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'I could barely believe my eyes': Aussie prospector uncovers massive 4kg gold nugget

The Victorian prospector who found a massive four-kilogram gold nugget, worth an estimated $300,000, says he couldn’t believe his eyes when he made the “once in a lifetime” find.

Instead of retiring, the man says he plans on purchasing a caravan and travelling across Australia after splitting the proceeds with a couple of close mates he had made a prospecting pact with.

The man, who wishes to remain anonymous, had been digging at the far southern edge of Victoria’s Golden Triangle and thought he’d stumbled across rubbish when he first saw the 4.12kg nugget.

The 4121gram gold nugget found in Victoria. Source: Minelab
The 4121gram gold nugget found in Victoria. Source: Minelab

“I thought maybe it was an old horseshoe,” the prospector said.

“As I began to scrape away the clay and dig deeper, I really could barely believe my eyes – this wasn’t an old piece of steel in front of me.

“I had just unearthed a colossal gold nugget.

“I didn’t think nuggets of this size were still around.”

The gold nugget. Source: Minelab
The gold nugget. Source: Minelab

The man said he chose to return to the site after uncovering a 0.25kg tennis-ball shaped nugget when he came across the giant find, named ‘Friday’s Joy’, roughly 30 centimetres below the surface.

“It’s like catching a big fish and not knowing what to do with it,” the man said.

“I washed it in water, covered it in aluminum foil and kept it in my oven on the first night.”

The man's gold haul. Source: Minelab
The man's gold haul. Source: Minelab

The man, who has been prospecting for more than 10 years, promised to honour his pact with his friends which is to split the proceeds of any large gold finds.

After a few “celebratory beers”, the man contacted authorities to report the 4.12kg find. The gold nugget is now sitting in a bank vault with a replica under construction and auction plans underway.

The massive find comes just a year after Australian Mick Brown discovered a 2.46kg nugget on a trip to Wedderburn, north of Melbourne, which later sold for $175,000.

News break – August 25