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BALLARAT, Australia — Shaped like a crude ‘Y' or whale's tail fin, a giant gold nugget was unearthed Wednesday by a gold prospector.
The unidentified man was prospecting for gold just outside of Ballarat, Victoria in Australia when his state-of-the-art metal detector — a Minelab GPX-5000 for the technical — went off.
About 2 feet below his feet, he unearthed the 5.5 kilogram, or 12 pound, nugget laying broad side up. The nugget is worth $315,000 in the current market and considering its rarity.
"I have been a prospector and dealer for two decades, and cannot remember the last time a nugget over 100 ounces has been found locally," Cordell Kent, the owner of Ballarat Mining Exchange Gold Shop told BBC.
"It's extremely significant as a mineral specimen. We are 162 years into a gold rush and Ballarat is still producing nuggets — it's unheard of."
The nugget is expected to be sold to a collector or a museum.
