Victorian man discovers $240k gold nugget with budget metal detector
Eureka! A Victorian man has discovered a $240,000 gold rock using a budget metal detector
READING LEVEL: GREEN
An amateur* prospector* has struck gold – to the tune of $240, 000.
The man, who did not wish to be named, was armed with his budget* metal detector when he discovered the 4.6kg rock in Victoria’s “Golden Triangle”, an area stretching between Ballarat, Bendigo and up to St Arnaud.
Curious as to whether the rock was worth anything, he took it to Lucky Strike Gold in Geelong for evaluation*.
Gold trader Darren Kamp soon discovered the rock contained a staggering* 2.6kg of gold.
“He said, ‘oh do you think there’s $10,000 worth in it?’, and as soon as it hit my hand I looked at him and said ‘try a $100,000’,” Mr Kamp told Nine News.
The man then told Mr Kamp that he had actually only brought in half the rock, leaving the other half “at home”.
“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime find,” he said.
Small nuggets of gold can reach up to $1000, with the value of gold soaring* amid widespread* inflation*.
This area in North Central Victoria stretches between Ballarat, Bendigo and St Arnaud, and include small towns such as Daylesford, Maryborough and Castlemaine.
During the gold rush of the 1850s, golden nuggets from this region were famous for their quantity, size and purity*, most of which were found in streams or river beds.
Though the recent discovery of the 4.6kg rock is impressive indeed, it pales in comparison* to the Welcome Stranger — a 72kg gold nugget found in 1869 near Moliagul.
Today, such a nugget could fetch approximately $6.8 million.
GLOSSARY
- amateur: a person inexperienced or unskilled in a particular activity
- prospector: someone who searches for gold
- budget: cheap
- evaluation: to judge the level or value of something
- staggering: shocking or stunning
- soaring: to rise quickly
- widespread: found or distributed over a large area or number of people
- inflation: general rise in price
- purity: not contaminated, pure
- pales in comparison: to seem less important when compared to something else
EXTRA READING
Historic first gold coin up for sale
Underground lab in Vic gold mine
QUICK QUIZ
- Where did the man find the 4.6kg rock?
- What did he think it might be worth?
- How did Mr Kamp describe the find?
- Small nuggets can reach up to what price?
- What is the Welcome Stranger?
LISTEN TO THIS STORY
CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
1. Work it Out
What is the value of one kilo of the gold in the nugget? Write the number sentence or calculation that you used for your answer. Then, think of and write another mathematical question based on information in this story. See if someone else can answer it!
Time: allow 15 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: Mathematics
2. Extension
What would you do if you found this nugget? Write a story that starts from the moment you discovered a large shiny rock.
Time: allow 25 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English
VCOP ACTIVITY
Proper noun police
A proper noun is a noun that names a particular person, place or thing. It always has a capital letter.
How many proper nouns can you find within this article? Find them all and sort them into the category of name, place, time (date/month).
Can you find any proper nouns included in your writing? What are they? Can you sort them into their categories?