Webdesk: Insider reported that a low-end metal detector found a $160,000 gold nugget in Victoria’s goldfields, changing an amateur prospector’s life.
Lucky Strike Gold owner Darren Kamp says he purchased the 10-pound rock from an unknown prospector.
The shop owner said the prospector asked him if the rock was worth at least $10,000, but Kamp immediately knew it was considerably more.
“Try $100,000,” Kamp told Insider. “I’ve prospected 43 years and never seen a rock specimen with this much gold.”
Kamp said the gold digger brought half the rock because he cracked to look inside. Kamp claimed he left half at home.
After reuniting the two sections, the rock contained 82 ounces of gold. “Gobsmacked,” he said.
Kamp named the rock “Lucky Strike Nugget.” He wants to retain the rock for now but may sell it later.
“It’s a shame that it’s been shattered into two half, but because it’s broken, you can see a lot of gold in the rock,” he said.
The shopkeeper thinks amateur prospectors would look for a similar rock.
“Hobbyist prospectors might be thrilled to find a couple of hundred dollars of gold on a weekend,” he remarked.
A 2013 Australian prospector uncovered a $295,000 177-ounce gold nugget. In 2020, another group recovered two $250,000 nuggets.
