A young father discovered two nuggets totalling 137 ounces of gold
The have a combined value of over $190,000
The lucky prospector has chosen to remain anonymous for security reasons
Ray Swinnerton, the president of the Bendigo Prospecting Club, said it was a highly unusual find
A young father has hit the jackpot after digging up two giant gold nuggets worth nearly $200,000.
Ray Swinnerton, Vice President of the Bendigo Prospecting Club, said he had met the lucky prospector, who wished to remain anonymous for security reasons, and not surprisingly was ‘overjoyed’.
Scroll down for video
The 65 ounce nugget of Tarnagulla gold, one of two found by a young father on his private property, is worth almost $90,000
The second nugget was 72 ounces and has a street value of more than $100,000
Ray Swinnerton, Vice President of the Bendigo Prospecting Club, said the young father was overjoyed about his discovery
‘He was thrilled when he found it, as you can imagine. He makes a living from this stuff, so a find like that is very exciting,’ Mr Swinnerton said.
‘He didn’t want to be named until he had sold them off. He’s fairly young and it’s obviously a fair bit of money we’re talking about.
Mr Swinnerton added that gold mining was more of a hobby for most people.
‘Most of us don’t do this for the money. Gold detecting is very expensive,’ he said.
‘The detector alone is about $7000. I suppose it’s like fishing, in that it’s usually cheaper to go and buy your fish than the costs of catching the fish. We mostly do this for the experience, so a find like that is the bonus of a lifetime.’
Selling the gold can also be difficult because a licence is needed to sell to overseas buyers.
+A Bendigo Prospecting Club member handles the 72 ounce nugget (103 ounces including the rock)
The crowd at the Tarnagulla Key hunt swoop in for a look at the impressive findings