Aussie digs up 1kg gold nugget worth up to $200,000 in outback
An Australian fossicker was digging up bullet shells and outback trash when a faint metal detector signal led to a life-changing discovery – but will his $200K find spark another gold rush?
READING LEVEL: GREEN
An amateur* prospector’s* persistence has paid off to the tune of up to $200,000, after he pulled a massive gold nugget out of the dirt in outback New South Wales.
The lucky fossicker*, who wanted to keep his identity under wraps, spent several days scouring the red soil at Mount Stuart station near Tibooburra, in the far northwest corner of the state.
“Look at that … I can’t believe this,” he says through shocked laughter, in a video of his discovery earlier this month.
“I hope this (isn’t) a painted rock.”
As he dislodges the monster nugget and it falls into his palm, he explains that it had only produced a “faint signal” for his metal detector and he had to dig through rubbish including bullet shells to reach it.
“As they say, keep persisting … That’s … unbelievable,” he exclaims.
Weighing in at more than 1.2 kilograms, tests revealed the quartz*-speckled rock contains roughly 940g of pure gold.
Greg Spangler from Broken Hill Prospecting Supplies told news.com.au the discovery could be worth up to $200,000 and was an “extremely lucky” feat.
Mr Spangler said it was only the second time in 11 years he had seen or heard of a piece of gold weighing over a kilogram coming out of the Tibooburra area.
“There might have been more found, but people keep them to themselves,” Mr Spangler said.
“The lad that found it wants to enhance Tibooburra, I suppose, and show that it’s still got good-sized gold up there.”
Based on a gold spot price of around AUD $5,800 an ounce, Mr Spangler said the rock was worth $175,000 to $180,000.
And because of its rarity as an intact specimen, a collector could be willing to pay as much as $200,000 for it, he said.
But before Aussies quit their day jobs to try and strike it rich, Mr Spangler said that proper research and preparation were essential, particularly with summer approaching.
Tibooburra sits 325km away from Broken Hill, and temperatures can easily soar above 40C in the coming months.
He also noted that finding a monster nugget often requires top-tier gear.
While beginners can pick up an entry-level gold detector like a Gold Monster 2000 for about $3000, the prospector who unearthed the “Tibooburra Spud” was swinging a top-of-the-range GPZ 8000 detector, worth up to $17,000.
“He just happened to have the right coil on and be in the right area,” Mr Spangler said. “He’d done research and was wandering around and probably looked where no one else has looked before.”
As for the lucky prospector, don’t expect him to reveal his identity anytime soon.
Joking that the fossicker has a “face for radio,” Mr Spangler confirmed the anonymous* man had already packed up and left town to figure out his next move.
For any families keen for a NSW road trip to try their luck over the summer school holidays, Mr Spangler runs the last detecting shop still operating in Broken Hill, located on the way out to the goldfields.
WATCH THE VIDEO
POLL
GLOSSARY
- amateur: taking part in an activity for pleasure and not as a job
- prospector: person or company whose job is searching for gold, oil, or other valuable substances on or under the surface of the Earth
- fossicker: a person who searches for gold or precious stones in rivers or abandoned “workings”, being the tunnels, shafts, levels and chambers made in the earth to search for, extract, or transport gold ore
- anonymous: made or done by someone whose name is not known or not made public, an unnamed person
EXTRA READING
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Is panning for gold a prospect?
Buried treasure creates gold fever
QUICK QUIZ
- How much does the gold nugget weigh?
- What estimated value range from lowest to highest?
- How much did the lucky prospector invest in his metal detector?
- Where did the prospector find the nugget?
- The nugget has scored a nickname based on its appearance – what is it?
LISTEN TO THIS STORY
CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
Design a poster
Design a poster. Your purpose is to encourage kids and families to go gold prospecting in Tibooburra!
Time: allow at least 30 minutes for this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Visual Communication Design
2. Extension
“As they say, keep persisting..”. Be inspired by the fossicker’s words. Write a story. This phrase must be your first or last sentence.
Time: Allow at least 30 minutes for this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Personal and Social Capability
VCOP ACTIVITY
Read this!
A headline on an article – or a title on your text – should capture the attention of the audience, telling them to read this now. So choosing the perfect words for a headline or title is very important.
Create three new headlines for the events that took place in this article. Remember, what you write and how you write it will set the pace for the whole text, so make sure it matches.
Read out your headlines to a partner and discuss what the article will be about based on the headline you created. Discuss the tone and mood you set in just your few, short words. Does it do the article justice? Will it capture the audience’s attention the way you hoped? Would you want to read more?
Consider how a headline or title is similar to using short, sharp sentences throughout your text. They can be just as important as complex ones. Go through the last text you wrote and highlight any short, sharp sentences that capture the audience.