold content. Of course today, this nugget would value for many times its gold value alone, but at the time the finders were merely interested in the gold value of the nugget.
Hand of Faith
Another famous Australian gold nugget and the largest gold nugget currently in existence today is the Hand of Faith, a massive chunk of gold found by a metal detectorist in 1980. It weighs a massive 876 troy ounces, and currently resides at the Golden Nugget Casino in Las Vegas. It is on display there, and is quite the sight to see.
It was purchased several years ago for 1 million dollars, but with its rarity and current market value for gold, it is likely worth much more today. The Hand of Faith is the biggest gold nugget known to still exist on Earth.
More Big Gold Nuggets being Found!
Big gold nuggets are still being found in Australia. Just this year, a 12-pound chunk of gold named the Ausrox Nugget was found with a Minelab metal detector. It just goes to show that amazing discoveries can still be made by the persistent treasure hunter!
Always remember that much of the easy-to-find gold has been found, there is still plenty left yet to be discovered. In fact, experts believe that 90% of the earth’s gold is yet to be found, so there is sure to be some more monster gold nuggets out there!
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