Australian man finds $69000 gold nugget using metal detector
Matt Cook said that such discoveries do not happen often and take place only several times per year.
(Web Desk) – An Australian man found a $69,000 gold nugget weighing 1.4 kg while roaming around the Western Australian gold fields with a metal detector.
He brought the nugget to an owner of a store that provides equipment, Matt Cook, Finders Keepers Gold Prospecting.
"He walked into my shop and showed me the nugget in his hand with a big smile on my face," Mr Cook told the BBC. "It just a bit bigger than a packet of smokes, and the density of it was incredible, so heavy."
He said that such gold nuggets are "harder to find but they‘re still out there".
Cook explained that generally speaking, nuggets of this size are found with the help of heavy machinery, not metal detectors.
“Smaller traces of gold are more common finds in the region,” says Prof Sam Spearing, director of the Western Australia School of Mines at Curtin University.
"Along with the mines around, a lot of people go around as prospectors on the weekend, as a hobby. Other people do it on a full-time basis," Prof Spearing said.
"Most of the gold found is in the less than half an ounce category, but they do find them fairly frequently." said Sam whereas Matt said that such discoveries do not happen often and take place only several times per year.
