Finders Keepers Gold Prospecting There are many things we sit and daydream about while sifting through our emails at work, like winning the lottery, and you know, stumbling across a huge rock of gold.
Well, that might be a little niche, but it certainly would be nice to come across an unexpected little gold mine, which is exactly what happened to one lucky Aussie fella.
The man, who has quite sensibly chosen to remain anonymous, has stumbled on a nugget of gold worth nearly £60,000 after a trip out his metal detector.
inders Keepers Gold Prospecting Matt Cook, the owner of metal detector shop in Kalgoorlie, Western Australia, told the BBC about the mystery man’s shock discovery.
He told the publication:
He walked into my shop and showed me the nugget in his hand with a big smile on my face.
It just a bit bigger than a packet of smokes, and the density of it was incredible, so heavy.
Finders Keepers Gold Prospecting Mr Cook added that the man finder had detected the gold on some saltbush flats, around 18 inches below the surface.
Impressive finds like this one crop up just a handful of times a year, but it’s extremely rare for them to be discovered by a hobbyist with a single metal detector.
Smaller finds are reasonably common in Kalgoorlie, which produces around 75 per cent of all gold mined in Australia.
Mr Cook told West Australia:
It’s good to see people out there and finding nuggets like this. They’re harder to find but they’re still out there.
Finders Keepers Gold Prospecting He owns a shop which sells supplies to gold prospectors, and charges anywhere from $1,000AU (around £550) to just under $10,000 (£5430) for metal detectors.
Speaking of his booming business, Mr Cook added:
It’s so busy, I can’t remember a year like it.
And gold prices are high at the moment, it’s like a gold rush.
So there we have it – next time we’re feeling a little strapped for cash we should just head out with our metal detectors and, erm, hope for the best. Fair play to the anonymous finder.
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Emma Rosemurgey is an NCTJ trained Journalist who started her career by producing The Royal Rosemurgey newspaper in 2004, which kept her family up to date with the goings on of her sleepy north east village. She graduated from the University of Central Lancashire in Preston and started her career in regional newspapers before joining Tyla (formerly Pretty 52) in 2017, and progressing onto UNILAD in 2019.