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Considered by most authorities to be the biggest gold nugget ever found, the Welcome Stranger was found at Moliagul, Victoria, Australia, in 1869 by John Deason and Richard Oates. It weighed gross, over 2,520 troy ounces (78 kg; 173 lb) and returned over 2,284 troy ounces (71.0 kg; 156.6 lb) net.
The largest gold specimen Kamp has found was a 24-ounce piece, which now would be worth around 70,000 AUD ($46,753). He said that about 10 years ago, his friend found a 600-ounce gold nugget.
An Australian man armed with a budget metal detector has hit the jackpot, finding a 4.6kg rock containing gold worth A$240,000 (£130,000; $160,000). The man, who doesn't want to be named, made the discovery in Victoria's goldfields - which were the heart of Australia's gold rush in the 1800s.
An Australian man using a budget metal detector has hit the score of a lifetime – a giant gold nugget worth $160,000. The man, who did not want to be identified, made the life-changing discovery in the southern state of Victoria, the world's largest gold nugget was discovered in 1869.
About 60% of Australia's gold resources occur in Western Australia, with the remainder in all other States and the Northern Territory.
Lucky Strike is not the biggest nugget found in Australia – that honour belongs to “the Welcome Stranger” found near Moliagul, Victoria, in 1869, which yielded 2,300 ounces of gold.
Welcome Nugget
The Welcome Nugget is Australia's second-largest nugget and was found in June 1858 in the Bakery Hill area of Ballarat, approximately where McDonald's is located today. It was mined by the Red Hill Mining Company and weight 69kg upon extraction from the ground.
Chinese miners
There were over 11,000 Chinese on the New South Wales goldfields of Armidale, Bathurst, Binalong, Braidwood, Burrangong, Lambing Flat (Young), Carcoar, Lachlan, Mudgee, Tambaroora, Tamworth and Tumut.
Golden Eagle Nugget: 1,135oz. Discovered by 17-year-old Jim Larcombe at Larkinsville, Western Australia in January 1931 and named due to its resemblance to the majestic bird.
the largest 72kg gold nugget ever found (called the Welcome Stranger), today this nugget would be worth approximately $4.5M USD, discovered by two miners John Deason and Richard Oates on February 5, 1869, near Moliagul, in the state of Victoria, Australia.
In 2022, the United States was estimated to have some 3,000 metric tons of gold reserves in mines. Thus, the U.S. was one of the leading countries based on mine reserves of gold. Australia is estimated to have the largest gold mine reserves worldwide.
Gold reserves - additional information
The United States has the largest gold reserve, with more than 8,000 metric tons of gold. This was more than twice the gold reserves of Germany and more than three times the gold reserves of Italy and France.
Some of the veins produce up to one quarter of an ounce of gold per ton of rock. What makes Dahlonega gold so different from other gold found around the world is the purity. Dahlonega has the purest gold in the world, which is 98.7 percent pure.
About 244,000 metric tons of gold has been discovered to date (187,000 metric tons historically produced plus current underground reserves of 57,000 metric tons). Most of that gold has come from just three countries: China, Australia, and South Africa.
Fort Knox Facts
Amount of present gold holdings: 147.3 million ounces. About half of the Treasury's stored gold (as well as valuables of other federal agencies) is kept at Fort Knox. Highest historic gold holdings: 649.6 million ounces (December 31, 1941).
Long associated with Australian sporting achievements, the national colours have strong environmental connections. Gold conjures images of Australia's beaches, mineral wealth, grain harvests and the fleece of Australian wool. Green evokes the forests, eucalyptus trees and pastures of the Australian landscape.
The discovery of gold in the 1850s started a series of rushes that transformed the Australian colonies. The first discoveries of payable gold were at Ophir in New South Wales and then at Ballarat and Bendigo Creek in Victoria.
In a book titled 1421: The Year China Discovered the World Gavin Menzies claims that in the 1420's several fleets of Chinese ships sailed around the world, making contact with many countries before Europeans explored them, including Australia.
Kalgoorlie and Coolgardie are the famous gold mining centres in Australia. Gold is also available in certain parts of New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland.
Two Cornish miners found the huge nugget dubbed the Welcome Stranger while prospecting in the gold fields of Victoria, Australia on 5 February 1869. It weighed 11 stone (72kg) and was 61cm long (24 inches) when it was found buried just below the surface.
In April 1851, John Lister and William Tom, trained by Edward Hargraves, found 120 grams of gold. This discovery, instigated by Hargraves, led directly to the beginning of the gold rush in New South Wales. This was the first gold rush in Australia.
Your finds
Minerals are the property of the Crown. If you discover gold or other minerals or gemstones on land not covered by a mining tenement, and the ground is Crown land (under the Mining Act 1978), then you are free to keep what you have found (as long as you hold a Miner's Right).
Australia is estimated to have the world's largest gold reserves, with 9,500 tonnes or 17 per cent of the total world estimated gold reserves of 57,000 tonnes.
While that gold rush saw the extraction of thousands of tonnes of gold from Victorian soil, there is still plenty left.