Australian amateur prospector digs up massive gold nugget near Ballarat (VIDEO)
The 12-pound gold nugget.
Beginners luck?
An amateur prospector in Australia has made the find of a lifetime – a 5.5 kilogram (12 pound) gold nugget estimated to be worth more than $300,000, the BBC reported.
The lucky prospector, who the Australian Associated Press said was a novice, made the incredible discovery with a hand-held metal detector near Ballarat in the southern state of Victoria – a key site in the Australian gold rush in the mid-1800s.
Cordell Kent, who owns the Ballarat Mining Exchange Gold Shop and is trying to find a buyer for the nugget, told Agence France-Presse that it was one of the biggest nuggets he had ever seen.
"We have 800 prospectors on our books and only a couple of those have ever found a nugget over 100 ounces," he was quoted as saying.
"There's only been one or two big pieces and they were found a long time ago."
A video purportedly showing the gold nugget has been posted on YouTube by TroyAurum.
The BBC reported the prospector, who wishes to stay anonymous, found the nugget 60 centimeters underground.
As for the exact location of the nugget, Kent is staying mum, the AAP reported.
More from GlobalPost: Germany pulling $200 million in gold reserves from US, France